Posted by Jon Pult on March 03, 2001 at 00:50:00:
While I was dissapointed that the initial pitch for an article in the Rag which I was in the midst of preparing (on Janet Klein)became obsolete immediately (she IS good) I would like to register my satisfaction for the commentary on the Ken Burns JAZZ found not only in the magzine, but the thoughtful commentary on this board as well. I'll say that it is especially satisfying in the context of my position as the traditional jazz columnist at Offbeat magazine here in New Orleans where if I dare say anything against the Marsalis clan...well let's just say my earning power hangs in the balance. In this sphere to recommend Gene Lees' Cats of any Color borders on heresy. And the magazine's message board is so thoughtless as to be meaningless. (I was called a "racist" and "the bigoted Nick La Rocca returned from the grave" for, I can only surmise, the following comments while a reviewing a lackluster record by his son, Jimmy:
"In many respects Nick LaRocca gets a bad rap. There's seemingly no middle ground for him. His detractors, and those of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band of which he is the member most often singled out as the object of scorn, try, even in these pages, to somehow discount or even deny that he and the ODJB made the initial recordings of Jazz music in 1917. The pro-LaRocca zealotry in no better, "Creator of Jazz"? From both directions it's all a useless clap trap. When you think in a reasoned fashion, what difference does it make? In this context "first" has no relation to quality, it's not a race, no one got a gold medal as opposed to a silver or a bronze...I take a middling approach and revel in the lively, enthusiastic music they created and thank them for putting many songs that would become standards into the repertoire
Hardly comments sheathed in white robes. So you can see why I appreciate what you all are doing here.