Christiern

Not a very good argument, IMO. Whose station is it?

When seen from his perspective (which, I believe, is essential when judging his complaint), I think he has a valid point.

You're wrong, Allen--that's not just your opinion. B-)

If you have to pose that question, what difference is it going to make?

Hallelujah Get Happy Slam Slam Blues Congo Blues These were Dial recordings by Red Norvo and His Selected Sextet: Personnel: Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Flip Philips, Norvo, Teddy Wilson, Slam Stewart, Specs Powell (the drummer on Slam Slam and Congo As I recall, they were 12" 78 rpm discs, the Comet releases I bought in Denmark were 10" extended.

Perhaps we should send some duct tape earmarked for Schaap's out-of-control mouth. It would undoubtedly result in more airtime devoted to music.

How about the 7" series? I decided to, finally, create a database of my hundreds of 45's--came across many unusual items, including this juke box kit:

I want to reed the handwritten letters from Louis Armstrong to Goodman's clarinet. It isn't often that an instrument received mail. Leave it to Louis!

Then he probably was the wrong choice, IMHO.

You're welcome, Wesbed. Here's another, taken during a playback. Think of all the great sessions that took place in that room--from Monk to Ida Cox, Babs to Blue...

Here's another one... BTW that's Plaza Sound Studios, which Riverside always used.. Lewis also played celeste on that date (he was bigger than the instrument). As for "Cat House Piano," I think Verve subsequently released it along with another Lewis alum, and I vaguely recall writing the notes.

Here's one of several pictures I took on Nov. 1, 1961, when Iproduced what I believe may have been his last album (Hammer Chatter - Riverside 9402). This was before auto focus and SLR, and I'm afraid I never learned to work with a light meter.

Going back to the same sources/people is an old thing in Hollywood. It has improved in recent years, but there was a time when producers found one or two black actors and seemed to think that was it. I recall when Cicely Tyson was getting far more roles than her talent deserved, and there have been numerous others like that. I guess it's a carry-over from the days when typecasting locked artists into a narrow character category from which there often was no escape. My experience with the Burns people, brief though it was, showed me that he really is not interested in historical accuracy--if he has footage that appeals to him, but doesn't relate to the subject at hand, he will stretch the truth to make it fit in. As far as I can see, the only thing that makes a Burns "documentary" (using the term very loosely) worthwhile watching is that he always gets his hands on interesting footage and stills. It's really a shame because an honest documentary, film maker, given the budget and resources available to Florentine (Burns's company), could produce extraordinary results.

Of course I know who Samuel L. Jackson is, and that he was the voice of Johnson (I can read credits). That's not the point, it really does not matter who the narrator is, I still think he is off track here. Well, perhaps I'm wrong, perhaps Johnson had a command of the English language, but only when it came to writing it--does not sound reasonable to me. No, I have no "vendetta against Ken Burns" because he did not call upon me to participate in his fantasy on camera. It's bad enough that I helped him with photos (which he then used deceptively). I also don't believe that he has any desire to denigrate blacks, those are your words. I do think that he simply is a victim of the old American tendency to stereotype. Not all liberals are erudite, some are ignorant when it comes to knowledge of people who have a different look. I sometimes have a feeling--based on many of your past posts--that you might be able to identify with that. If I am wrong about that, I apologize. As for what is in your heart, I'd work on that if I was you--but it does explain where you're coming from.

I asked her what "they" sounded like. She got the message.

Well, Allan, thetarical B-) or not, I don't see a match between the delivery and the writing. It would not be odd to find that Burns has a preconceived notion of how black people should sound. Years ago, when I was a dj on WHAT, in Philly, I was on the all-white, all-jazz FM air staff when the newscaster on our all-black, all-r&b&gospel AM station became ill. The woman who owned the station called me into her office and asked, "Can you speak like them?"

You should also consider the fact that we are talking about the turn of the century--people, regardless of color, spoke differently then. Yes, Johnson came from a humble background, but poverty does not always translate into the kind of delivery Jackson gave it. Besides, Jackson was around educated whites long enough for it to have shaped the way he spoke. You have but to listen to his words articulate statements to realize that he had open ears. I hope it does not bother you that all black people don't sound like Steppin Fetchit. What Jackson did here, IMO, is perpetuate a stereotype.

Chris, I don't want to hijack this thread, but I'm curious-were you ever approached about adding commentary to the Burns Jazz series? I'm sure you could have added something about Bessie Smith at the very least! Greg, No, Burns never called on me for an interview, he just wanted photos--which I regret having given him. Frankly, after viewing the jazz series, I feel lucky not to have been an obvious part of it.

I hope "Tuxedo Junction" isn't an insihtful analysis of Glenn Miller. I'll make it a point to explore his works.

I heard him on the "Jazz" series and on these programs. Definitely seems like a nice guy, but he contributed absolutely nothing to either series. What is he a critic of? Certainly not deceptive "documentaries."

Samuel L. Jackson is his "voice" thru the documentary, I somehow feel wee Ken Burns didn't say to Mr. Jackson, talk like a negro! I was, of course, being facetious with that hypothetical request. But you might considerthe fact that Mr. Jackson is an actor and the voice he uses for Johnson is not the voice he uses in normal conversation--it is very clearly a case of deliberate dumbing down, which is what I found offensive and, frankly, racist. You would not readily understand the latter, but please try.

Peppe's great grandpuppy was a friend of my dog Mingus's bitch!

I get them regularly. You have to reveal the headers before you send them off to abuse or spoof, otherwise there isn't a thing the people can do with it.

Am I the only one who feels there is a glaring discrepancy between Johnson's articulate words (assuming that they are his) and the deliberately slurred, unschooled delivery? I can hear Burns say "Talk like a Negro." Ridiculous. Also, what's up with Wynton's bad Dixieland music? These people haven't a clue when it comes to the music of that period. Isn't it odd that there happened to be a photographer in the gym on the day Stanley's father went there? You know he saw those photos and made up that story!

The dog is Peppe, of course.