Fairness for Braxton

I’ve appreciated Calendar’s greater focus on jazz in the last few years, i.e. Zan Stewart’s Jazz Notes. But there seem to be recurring deficiencies in the coverage.

I was reminded of this reading Stewart’s dismissive review (April 10) of a rare Anthony Braxton concert in L.A. Is there a blanket ruling at The Times that Braxton will never receive a fair word?

The reason Braxton is revered in many critical quarters is his expansive ideals as a musician in the large sense, not just the jazz sense. If traditional critics can’t catch the pulse of his swing, it’s their bad critical aim, not Braxton’s.

Too often, I get a feeling that The Times’ prevailing belief is that the great experimental strides made in jazz during the ‘60s and ‘70s were but a bad dream from which we’ve awakened. I’ve yet to awaken, I guess, and I feel fine.

JOE WOODARD

Santa Barbara