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Posted By: JimB

Barry,
I agree that it was a hugely ambitious project and I am glad he did it. And what he did cover, he did brilliantly. It was mostly what he omitted that bothered me. Perhaps this was meant to be an introduction to jazz for most Americans and dwelling too much on the avant-garde would turn people away. It's just that I think those are some of the most important contributions to the canon of American music and should not be ignored, especially in a documentary on jazz.

I understand what you are saying when you say that jazz had passed its heyday by 1970, but there has been some amazing jazz since that time. I wonder if that general perception that -jazz is over- is so prevalent because mainline discussions of it always end there. What about Anthony Braxton or David S. Ware or any of a number of others?

JimB