All that invention and risk, all that rebellion and fire — where is all that now?
I wonder where jazz has gone. It’s gone from clubs. Gone from commercial radio. Gone from the vanguard of art. Gone to school. Gone to corporate interests. Gone to Europe. Gone to bitterness. In the old days, jazz fought racism and drugs. Today, it fights itself over power, money, style, age and attitude. For the first time in the history of the music, jazz’s prime mover isn’t an innovator. Risk and rebellion have gone out of jazz. Monotony rules, whether it’s smooth jazz, hard bop, swing or Miles Davis imitators. Ken Burns’ PBS documentary Jazz couldn’t arrive at a better time. For 10 nights this month, it will expose viewers to the history of this century-old music. Companion CDs and a companion book will prompt discussion long beyond the last flicker of the television screen. The 19-hour series will anger some for its iconic choices — who’s in, who’s out. Some will take it at face value as the definitive history of jazz, never questioning its point of view. Some will use it as a ca
