They Ain’t Got That Swing

So who took the improv out of jazz? Like Bill Kohlhaase, I was amazed that only one of the jazz greats at the Playboy Jazz Festival was able to rearrange their set and play tribute to the late Ella Fitzgerald (“Getting Back in the Swing,” June 18). This lack of spontaneity is one of the driving forces behind the recent decline in the popularity of jazz music. As a close friend remarked, the day Chuck Berry dies, you know that every garage band, rap artist, country western band, reggae group, punk band and heavy metal act performing will set aside time for their own unique rendition of “Johnny B. Goode.” It was a shame that improvisation and tribute were absent for the First Lady of Jazz.

EDWARD SUGAR

Sherman Oaks