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Late in the second hour of Today this morning, there came a quick reprieve from pet stories and assorted other pageantry: a segment on the Jazz Loft Project, and the archival stockpiles of W. Eugene Smith.
I thought that Sam Stephenson -- the director of the project, and author of a book by the same name, out Nov. 24 on Knopf -- did a fine job of explaining a fairly complicated story here, even under the glare of studio lighting. And whoever wrote the script for Ann Curry compressed the message well. (The ethical question she raises is worth posing, and Stephenson parried it nicely.) Bonus points to everyone involved for sneaking a few moments of Zoot Sims onto network TV.
My feature
about the loft, in February, reflected a particular
emphasis on Thelonious Monk, who rehearsed for his Town Hall concert there. I
haven’t yet seen a copy of The Jazz Loft Project, but I can’t wait to read it, and to pore over those photographs.
Needless to say, this should be a contender in the category of “Holiday Gifts Suitable for the
Jazz Fanatic in Your Life.”
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