What is it about Ken Burns?

[Jake deVilliers]

Originally Posted by fdeck

Television ended in 2002.

[TomSauter]

Originally Posted by Sam Sherry

WHY are we talking about something that was on television in 2002?

No argument here.


The first name which came to mind is Herbert J. Hancock.
Theodore W. Rollins.
Elvin Jones.
Alice Coltrane -- student of Bud Powell, among other things.
Chick, as you note.

Billy Taylor? Can you name two Billy Taylor records? Does Billy Taylor convey the image of contemporary, vital jazz music?

I cannot name a single Billy Taylor record, and I think he's a terrible player. But I said someone that the casual viewer might have heard of, and he's promoted jazz fairly visibly for the last million years on tv and radio. Herbie would be a good choice, but my momma has never heard of Elvin Jones, Sonny Rollins, or Alice Coltrane, and neither has any other non-musician

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by Sam Sherry

WHY are we talking about something that was on television in 2002?

I noticed this week that the DVD boxed set of this was being advertised in UK newspapers as the "definitive history of Jazz" ....

The first name which came to mind is Herbert J. Hancock.
Theodore W. Rollins.
Elvin Jones.
Alice Coltrane -- student of Bud Powell, among other things.
Chick, as you note.

Billy Taylor? Can you name two Billy Taylor records? Does Billy Taylor convey the image of contemporary, vital jazz music?

I would have added Wayne Shorter as somebody who has "done it all" - from Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Miles 2nd great Quintet and electric period, through Weather Report to his own current quartet...?

[Big B.]

I think this article sheds some light on the situation.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/exh...to-stop,18181/

I think this article makes a convincing argument that Mr. Burns needed jazz to die for his own personal health.

[Bruce Lindfield]

Yes - you could change this to :


"I can't do this anymore," Burns said. "The more Jazz that is played, the more I have to document. But it's futile. The documentary will never end, because in order for it to end, Jazz itself would have to end.

"Please—if not for my sake, then for the sake of my wife and children, please stop," Burns continued. "If you don't, I will die knowing that Jazz has kept going, and that the thing I'm most famous for will be remembered as an incomplete failure."

According to Burns, as long as Jazz is played, he will always feel a perpetual compulsion to film storylines that not only reflect the state of the Art, but also make a broader point about society itself.....etc etc.