For those who missed episodes this week, they are airing the first three (or 4, not sure)parts again on Sat. Jan 13. I missed the first one as well, but last night's was excellent!

My first posting!!

I saw the second part, too - missed the first. I thought it's a good record of the history and some of the personalities of Jazz with some great old photos. It's focus is a lot more on the sociological/cultural phenomona of jazz than on the music it self, though there are some good clips.
TIm

I've watched the first three episodes, and it really does focus on the historical/sociological side of jazz. Not too much music development theory in there. One of the downsides is that all the music was recorded long ago and is really tinny. It makes it hard to understand the "genius" of these guys which all the commentators talk about. Also i bet the music would have been increadible live, un restrained by a recording setup. I'm just looking foward to when it moves on to the later years.

Peace

I saw the 1st episode on Monday night, and will have the VCR set to tape the first 3 that will run in succession on Saturday.

Last Sunday, in the NY Times, there was a long article about it with a lot of different opinions. The general consensus is that it is not comprehensive nor was it ever intended to be, and that its main focus is on the historical significance of the genre. As a result, there is very little coverage after 1960 because this time period was not deemed to be 'historical' enough (i.e. it's occurred too recently to be considered 'history'). Ken Burns also designed it to appeal to the layman, and not the musician. Consequently, all the historians, sociologists, and critics love it, and all the musicians find it lacking (i.e. 'How could you leave out Phineas Newborn???').

Personally, I was initially very dismayed when I learned that Wynton Marsalis was a primary figure throughout the series because I have always thought of him as being too traditional and conversative to be a good embellisher of the points to be made. However, after seeing part 1, I realize that he is definitely the best man for the job, and the actual musical examples he plays that show the transformation of different musical elements from the different sub-genres of jazz to be immensely valuable...

Just my 2 cents...

I didn't watch any of the series. Not only am I a struggling jazz musicain/wanna be but I'm also a baseball fanatic as well as a civil buff. I watched Burn's documentaries on those two subjects and I'm of the opinion that these series are really nothing one can't get out of a high school history textbook. Then again, I'm sure he's not catering to the advanced person but more to the beginner so I'm sure it has its worth it that perspective. Just my 3cents
FB

For me, it's actually been pretty good, because my knowledge of jazz before Bird is shaky at best. I knew some about Sidney Bechet, Fletcher Henderson, et al, but this documentary is pretty good at giving a sense of many of the different figures of that era, what their contributions were, and what their life was like.

In a way, the timeframe totally complements my current knowledge because I know a fair amount of the lineage after the 50's, but not much before...

I watched the first three installments and was p---ed when I found out I have to wait 'til Monday to see part 4! I think this is an excellent series for anyone interested in jazz, music in general, or history.

My biggest problem with it is the whole Ken Burns style. It's become a cliche. (and a pretty soporific one at that) It also tends to become redundant. (I've heard at least one story twice, and if I'd been paying close attention I probably could have caught more)

On the other hand it's good to hear about the earliest history of the form, so I'll continue with it for at least a bit longer.

Watched all three episodes this week and will be sitting in front of the tube for #4 on Monday. I like the series, but am waiting for the Jazz guitar episode, I think Django Reinhardt is to be covered in one of the future episodes?

just saw episode 4, which was good. the part that annoys me about the series so far is that is skips back and forth chronologically. it's been educational, especially for me, a young musician who wants to know more about the roots of the music i play. my dad got me the book that goes along with the series, which i have just started to delve into. hopefully wednesday will bring some more interesting facts.