Posted by George Borgman on February 01, 2001 at 07:12:42:
In spite of the efforts of the producers of the Ken Burns series, the real jazz is not dead. What is real jazz? It is the jazz that began in New Orleans and spread to Chicago, Kansas City, New York, the West Coast, and worldwide. It is the jazz before Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, who, among others, began to change it, and it is definitely the jazz before Ornette Coleman, who began taking jazz on a journey toward possible extinction. But, happily, through the efforts of people who love traditional, or classic or hot jazz, and swing, the real jazz is still here. Ken Burns and company do not realize this, apparently, for there was no mention of a revival movement as evidenced by the ragtime or traditional jazz or swing festivals, which thousands of people attend annually, worldwide! Unfortunately the followers of what I have called real jazz are mostly white people. There are those, though, who say that Wynton Marsalis, with his Lincoln Center Orchestra, is keeping the real jazz alive. Well, maybe, but what Marsalis plays is distorted with bebop and later elements. Marsalis' playing is as distorted as much of the so-called facts in the Burns documentary.
In my opinion, some effort should have been made by Burns and company to let the viewers know that there are musicians out there who, along with their loyal followers, have managed to keep the real jazz alive. There have been several comments about omissions in the Burns series, Well, I believe one of the worse omissions was that of not giving recognition to the revival movement.
George Borgman