The Real Ken Burns Jazz Story

[Throatsinger]

PRESENTING KEN BURNS 144-hour EXTREMELY IMPORTANT DOCUMENTARY "JAZZ."

 

Fade up on a grainy old photograph of a man in a three-piece suit, holding a cornet. Or a bicycle horn, it's hard to tell.

 

Narrator: Skunkbucket LeFunke was born in 1876 and died in 1901. No one who heard him is alive today. The grandchildren of the people who heard him are not alive today. The great-grandchildren of the people who heard him are not alive today. He was never recorded.

 

Wynton Marsalis: I'll tell you what Skunkbucket LeFunke sounded

like.

 

He had this big rippling sound, and he always phrased off the beat,

and

he slurred his notes. And when the Creole bands were still playing

De-bah-de-bah-ta-da-tah, he was already playing Bo-dap-da-lete-do-do-do-bah! He was just like gumbo, ahead of his time.

 

Announcer: LeFunke was a cornet player, gambler, card shark, pool

hustler, pimp, male prostitute, Kelly Girl, computer programmer,

brain surgeon and he invented the internet.

 

Stanley Crouch: When people listened to Skunkbucket LeFunke, they

heard Do-do-dee-bwap-da-dee-dee-de-da-da-doop-doop-dap. And they knew even then how deeply profound that was.

 

Announcer: It didn't take LeFunke long to advance the art of jazz

past its humble beginnings in New Orleans whoredom with the addition of a bold and sassy beat.

 

Wynton: Let me tell you about the Big Four. Before the Big Four,

jazz drumming sounded like BOOM-chick-BOOM-chick-BOOM-chick. But now they had the Big Four, which was so powerful some said it felt like a Six. A few visiting musicians even swore they were in an Eight.

 

Stanley: It was smooth and responsive, and there was no knocking and

pinging, even on 87 octane.

 

Wynton: Even on gumbo.

 

Announcer: When any musician in the world heard Louis Armstrong for

the first time, they gnawed their arm off with envy, then said the

angels probably wanted to sound like Louis. When you consider a bunch of angels talking in gruff voices and singing "Hello Dolly," you

realize what a stupid aspiration that is.

 

Gary Giddy: Louis changed jazz because he was the only cat going

Do-da-dep-do-wah-be-be, while everyone else was doing

Do-de-dap-dit-dit-dee.

 

Stanley: And that was very profound.

 

Marsalis: Like gumbo.

 

Stanley: Uh-huh.

 

Matt Glaser: I always have this fantasy that when Louis performed in

Belgium, Heisenberg was in the audience and he was blown away and

that's where he got the idea for his Uncertainty Principle.

 

Marsalis: Because the Uncertainty Principle, applied to jazz, means

you never know if a cat is going to go Dap-da-de-do-ba-ta-bah or

Dap-da-de-do-bip-de-beep.

 

Wynton: Louis was the first one to realize that.

 

Stanley: And that can be very profound.

 

Stanley: I thought it was a box of chocolates...

 

Announcer: The Savoy Ballroom brought people of all races colors and

political persuasions together to get sweaty as Europe moved closer

and closer to the brink of World War II.

 

Savoy Dancer: We didn't care what color you were at the Savoy. We

only cared if you were wearing deodorant.

 

Stanley: Wynton always wears deodorant.

 

Glaser: I'll bet Arthur Murray was on the dance floor and he was

thinking about Louis and that's where he got the idea to open a

bunch of dance schools.

 

Stanley: And that was very profound.

 

Giddy: Let's talk about Louis some more. We've wasted three minutes

of this 57-part documentary not talking about Louis.

 

Wynton: He was an angel, a genius, much better than Cats.

 

Stanley: He invented the word "Cats."

 

Wynton: He invented swing, he invented jazz, he invented the

telephone, the automobile and the polio vaccine.

 

Stanley: And the internet.

 

Wynton: Very profound.

 

Announcer: Louis Armstrong turned commercial in the 1930s and didn't

make any more breakthrough contributions to jazz. But it's not PC to

point that out, so we'll be showing him in every segment of this

series to come, even if he's just doing the same things as the last time

you saw him.

 

 

Glaser: I'll bet Chuck Yeager was in the audience when Louis was

hitting those high Cs at the Earle Theater in Philadelphia, and that's what made him decide to break the sound barrier.

 

Stanley: And from there go to Pluto.

 

Wynton: I'm going to make some gumbo-

 

Stanley: BOOM-chick-BOOM-chick-BOOM-chick...

 

Giddy: Do-yap-do-wee-bah-scoot-scoot-dap-dap...That's what all the

cats were saying back then.

 

Announcer: In 1964, John Coltrane was at his peak, Eric Dolphy was

in Europe, where he would eventually die, the Modern Jazz Quartet was

making breakthrough recordings in the field of Third Stream Music, Miles

Davis was breaking new barrier with his second great quintet, and

Charlie Mingus was extending jazz composition to new levels of

complexity. But we're going to talk about Louis singing "Hello Dolly" instead.

 

Stanley: Louis went, Ba-ba-yaba-do-do-dee-da-bebin-doo-wap-deet-deet-do-da-da.

 

Wynton: Sweets went,

Scoop-doop-shalaba-yaba-mokey-hokey-bwap-bwap-tee-tee-dee.

 

Giddy: I go, Da-da-shoobie-doobie-det-det-det-bap-bap-baaaaa...

 

Announcer: The rest of the history of jazz will be shown in fast

forward and will occupy exactly seven seconds. --There, that was it. Now here

are some scenes from Ken Burns' next documentary, a 97-part epic about the Empire State Building, titled "The Empire State Building."

 

"It is tall and majestic. It is America's building. It is the Empire

State Building. Dozens of workers gave their lives in the construction

of this building."

 

Matt Glaser: I'll bet that they were thinking of Louis as they were

falling to their deaths. I have this fantasy that his high notes

inspired the immenseness of the Empire State Building.

 

Wynton Marsalis: I'll bet most people who'd fall off the Empire

State Building would go "Aaaaaahhhh!" But these cats went

"Dee-dee-daba-da-da-bop-bop-de-dop-shewap-splat!"

 

"That's next time on PBS."

 

NOTE: No, I didn't write it, and didn't mean to give anyone that impression. It was emailed to me with no additional info. If John Grabowsky wrote it then a big kudos to him!

 

Heh,

 

Steve Sklar/Big Sky

mp3.com/bigsky

 

This message has been edited by Steve Sklar on 02-05-2001 at 10:38 AM

[Salyphus]

I saw the final episode (10) of the 'Jazz' series the other night, and thought it was an absolute travesty http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/frown.gif

 

I have a rant that I can go into when I have more time (bet you all are really looking forward to that http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/wink.gif) but I will say that I think Burns and his cronies have done a grave injustice to the art and to the viewers.

[Lee Flier]

Uhhh.... whatever.

 

Steve, that was funny!

 

But I don't know that I really thought the documentary was that bad. Certainly I think it turned some people on to jazz who weren't into it before, so that's good. And there was some cool historical information that I didn't know.

 

And I dug Wynton Marsalis' commentary, even if some of the other guys' was lame.

 

Some people just take jazz too seriously, that's all. Including, no doubt, some of the people who watched the documentary.

[John Worthington]

I took the documentary for what it was. One person's take on Jazz. I can tell you it sparked some fierce debate here in New Orleans.

 

There's a great documentary done by the local PBS station called "Satchmo in New Orleans" from 1990. It was interesting to watch because they used a lot of the same photographs and film clips.

 

In the end, it's one person's take on Jazz. Some of it I agree with and some of it is just wrong (IMHO). Either way, why should we expect Ken Burns to please everyone with his take on Jazz. Put 3 musicologists in a room and you'll get at least 14 different opinions. Given that Miles and Dizzy couldn't agree on what Jazz is means everyone's entitled to their opinion.

 

Great parody Steve.

 

jw

[vononoffon.com]

This wasn't Ken Burns' Jazz. He admits in the early episodes that he knows nothing of jazz. Wynton says when they met, during the Baseball documentary, he suggested to Ken that he should do one of these on jazz.

 

This was Wynton Marsalis' Jazz.

 

He really slapped the west coast jazz community in the face. My dad played with everyone on that show but Duke Ellington. Yet even when his path crossed theirs, he never got even an honorable mention.

 

I will be writing Mr. Burns personally.

 

Von Babasin

[Salyphus]

Von, you are correct and it is a shame about your dad not being mentioned, but he is in excellent company. Many of the most prominent figures in Jazz were completely ignored.

 

Unfortunately this is being presented as historical fact; no disclaimers are offered whatsoever. And as we can see even here among musicians, many people don't know the difference, which is a shame.

 

By the way, the excellent parody at the start of this thread was written by John Grabowsky, though props go to Steve for posting it. Check it out in original form here:

 

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/kenburnsjazz.htm

 

You may find some other articles of interest there as well.

 

Sal

 

Sam Rivers; Pat Metheny; Sun Ra; Roy Haynes; Michael Brecker; John Mclaughlin; Eric Dolphy; Jim Hall; Jan Garbarek; Rahsaan Roland Kirk; Dave Holland; Andrew Hill; Oliver Nelson; Booker Little; Jaco Pastorius; Yusef Lateef

[Lee Flier]

Yeah, I thought it was a shame that some of the guys you listed weren't mentioned. I also personally would have liked to have heard more of Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa; I thought their careers were kind of glossed over and their talents not given their due. BUT.. it is inevitable with a project like that, that a lot of deserving people wouldn't get mentioned. And probably just as inevitable that an undue amount of emphasis would be placed on people that you or I might not necessarily think deserved that much focus.

 

There's almost no way to win with something like that. It's kinda like when VH-1 just did their "Best 100 Rock albums of all time" or whatever the hell it was. So many people were so outraged that this or that album was left off, or that this or that album didn't deserve to be there and/or wasn't even rock. No matter what, you can't win, and a whole lot of people are going to bitch. But like John said, it's only one person's take. Yours or mine would've been different and somebody ELSE would be bitching. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif I enjoyed the series not so much because of who was or wasn't mentioned but the historical and social context mostly. It wasn't perfect, but I guess I didn't expect it to be.

[sbrock1san.rr.com]

I imagine this was brought up because of the thread where I recommended this documentary.

 

Yes, I did recommend it because it did spark my interest in jazz. I am not knowledgable in the subject and I found it a good introduction and overview of the subject. It would probably take Ken Burns years to fully present the history of an art form that has lasted for some 80 odd years.

 

There were glaring ommisions and he should be held accountable for that, but if he mentioned everyone important in the history of jazz the average viewer might become overwhelmed.

 

Most baseball fans I know thought he did a superb documentary on that subject. I might guess that he is a bigger sports fan than music fan but who knows.

[John Worthington]

Originally posted by SteveRB:

Most baseball fans I know thought he did a superb documentary on that subject. I might guess that he is a bigger sports fan than music fan but who knows.

 

At the risk of pissing off the baseball fans in the crowd, I think baseball is an easier subject.

 

Jazz isn't just one thing, that's what makes it interesting. Trad. Jazz, Dixieland, Swing, BeBop, Latin, West Coast, Modern, Free, Fusion... It's hard to make a single thread connect the dots.

 

You start someplace else, you get a completely diffent story. Some of the same players, but a different story and a different end.

 

Since his name's on it, I assumed that it was going to be Jazz filtered through his editorial bias.

 

For what it's worth, there's been an upswing in sales of Jazz albums, so maybe it's turning people on to the artform.

 

There's an old saying here in New Orleans... "It's all good"

 

jw

[BP3]

Perhaps this should be an open ended series. Just add new episodes in an attempt to be more comprehensive. He did ignore the past 40 years to a great extent. Maybe he should use Herbie Hancock or someone similar whose view of Jazz isn't as narrow as Wynton's. Much of what I consider to be excellent Jazz was recorded during my lifetime.

[Tedster]

Steve Sklar...

 

You oughta send that post to Dave Barry at the Miami Herald. You've out-Daved Dave...hehehehehahahahahahah ROFLSHINPMP (roll on floor laughing so hard I nearly pissed my pants)

[Lee Flier]

Tedster: it IS hilarious, but Steve didn't write it. Steve, maybe you oughta edit that message and give due credit to the author.

 

TinderArts: Most of my favorite jazz is from the 20's, 30's and 40's, so that probably explains why I liked the series more than a lot of folks who prefer modern jazz.

 

SteveRB: I love baseball, and Burns' baseball series was indeed awesome. Definitely his best work to date.

 

--Lee

[Chip McDonald]

Originally posted by Steve Sklar:

Stanley: And that was very profound.

Marsalis: Like gumbo.

 

That's funny, Marsalis does have certain, as Branford would say, colloquialisms that he tends to fall back on a good bit...

 

That's was the Wynton's Perspective on the History of Jazz. Everyone knows it, it shouldn't be a big deal.

 

I would much rather have that on television A LOT - as it has been shown - than to have *nothing* about jazz on television at all. So I'm not going to complain about it.

 

In fact - I've heard more people talking about that show than anything else recently. For better or worse, Wynton has a way of coming across that makes jazz "cool" - even to people that don't have a clue intellectually as to what is going on in the music. Which is just as well to me - I'd prefer people talking out their rear about jazz instead of some mediocre trend-bot band.

 

Wynton is the Yngwie Malmsteen of jazz. Having said that, at least Yngwie has added something new to his religion of baroque music... Wynton is content with letting the form wallow in the past. Personally, I'm sick of hearing people divided into the category of "those who can swing" and those who can't. If all there is to jazz is a dotted 8 ride pattern, that's as inane as any other form of music...

 

Wynton kills on his instrument, though; if anyone gets a chance to hear him live, do it - and stick around for the encore, because that's when he puts the "I'm being mature and tasteful" pretense down and goes into shred mode. Great stuff...

 

http://www.mp3.com/chipmcdonald

[Salyphus]

ROTFL! By calling Wynton the 'Yngwie' of Jazz you have skewered him much more severely than I could ever have hoped to! Intentionally or not...

[Salyphus]

Actually, on further reflection, as irritated as I am with Wytnon and his cronies, I still don't think he deserves to be compered with Yngwie... C'mon, that's downright vicious!

[BP3]

Originally posted by Lee Flier:

TinderArts: Most of my favorite jazz is from the 20's, 30's and 40's, so that probably explains why I liked the series more than a lot of folks who prefer modern jazz.

 

I've a great appreciation for the history of jazz. I agree that the teens through the fifties was full of groundbreaking music, classics that will never be duplicated. The last 40 years has many artists that will be considered just as innovative and those from before 1960.

 

I only caught the last 2 episodes of the series, and wish I saw the whole thing. I work on occasion for BET on Jazz, and they've been doing a good job of presenting a diverse collection of new and old material. They've aquired the old 'Nat King Cole Show', 'Night Music', 'Live at the Knitting Factory' plus many specials from the fifties and sixties and have many original shows. Not everything that's aired is what I'd call jazz, but it would be boring if they only aired what I like. There's a good bit of music that's high quality (Herbie Hancock, Kenny Garrett, Pat Martino, Andrew Hill, BB King, etc.) Sorry for the plug http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif, but for those who don't know, there is a jazz channel.

[Lee Flier]

Originally posted by TinderArts:

I've a great appreciation for the history of jazz. I agree that the teens through the fifties was full of groundbreaking music, classics that will never be duplicated. The last 40 years has many artists that will be considered just as innovative and those from before 1960.

 

Oh, no question there has still been a lot of innovation. However I don't necessarily equate the words "innovative" and "good" - not even with jazz. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif I don't think the older jazz was inherently better by some divine standard, I just happen to personally like it better.

 

I work on occasion for BET on Jazz, and they've been doing a good job of presenting a diverse collection of new and old material.

 

Yes they have! I've seen quite a lot of good stuff on there and very much appreciate what they are doing!

[Chip McDonald]

Originally posted by Sal Orlando:

be compered with Yngwie... C'mon, that's downright vicious!

 

No, look at how both originally functioned within their respective idioms when they came on the scene.

 

Young upstarts who were both derided for playing too fast and too many notes. Both kind of stuck on a musical era of the past. Both willing and outspoken to be derisive of any music that doesn't meet their criteria as "good".

 

However, I'll give Wynton points for never wearing spandex and a fluffy shirt to Art Blakey's stand...

 

http://www.mp3.com/chipmcdonald

[Chip McDonald]

Originally posted by TinderArts:

series, and wish I saw the whole thing. I work on occasion for BET on Jazz, and they've been doing a good job of presenting a diverse collection of new and old

 

Yeah, BET does do a good job at it - they're willing to show "fusion" acts, although it seems recently just the "smooth" variety...

 

Does Frisell or Holdsworth have a chance of ever being on that show?

 

http://www.mp3.com/chipmcdonald

[Throatsinger]

No, I didn't write it, and didn't mean to give anyone that impression. It was emailed to me with no additional info. If John Grabowsky wrote it then a big kudos to him!

 

Seriously, though flawed the series was not all bad, at least the bits that I saw. Anything with footage of Tatum, Mingus, or Trane playing "A Love Supreme" ain't all bad! Shoulda been more interviews with actual participants that are still alive, rather than Wynton (old man in a ayoung body?) and more everybody except Louis and the Duke would improved it greatly, IMO.

 

Steve

[Ex]

Great satire. I thought the Ken Burns program was great. I loved every minute of it. Sure there were some people left out, but there will always be someone left out. For what it was worth, I thought it was a great effort on a perspective on jazz. I met and hung out with Wynton Marsalis a few years back. Knowing him personally leads me to believe that he would find that satire extremely funny. Despite his TV persona, he really doesn't take himself that seriously. He would probably find it funny (my guess, off course).

 

Rev E

[vononoffon.com]

I understand and appreciate what Mr. Burns was trying to do. And I love the fact that jazz seems to be getting more attention now as a result. But I have a different view than most people. I was just a kid in the sixties when I used to hang out with my dad at Drum City in Hollywood and see guys like Buddy Collette and Herb Ellis and LeRoy Vinnegar and Jimmy Wyble and Joe Pass, etc. when they'd stop by to record, jam, or just to see Harry and Roy. Music just flowed from these guys, it was second nature to them.

 

But, the general public looks to Ken Burns as being an authority on whatever he does - the guy that does it right. So their perception is that this documentary is what jazz was all about - period.

 

The most ironic quote, to me, came from Abbey Lincoln - final episode:

 

"There are some people in the industry who would like to manipulate it

and they want to take credit and say that we didn't do it. They'll steal

your ancestors here if you let them."

 

But, in Ken Burns' 'Jazz', Harry's identity was stolen. In fact, the

entire west coast jazz movement was discounted, embodied in this series

almost entirely by Dave Brubeck and Ornette Coleman.

 

It's funny how history chooses who to remember and who NOT to remember.

Harry 'Sweets' Edison, Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson, Stan Kenton, Buddy Collette, Herb Ellis, Bill Douglas, Jimmy Wyble, LeRoy Vinnegar, Chet Baker, Boyd Raeburn, Buddy Rich, Charlie Barnet, Gene Krupa, Joe Pass, Tal Farlow, Bud Shank, Roy Harte, Shorty Rogers, Shelley Manne, Barney Kessel, Laurindo Almeida, Howard Roberts, Bobby Troup, Julie London, Bud Shank, Bob Harrington, John Banister, Wardell Gray, Larry Bunker, Jimmy Giuffre, Steve White, and the list goes on and on...

 

These are my ancestors - my legacy - and while a few of these names were mentioned, and weren't all from the west coast, they were for the most part, ignored.

 

My dad died in 1988 at the age of 67, nearly penniless in Pacoima. The only mention of his passing was a small obituary in the Musician's Union paper by his good friend, drummer Bill Douglas. My mom, now 72, a chronic emphysemic living on social security, was crushed by Harry's exclusion. She can't understand how such an amazingly talented man could be so easily forgotten.

 

Okay - enough out of me. If I ever manage to raise the funds to tell the west coast story - I will. I have over 500 hours of recordings with all the west coast guys, with photos and documentation.

 

Later...

 

Von Babasin

[BP3]

Originally posted by Chip McDonald:

 

Does Frisell or Holdsworth have a chance of ever being on that show?

 

 

I've asked Allan and John Pegler about it when I was out a NAMM. There's a possibility. He also talked of a new project w/ Pat Metheny & John McLaughlin. I hope it comes through. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

 

 

 

This message has been edited by TinderArts on 02-05-2001 at 12:40 PM

[Marvster]

Wynton Marsalis Comes Out Swinging Downtown

 

Polemical trumpeter puts music where mouth is during first Knitting Factory gig.

 

NEW YORK -- Boom, boom, boom.

 

Those painful sounds heard by jazz fans over the last several weeks have been Wynton Marsalis taking it on the chin from his critics. As Senior Creative Consultant for Ken Burns' much-ballyhooed PBS documentary "Jazz," the trumpeter is said to have foisted a skewed history upon the admittedly naive filmmaker. The prevailing notion is that the music's radicals (mostly modernists but some historical figures, too) have been shown the door -- like a Birdland bouncer dispensing an unruly patron.

 

More....

 

http://www.sonicnet.com/news/story.jhtml?genreNameForDisplay=Jazz&genreDirectoryName=jazz&id=1439054

[Guest]

I'm so glad this series was considered controversial. My fear was that it would be safe, boring and no one would care about it. Instead, many people are talking, thinking and arguing about it like they really care. It's become a general topic of popular discussion in America (for a week or two anyway). Maybe it will bring few more new listeners and help jazz music sales a little. I'm all for it.

[Graham English]

LOL http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

[tonemonkeyyahoo.com]

Just an observation from a baseball fan...

 

Burns did the same thing with baseball... the '70s thru the '90s was covered in one episode.