Race and Music

It is absurd to say Vernon Reid is “the best black guitarist since Jimi Hendrix” (“In Black, White and Living Colour,” by Dennis Hunt, Jan. 22).

You might as well say he is the best guitarist of a certain height. His musical skill cannot be measured in terms of his race. This is, I think, the very point he is trying to make in his interviews.

Race may be an influence, but in the end, artistry springs from individuality.

MARK CHAET

Glendale