TV REVIEW : ‘Masters’ Series Showcases Giants of Jazz

Jazz, while not thriving, has definitely entered a new phase of increased artistic activity, which makes the timing ideal for the Bravo channel’s eight-week series “Masters of American Music.”

The series, which kicks off tonight with “The Story of Jazz,” showcases some of jazz’s main practitioners, among them Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk, giving viewers essential information as well as insight into this often misunderstood, and thus neglected, American art form.

“The Story of Jazz” is one of five programs in the series that has never been seen on American television. Made in 1993, the film sets its sights high, trying to depict, for the most part chronologically, 80 years of history in 90 minutes. It doesn’t quite succeed, but the strengths in the program--directed by Matthew Seig and written by Seig and distinguished journalist Chris Albertson--overshadow the problems.

Major sections are devoted to jazz’s early development in the 1910s and ‘20s, primarily in New Orleans; its expansion to Chicago and New York; the swing and bop eras and, finally, the impact of such modernists as saxophonist Coltrane.

The film’s pluses are its black-and-white archival footage of musical performance, and its interviews, mostly with musicians who were witnesses to their specific eras. But there’s also plenty of footage that’s superfluous--more than 20 shots of dancers--and many hodgepodge montages, where quickly shifting visual images detract from an otherwise solid music track.

The music footage is often grand: Armstrong belting out resonant high notes on “Dinah”; Basie’s “One O’Clock Jump,” with the creamy-toned tenors of Don Byas and Buddy Tate; Duke Ellington’s delicate arrangement of “Mood Indigo”; Coltrane charging headlong into his “Impressions”; Billie Holiday at her relaxed best on “Fine and Mellow.”

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The interviews are the perfect complement to the sounds. Wynton Marsalis and Doc Cheatham are among those explaining Armstrong’s importance, while Harry (Sweets) Edison and Jay McShann discuss Basie, with McShann’s rollickingly informative comments a particular joy. Dizzy Gillespie talks about his colleague Charlie Parker, and Wayne Shorter and Jimmy Heath, among others, appraise Coltrane.

“The Story of Jazz” stops short, covering the 1970s and ‘80s in a few minutes, which gives the film a dated quality. Too, its closing assessment that jazz is “seemingly in a state of arrested development” is certainly debatable: While many artists are exploring jazz’s past, many others are striving to find new directions.

Upcoming shows have a similar historical bent, eschewing contemporary figures in favor of established greats. Watching the entire series, one sees a good deal of repeated footage and overlapping interviews. But by focusing on single figures, these programs provide the kind of in-depth coverage that a broader survey can never offer.

The shows include: “Satchmo,” an informative, affectionate portrait of Armstrong (airs next Friday); “Swingin’ the Blues: Count Basie” (Sept. 15); “Celebrating Bird: Charlie Parker” (Sept. 22); “The World According to John Coltrane” (Sept. 29); “American Composer: Thelonious Monk” (Oct. 6); “The Divine One: Sarah Vaughan” (Oct. 13), and “Bluesland,” with Bessie Smith, Muddy Waters, Basie and Chuck Berry (Oct. 20).

* “Masters of American Music” premieres at 7 tonight on Bravo and repeats at 1 a.m.