# Ken Burns Jazz-worth watching? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 18, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-jazz-worth-watching/434070 "2008-01-18T19:45:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-jazz-worth-watching/434070/1 "2008-01-18T19:45:46Z")
I’m thinking of adding Ken Burns’ Jazz documentary to my Netflix queue. I’ve seen \*Baseball \* 3 times now and also enjoyed _The Civil War_. Seems to have gotten quite mixed reviews. What are your opinions? ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-jazz-worth-watching/434070/2 "2008-01-18T20:16:30Z")
Like _Baseball_, some thought it gave short shrift to more recent jazz artists, and it has a **lot** of Wynton Marsalis (similar to Shelby Foote’s role in _The Civil War_), but overall I found it worth while. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-jazz-worth-watching/434070/3 "2008-01-18T20:20:04Z")
Personally, I really enjoyed it but it definitely has its weaknesses. It can be a very illuminating history of Jazz but it gives short shrift to a lot of musicians and, IMHO, underplays the importance of Jewish and classical music in contributing to the artform. It also over-relies on the life of Louis Armstrong as a narrative device to give the documentary an over-arching story arc. Armstrong, no doubt, is a towering giant, but, honestly, there were periods when he just wasn’t that relevant or influential but we’re still breathlessly informed of his families very first Christmas tree. Also, Stanley Crouch, who can be a huge asshole, is a major contributor to the so the documentary tends to reflect his opinions and biases. Finally, it pretty much writes off most of the music after the 1970s. I agree that alot of post-70s jazz has been abysmal, but there are pockets of brilliance that could have been addressed like the avant-garde New York underground and the Knitting Factory scene of the 80s and 90s. That said, it’s still well worth watching as an entertaining but flawed history of the origins and golden-era of jazz. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-jazz-worth-watching/434070/4 "2008-01-18T20:24:27Z")
Ken Burns is an idiot. Someone should send him a copy of the BBC’s _History of World War II_ to show him how a documentary series is done. And a gift certificate to Supercuts. But I haven’t seen his baseball series, so I have nothing substantive to add. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-jazz-worth-watching/434070/5 "2008-01-18T20:40:34Z")
[QUOTE=Hodge] Personally, I really enjoyed it but it definitely has its weaknesses. It can be a very illuminating history of Jazz but it gives short shrift to a lot of musicians and, IMHO, underplays the importance of Jewish and classical music in contributing to the artform. It also over-relies on the life of Louis Armstrong as a narrative device to give the documentary an over-arching story arc. Armstrong, no doubt, is a towering giant, but, honestly, there were periods when he just wasn’t that relevant or influential but we’re still breathlessly informed of his families very first Christmas tree. Also, Stanley Crouch, who can be a huge asshole, is a major contributor to the so the documentary tends to reflect his opinions and biases. Finally, it pretty much writes off most of the music after the 1970s. I agree that alot of post-70s jazz has been abysmal, but there are pockets of brilliance that could have been addressed like the avant-garde New York underground and the Knitting Factory scene of the 80s and 90s. That said, it’s still well worth watching as an entertaining but flawed history of the origins and golden-era of jazz. [/QUOTE] +1 - it would be a shame for this to be a person’s sole source of jazz history, but if a person brings some of their own knowledge to it, it can add insights… ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-jazz-worth-watching/434070/6 "2008-01-18T20:43:35Z")
If you’d like to buy the series on VHS, I can make you a good deal. Only one tape watched, the others still in plastic… ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-jazz-worth-watching/434070/7 "2008-01-18T20:44:39Z")
It’s entertaining for people who know nothing about jazz–like people such a myself.