That is the attitude! People, lets not forget of the difficulties derived from the profession. After the 'big bands' era, the habitual changes on the availability, for recordings or acts, of musicians in an assembly (because of the constant stream of compromises for many to sustain themselves) made it a very volatile environment. To make a living, many recurred to the closest people they knew to make small formations, and that is why trios were more common in modern Jazz. One of the most recurrent on this time was the piano trio specifically formed by piano, bass and drums for house acts. This kind of group was then a requisite to experiment for many of the greatest soloist (like Art Tatum) and those accustomed to band formations. Oscar Peterson commenced on this kind of trio, and the mentioned Thelonious Monk collaborated with greats like Percy Heath (bass) or Max Roach (drums) on his own trio this way.I kind of like the idea of no saxophone jazz. I love the instrument, but its what I normally associate with jazz music, so its interesting to hear something a bit different and unique.
Negating the importance of this interconnected assemblies creates a conflict with the very same maturity of this musical genre.
For those interested in the musical aspect of this upcoming series and want recommendations, remember that we have on this forum a magnificent thread dedicated to that (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=384488).