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Customer Reviews of Jazz - A Film by Ken Burns

A slanted, one-dimensional view on a complex subject
The Ken Burns Jazz series attempts to compile the entire history of jazz and the world surrounding it into ten two-hour films. You have to give them credit for trying, but the series has some serious flaws and presents a view on jazz history that many, including myself, would consider inadequate or just plain wrong. Biased views are presented as fact (such as the comment that Miles Davis' electric period was not innovative and that he was "playing tennis without a net"). Also, much time is wasted on commentators who seem to have nothing interesting to say, and who present their opinions on the music and their musings on the musicians, most of which are entirely speculative and out of place. PLUS they try to cram everything after '61 into one film, while any jazz fan knows that a whole lot was happening to the music during and after that time. They spent three films on swing; couldn't they have given some of that time to the 60's and 70's? <
>All that being said, these films are informative in some parts and contain some AMAZING footage. Worth seeing, but be wary: this is just one way to look at jazz, and not a great one in my opinion.

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Long and often interesting but finally a disappointment
Jazz is music. This documentary only occasionally notices the music. It focuses on people who were important to it, on racism, on the hardships of being a musician, on the historical progression of jazz musicians, but it seems like the music gets lost. It is as if one were to write a biography of Lincoln by studying the clothes he wore or the food he ate. The substance is just not there. There is also a sense that Burns is using the musicians to tell the story he wants to tell so that someone watching this will know that Stan Getz used drugs and little else about him, that Bill Evans was booed for being a white man in Miles Davis' group but not anything about his piano style or how it connects with other styles or how these styles evolve or vanished or blossomed into something entirely new. That is frankly because this is not a documentary about jazz. I am not sure really what it is about. Even as a history of the musicians, I doubt few could say that anyone watching this film in its entirety would be conversant on the subject. It is a really sad misfire. There is plenty of good stuff buried in here but I think it would take someone less focused on having social consequence and more focused on the enigma of music to make a film like this work. If jazz is the question, this film has not found the answer.

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There is more to Jazz than just on Bourbon Street
After 7 years of stalling, with the help of a coupon, I finally completed the Burns' boys cycle by buying this set for myself for my birthday. I had only watched it in spurts previously, but after watching 1/2 of Episode 1 uninterrupted last night, I had to ask myself, "Pregosin, What the hell took you so long?" In that half hour alone I learned more about the New Orleans atmosphere of the late 19th early 20th century that I never knew before. And now with Louisiana still in recovery from the scars of hurricanes in 2005, it's important to know about that city's history as well as the music that was born there. This epic of our man Ken tells both stories at once and well worth the view for anyone (but especially those who like his work in general). Gerald Early was right back in Episode 1 of Baseball when he said that in 2000 years when the American civilization is studied in detail 3 things will standout; The Constitution, Baseball and Jazz. Although I think Kenny might have grinned if instead of the Constitution, Jerry would have said The Civil War. I'm glad I finally bought it, and am looking forward to buying his new work coming this fall on World War II (even if it hits the shelves before the telecast).:-)