Jazz - A Film by Ken Burns
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Actor: Charles J. Correll, Edward R. Murrow, Freeman F. Gosden, Keith David, Richard NixonEditor: Tricia Reidy
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Black & White, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: Academy Ratio, 1.33:1
Running Time: 1140 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-01-02
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Pbs Home Video
DVD Reviews of Jazz - A Film by Ken Burns
DVD Review: The Greatest Knowledge in Jazz
Summary: 5 Stars
We are so proud to own these DVDs. We have been long time lovers a Jazz. The best is here for the younger generations to learn appreciation for good music. I personally am a gospel musician and love gospel, jazz and the oldies and goodies. This is true music. DVD Review: Good history, but too much Armstrong for me.
Summary: 4 Stars
Although I have seen parts of this series over the years, I watched it front to back recently. I enjoyed the history of jazz beginnings and the photos and film clips throughout were top notch. I listen to a lot of jazz, and have read a fair bit about it, but I can't really authoritatively critique the finer points of where the facts may be wrong, as some other reviewers are able to. My favorite period is the Be-Bop era, and Jazz devotes a good amount of time to that era, as well as the future offshoots. For the most part, I liked the commentary, although over the course of 19 hours, I thought that I saw too much of some people. Which leads to...in my opinion the amount of time devoted to Louis Armstrong was excessive. OK, I am a heretic, whatever, and I realize Louis' genius, place in jazz, his charisma, his talent and longevity. That being said, every episode has a segment devoted to him. I understand the early years, but the last couple episodes actually had me thinking, "not more Louis". In the episodes on the fifties and sixties, while it does spend time on Miles and Coltrane, there are so many others to spend time on. There was too much time on the "Hello Dolly" single. I am not a big fan of fusion, but in the last episode, the film goes from Miles electric period right into, more Armstrong. Then a clip of him singing, to a concert clip of him doing the same song. Then an extended segment on his funeral. Then near the end of the show was a concert clip of "Dinah", which is a repeat of an earlier episode. I guess with the input from the commentators, it isn't a surprise, but it was a times not "Jazz", but "Armstrong and the rest." My apologies, but I thought is was too much. It was good enough, though, that it deserves a four star.DVD Review: AMAGIN!
Summary: 5 Stars
Its the best document about jazz, carefuly documented over all it's genres. If you love jazz you should own it.DVD Review: Entertaining & Interesting, But Not Fully Encompassing Of Jazz!!
Summary: 4 Stars
I enjoyed this 10 volume documentary by the legendary director/producer
Ken Burns, but my only point of contention is that it isn't all emcompassing
and completely ignores some pivotal figures & eras in jazz while bearly
scanning over others. Of course I do understand the editing process as well
as the huge costs for bringing in more interview subjects and all of the legal
and logistical nightmares of putting something like this together, so I'm not
going to be too harsh in my assessment of Mr. Burns' overall product.
It is still very entertaining and interesting, the subjects he does cover,
the accompanying music of classic jazz fare of the 20's, 30's, 40's
and up to the early 70's. Too bad he didn't include a more in depth analysis of
the 70's jazz fusion movement other than Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew"...would've been nice
if Roy Ayers Ubiquity, Lonnie Liston Smith, Spyro Gyra, Return To Forever, George Duke,
Norman Connors and others who were prominent in the mid 70's to early 80's had got some face time.
As for singers, Sarah Vaughn was only touched on, Dinah Washington was ignored,
as was Dakota Stanton, Big Maybelle, Anita O'Day, Nancy Wilson, and male singers like
Little Jimmy Scott, Al Jarreau, Billy Eckstine and Joe Williams were left out too.
Some in depth coverage on latin and afro cuban jazz would've been nice too.
But to take on the whole story of JAZZ is an ambitious undertaking to say the least!
I guess someone was always going to be disappointed in some way, and he only had
10 chapters to work with to try to weave this epic story into something cohesive.
All-n-All though, I give it 4 Stars.
DVD Review: Ken Burns Jazz - Brilliant!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is quite simply, the best documentary series I have ever seen, on any topic.
Each episode is filled with wonderful still photographs, rare archival footage, as well as current interviews and performances that make for a very entertaining experience. Visual transitions and the chapter / episode flow are pleasing and logical. Did I mention the music? If you like Jazz music, you will be endlessly entertained by the score of this film.
Narration by Keith David is top-notch, and very engaging.
Even if you're not a huge jazz fan (or not a huge fan of documentary films) you will likely enjoy at least some of this set.
If you're a jazz fan who likes documentaries (like me) this collection is a MUST.
Description of Jazz - A Film by Ken Burns
The story, sound, and soul of a nation come together in the most American of art forms: Jazz. Ken Burns, who riveted the nation with The Civil War and Baseball, celebrates the music's soaring achievements, from its origins in blues and ragtime through swing, bebop, and fusion. Six years in the making, this "soundbreaking" series blends 75 interviews, more than 500 pieces of music, 2,400 still photographs, and over 2,000 rare and archival film clips. The 10-part musical journey spotlights many of America's most original, creative--and tragic--figures, including Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, and Miles Davis. Special features of the PBS DVD Gold include bonus performances and The Making of Jazz documentary.Accompanied by a menagerie of products, Ken Burns's expansive 10-episode paean, Jazz, completes his trilogy on American culture, following The Civil War and Baseball. Spanning more than 19 hours, Jazz is, of course, about a lot more than what many have called America's classical music--especially in episodes 1 through 7. It's here that Burns unearths precious visual images of jazz musicians and hangs historical narratives around the music with convincing authority. Time can stand still as images float past to the sound of grainy vintage jazz, and the drama of a phonograph needle being placed on Louis Armstrong's celestial "West End Blues" is nearly sublime.
The film is also potent in arguing that the history of race in the 20th-century U.S. is at jazz's heart. But a few problems arise. First is Burns's reliance on Wynton Marsalis as his chief musical commentator. Marsalis might be charming and musically expert, but he's no historian. For the film to devote three of its episodes to the 1930s, one expects a bit more historical substance. Also, Jazz condenses the period of 1961 to the present into one episode, glossing over some of the music's giant steps. Burns has said repeatedly that he didn't know much about jazz when he began this project. So perhaps Jazz, for all its glory, would better be called Jazz: What I've Learned Since I Started Listening (And I Haven't Gotten Much Past 1961). For those who are already passionate about jazz, the film will stoke debate (and some derision, together with some reluctant praise). But for everyone else, it will amaze and entertain and kindle a flame for some of the greatest music ever dreamed. --Andrew Bartlett
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