Leave Baez and Coltrane out of it

The “Hot Ticket” regarding Wayne Shorter’s upcoming concert could certainly have been written entirely on this marvelous artist, but the writer decided to go off-subject and tossed in a dig at John Coltrane [“An Explorer of Sound,” Jan. 26]. Besides being mean-spirited, that statement’s flat-out ignorance should disqualify this writer from any sort of coverage on the subject of jazz.

In a similar vein, August Brown takes a cheap shot at Joan Baez in his article that should have stuck to its subject, Chava Alberstein [“A Still-Fresh Vocal Observer, Jan. 26].

If these writers can’t manage to present two excellent artists such as Mr. Shorter and Ms. Alberstein without going “American Idol,” then they should be given assignments that are more fitting to their talents. Either should have been given that Ricky Martin assignment rather than wasting Agustin Gurza on it.

Hey Calendar editor: You’re doing a heckuva job.

HAL TRUSCHKE

San Diego