Ken Burns Jazz

In conjunction with the release of Ken Burns' ten-part, 19-hour epic PBS documentary Jazz, Columbia issued 22 single-disc compilations devoted to jazz's most significant artists, as well as a five-disc historical summary. Since the individual compilations attempt to present balanced overviews of each artist's career, tracks from multiple labels have thankfully been licensed where appropriate. The Dave Brubeck installment is an excellent illustration of how the cool-jazz pioneer had his cake and ate it too. Brubeck was instrumental in popularizing the laid-back cool style, scoring a major hit with the LP Time Out and its ubiquitous standard "Take Five." Yet Brubeck also managed to keep his music challenging and complex despite its mellow melodicism, particularly through his pioneering use of odd rhythmic meters. Drawing selections from throughout Brubeck's career, Ken Burns Jazz provides an excellent introduction to his accessible yet artistically satisfying oeuvre, even if some of Brubeck's individual albums are classics in themselves.