A Great Jazz History Lesson
I am going to confess, right up front, to being a bit of a fan of the documentarian Ken Burns. He’s the guy who does those multiple-night, hours-long documentaries about things like the Civil War and World War II. These are the kind of documentaries that show up on PBS and play for nights and then go up for sale for hundreds of dollars.
Before he decided to tackle WWII, in fact, many years before, he decided to create a documentary about Jazz. He caught a bit of flack for it at the time. Why? Some accused him of spending too much time worrying about Louis Armstrong and not enough time on other jazz musicians that jazz fans felt were important.
I just know the documentary was fascinating. I also know that he released multiple CDs with some of the best jazz music you are likely to find in conjunction with the DVD and the release of the movie. Some of those early Louis Armstrong recordings I talked about? Yeah, you’ll find them there.
He even has a cool website that you can find right here. It has all kinds of information about the documentary and about some of the most influential and important jazz albums around. Finally, there is a really cool section about using jazz to teach kids.
Yes, kids. The same kids that are probably, right now, bugging you about mortgaging your home to buy Hannah Montana tickets from a ticket broker, might actually appreciate jazz. Just check it out.
So, get the CDs and check out the DVDs and save up for it if it’s a little out of your price range now. Do not fear the documentary. Enjoy it.
Tags: CD, documentary, DVD, jazz, Ken-Burns, Louis-Armstrong, PBS, review., television
1 opinion for A Great Jazz History Lesson
Chip Boaz
Oct 24, 2007 at 12:38 am
The Ken Burns Jazz documentary contains a lot of great information and it is presented with stunning visuals. He makes some valid societal connections and much of the movie speaks through artists’ voices. It is very well done, and yes, speaking as a high school music teacher, it is a fantastic piece of education.
The post 1950s info does need to be taken with a grain of salt though. That fact that he summed up jazz from the mid-sixties to the late 1990s in a couple of hours was quite a poor choice. Yes, he did spend a lot of time on Louis Armstrong, as well as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and more. He gave them the spotlight they deserved by going into their history in depth. He just should have spent the same amount of time on modern artists - by not doing so, he marginalized their influence. Like it or not, jazz has changed over the past 50 years, and these developments need to be recognized.
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: