RE: Burns' 'Jazz' gives the music a boost

From: Mark Turner (nugroove@pacbell.net)
Date: Wed Feb 07 2001 - 04:49:23 CET

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    Like Gen (and probably Ryan), I thought the Columbia rep's remark about
    "making the leap to Branford and Wynton Marsalis" was pretty damned funny.
    Obviously he's just trying to sell more records for his Columbia artists.
    But the "leap" he's talking about seems to be backward, not forward!
    Artistically speaking, that is.

    I also find it ironic that, at the conclusion of this mammoth documentary
    where jazz innovators are paraded out for us one after the other, the
    spotlighted musicians of today were almost exclusively ones who are "in the
    tradition," as opposed to those who are trying to expand the boundaries. How
    could they NOT mention John Zorn, or the enormous influence that the
    Knitting Factory has had on nurturing new and adventurous musicians? Or even
    the acid jazz and swing movements, which have re-popularized jazz-based
    music for a new audience?

    If I were a novice to jazz, I'm pretty sure the message I would've gotten
    from this series was that jazz became too "difficult" for the average
    listener and thus crawled up its own asshole and died many years ago. It is
    this same kind of reasoning that explains why you don't hear Stockhausen or
    John Cage on "classical" radio stations.

    As much as I admire Ken Burns' dedication in producing this history of jazz,
    I honestly DO think he did the music a terrible disservice by not portraying
    it as a living, vibrant art form. :-(

    Grrr!

    _____________________
    Mark Turner
    nugroove@pacbell.net
    www.jazzadelica.com
    _____________________



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