Posted by Pat Starner on February 02, 2001 at 09:18:04:
I'm confused! ON the one hand, I'm grateful that our local PBS channel decided to carry the Jazz Series. In Kansas City, the only time KCPT airs anything even remotely "trad-jazz" or "Swing" oriented is during one of their "PLEDGE" drives because that's where the money is. On the other hand, I don't think I've ever been lambasted with such inane babbling as was presented throughout the 10 episodes of Jazz history(?) as seen during the last several weeks.
I'm in agreement with most of the commentary I've read on the Rag's Bulletin Board. However, I want to get in my 2 cents' worth.
If I were given 3 million bucks for the purose of making a documentary on Jazz, you can be sure my "Talking Heads" would know what they were talking about. Aside from Milt Hinton and the two Shaws, Artie and Arvell, I don't believe any of the others had a clue about the subject matter. They really missed the boat by not including commentary by the likes of Spiegle Willcox, Lionel Hampton, Bob Haggart, and many others who lived the era and were still alive during the making of the series. To give Wynton Marsalis his due, I think he's a fine musician. As a "Talking Head", he talks too much and what he has to say isn't all that profound.
I was really sorry to hear that jazz had died. I guess I can cancel my Mississippi Rag subscription, my memberships in various jazz organizations, and save a ton of money by not going to all those jazz festivals that aren't out there anymore. Gimme a break!
As for "BeBop", Modern Jazz, and all the other far out stuff, I don't understand them. But then I didn't understand Picasso's art, either. I think Duke Ellington said it best: "Playing Bop is like trying to play Scrabble without any vowels".
All in all, I think the Ken Burns jazz thing set integration and race relations back at least 50 years. Good Job, Dude!