Check Out Jazz – A Film by Ken Burns [VHS] for $20.66

May 17, 2010 at 10:39 pm • Posted in Uncategorized • Comments Off

Rating :

Best Price :$149.88

Offer Price : $20.66

Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Jazz – A Film by Ken Burns [VHS] Specifications

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

Jazz – A Film by Ken Burns [VHS] Overviews

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.

[if This is a decent overview of Jazz. Not in depth, but has sold foundations. The things about this collection is that it runs over important players like Bill Evans and Charles Mingus very quickly, or not even mentioning them like Wes Montgomery. The collection mainly focuses on Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane and Miles Davis (give or take two).

They are the big boys of Jazz, but not the only ones. Charles Mingus is my favorite, and throughout the 24 hour or so set, he was focused on for only ten minutes or so. With some of the giants I mentioned above, they roughly go over over them, except Armstrong and Ellington whom you get very strong background on. Those two are focused on throughout the entire set. Free jazz wasn't focused on as much, which is a bummer. They do run over Ornette Coleman for a little while, but I wish they went over John Coltrane's free jazz stuff in his late Quartet Years.

I suggest you get it or rent it or something. It is a good background on Jazz, one of which you can pick and choose what you want to focus on afterwards. There's tons of books out there, and there's a book called Jazz which overviews the same material in this set. Check your local libraries to see if they have it; it's something you watch once and move on from, but good non-the-less.]

Customer Review

This is a decent overview of Jazz. Not in depth, but has sold foundations. The things about this collection is that it runs over important players like Bill Evans and Charles Mingus very quickly, or not even mentioning them like Wes Montgomery. The collection mainly focuses on Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane and Miles Davis (give or take two).

They are the big boys of Jazz, but not the only ones. Charles Mingus is my favorite, and throughout the 24 hour or so set, he was focused on for only ten minutes or so. With some of the giants I mentioned above, they roughly go over over them, except Armstrong and Ellington whom you get very strong background on. Those two are focused on throughout the entire set. Free jazz wasn’t focused on as much, which is a bummer. They do run over Ornette Coleman for a little while, but I wish they went over John Coltrane’s free jazz stuff in his late Quartet Years.

I suggest you get it or rent it or something. It is a good background on Jazz, one of which you can pick and choose what you want to focus on afterwards. There’s tons of books out there, and there’s a book called Jazz which overviews the same material in this set. Check your local libraries to see if they have it; it’s something you watch once and move on from, but good non-the-less.

Not about the history of jazz – Tom Schmidt – San Francisco, CA
Many reviews here already note that this documentary is really the Wynton Marsalis and Stanley Crouch show. Ken Burns essentially gave them the reins to write the content for this documentary since Burns knew (and knows) nothing about jazz.

Rather than repeat those points I concur with, I will simply add that this is a bad documentary that doesn’t tell the history of jazz. It tells the history of what was going on in the country while jazz was being created. It more or less sticks to the pre-swing and swing eras, and really doesn’t delve into the music. It delves into personalities and trivial anecdotes. Do we really learn what made Ellington a great pianist and a great composer? No. We just hear that “Duke became one of the greatest composers of the 20th century.” Why? What exactly made him so great? What are some of his specific compositions that are so great and why? What was new about them? Burns doesn’t know. He doesn’t say. We hear instead about how the title “Take the A-Train” came about. Not about the music though.

Also annoying is the endless repetition. We keep hearing the same anecdotes about the same musicians over and over and over (”so and so would come into the club and the whole joint would just start jumpin’!!”). We must see the same photographs of Louis Armstrong a dozen times. Burns is not just ignorant about jazz, he’s a lazy documentary filmmaker.

In the end, this documentary is entertainment for the masses, not for serious listeners, students, or historians of music. It’s for history buffs who want to know about F. Scott Fitzgerald’s America and the era of The Great Gatsby. If you want to learn about jazz, you’ll be wasting your time. A lot of it.

By “The History of Jazz” by Ted Gioia if you want to learn jazz history.

Absolutely Fantastic!!! – Judith Jenkins – Norfolk, VA
This series is delightful from beginning to end. I can’t get enough of it!!! If you love Jazz, you’ll love this series.

ken burns jazz – Teresa Neal – beavertton,or
This is a spectacular history of Jazz! One of the best documentaries out there. Ken burns does an amazing job.

Related Products

Product Information and Prices Stored: May 17, 2010 21:41:13

Big Savings on Jazz – A Film by Ken Burns [VHS]. Low Prices Jazz – A Film by Ken Burns [VHS]. One-Day Shipping Free.Ships for Jazz – A Film by Ken Burns [VHS] from and sold by Amazon.com.

Music Video & Concerts