I've heard the same said about Harold Land and evolution of his style. Ironically but perhaps not coincidentally, I prefer Land's later, less bop-oriented style. Peter, I'd bet a dollar that you prefer the earlier.
And that's probably just a manifestation our predilections, preferences, and built-in assumptions about what constitutes good music. Of course, the information, the background, the context, the knowledge that we're carrying around in our heads -- all of that "consciousness stuff" -- may be more or less sophisticated, more or less informed. And hopefully it's continually shifting and evolving and not hardening into some that gets ossified -- but, at the end of the day, there is something in us that says, "I really like that music. It works for me." Or we don't. ... On top of that, we might be able to articulate why we prefer (or don't prefer) a given musician -- like the conversation that I've been following here -- but at the end of the day it comes down to non-objective things that tell as much about the listener as they do the musician.
Then again, perhaps that's easy for me to say -- if only because I am neither a musician nor a critic!
I've only jumped on the bandwagon to hear some good music. I'm just along for the ride.