>From what I've seen of him in the Burns' series, WM is a great teacher. I
haven't heard him perform at length, but I find it strange that performances
lack feeling, as you and other critics I've heard maintain. One of the
things that makes him effective as a teacher is his obvious great passion
for jazz that is anything but curatorial in intensity.
I just saw part 7 of the Burns' series, "Dedicated to Chaos" (1940-45), and was even more impressed than before by what Burns' has accomplished here. Why, I've even learned things about the dear, departed past of the view from my office, which overlooks 52d St. in Manhattan between 5th and 6th Avenues.
As boring a block as exists in midtown nowadays, but a half century ago it was packed with clubs and pulsating with excitement as the "living heart" of jazz, according to the series, with Billie Holiday and other greats performing nightly. A vanished world.
Carl _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com