[Dixielandjazz] "Jazz: The Smithsonian Anthology" reviewed

[Robert Ringwald]

"Jazz: The Smithsonian Anthology" reviewed
An Updated Lesson in Jazz Appreciation
by Bill Beuttler
Boston Globe, March 28, 2011
"The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz" debuted in 1973, was revised by its
creator, critic Martin Williams, as a five-CD set in 1987, and has long been the
standard "text" for courses in jazz appreciation. Lately, though, it's been out of
print. So the release of its six-CD, 111-track successor, "Jazz: The Smithsonian
Anthology," is big news and likely to start some professors rethinking their syllabi.
The new set includes a 200-page text featuring short essays on each track's history,
with accompanying photos and personnel listings. But the real draw is the music itself,
which ranges in style from three versions of Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag" through
Dixieland, stride, swing, bebop, free jazz, fusion, and beyond. Much of the fun for
those familiar with the earlier collection will involve comparing (and arguing about)
how the committee-chosen selections here stack up against those of Williams.
The extra disc, for instance, makes room for fusion, expanded international contributions,
and recent-vintage heroes such as Wynton Marsalis, Pat Metheny, Michael Brecker,
and Medeski Martin and Wood. But genuine giants Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington,
Charlie Parker, and Thelonious Monk all have their contributions significantly trimmed
back. Miles Davis gets a track apiece as an exemplar of cool, modal, and fusion (plus
two more as a leader besides, and another as a teenaged sideman to Parker). John
Coltrane is scaled up to two selections from one, Sonny Rollins reduced to one from
two. And so on. The tunes chosen to represent the artists often change as well. But
that's jazz for you: like America's great poet, it is large and contains multitudes.
(Out tomorrow)


--Bob Ringwald
www.ringwald.com
Fulton Street Jazz Band
530/ 642-9551 Office
916/ 806-9551 Cell
Amateur (Ham) Radio K6YBV

If 4 out of 5 people SUFFER from diarrhea
does that mean that one enjoys it?