I said to Ken Burns that they would have picketed him and his documentary if they were here. But now, in Jazz , the 19-hour Public Broadcasting Service series to be aired in January, Ken Burns has produced by far the most vital history, in any visual medium, of the people who created this life force of a music. There is one grave fault, however. He provides only 30 minutes or so for the last 25 years of jazz. But Ken Burns owes us at least another hour or two.
Jazz is a living art.
Karen Cook and the Voice fact checkers My editor at the Voice, Karen Cook, has saved me from bad syntax, blurred meanings, and just plain errors. She is invaluable. I worked with the legendary fact checkers at The New Yorker for more than a quarter of a century, but the crew at the Voice can be just as vigorous and rigorous. They have given me a great deal of trouble, and I have retaliated. The intramural battles will go on, but I fully recognize their worth.