I don't know if any of you watched Jazz, or if you decided to boycott PBS for the duration of January. I've been prowling around for alternate points of view, and I found some interesting ones at www.birdlives.com. This is a site run by a former colleague of mine who also happens to be a jazz journalist of two or three decades' standing. He calls himself the Pariah when writing and editing Bird Lives, because his opinions have done some damage to his connections in the jazz world.
Anyway, there's an article on Bird Lives right now that provides a nice antidote to all things Jazz: "J'Accuse Burns and Marsalis" by Michael Zilber. Give it a look, if jazz interests you at all, or if you happened to have swallowed the documentary. Zilber is articulate, even if he hasn't yet learned how to set his words down on paper to best effect. (He could use some editing too, Mr. Pariah, if you happen to be reading.)
But still, Zilber's drift comes across pretty well, and I recommend his article. But if you can't be bothered, attend to this snippet of email from my friend Andrew, who runs www.jazzhouston.com and played jazz piano for a living for nine years:
The sentiments reflected in [Zilber's] article summarize my take on the series and reflects the views of many on my site too. Most jazz musicians recognize JAZZ as a well-orchestrated Wynton Marsalis puppet show. He was scorned by his hero Miles Davis in the mid-80's and has since turned his back on him, along with the whole post-60's jazz movement. Is it any coincidence that the show reflects Miles in a poor light, dismisses music made after 1959 and lionizes Louis Armstrong to the point of the absurd? And isn't it interesting that Wynton was virtually the only musician interviewed? Too bad, JAZZ is going to be regarded as fact by most long after its opponents are dead. Oh well, at least the music speaks for itself.
And of course, if you haven't received the Jazz parody in email, check that out too.
