Swing: Pure Pleasure - 1935-1937

I have really enjoyed watching the episodes of "Jazz". I particularly like the snappy music. However, as I watch I also realize that I am awfully ignorant about the subject and wonder how much of what I am seeing is fact and how much is just opinion. For example in both this episode and the next, I hear folks saying that Billie Holiday was 'the best' big band singer. Hmmm...the best?! It's like saying one singer today it the best or a movie is the best or a certain flavor is ice cream is best--it's an opinion but is being stated like it's a fact. So how many other times does this impact the show--such as with which musicians are featured and which ones are not.

Despite these misgivings, I did enjoy the show and liked hearing about the early days of swing. Among the many folks discussed were Jimmy Lunsford, Tommy Dorsey (who they described as kind of a nasty guy), Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Chick Webb and a bit at the end about Count Basie. Topics covered included more about race and jazz, life on the road and how, in their opinion, swing became a bit dull before Basie came to New York.