Posted by Leslie Johnson on February 07, 2001 at 09:39:47:
I would encourage each of you to visit the www.pbs.org web site and click on transcripts of the interviews conducted with Gerald Early, Branford Marsalis, Stanley Crouch, et al. It has become clear to me that their views were not properly represented in the series and that they are taking a lot of heat for comments taken out of context but used to meet the agenda of the producer. Early, in particular, is highly complimentary of Keith Jarrett and Paul Whiteman, and his view of white involvement strikes me as quite interesting and not nearly as hostile as it seemed in the series. What I see in the transcripts is a much more inclusive attitude toward all races, but with (properly) an emphasis on their own take on jazz as African-Americans. The blame for imbalance really is in the hands of the documentarian (Burns)who did not include quotes from these gentlemen about both black and white musicians and the culture surrounding them that would have enhanced the series immeasurably.