There were perhaps many pathways for the Anglo/Irish tradition to have influenced Jazz. One path is via the ballad tradition. Or was there an African Ballad tradition which came on the slave ships- maybe but what of the structure of jazz pieces- is there a relation to the Anglo/Irish ballad tradition which arrived in North America at a very early date. I tend to believe that the chunks of anglo irish potato floating in the gumbo are bigger than Burns has told us about.

Also-When one trys to explain how certain influences made it into Jazz one should also try to account for the inability of those other influences which were around to enter the tradition. The whole picture would be greatly enhanced by this completeness.

The Irish tradition contains many abstract or improvisational aspects. The Sean Nos style of singing and instrumental styles as well. Slow airs are filled with abstract and improvisational aspects.

If you look at another pbs series on the Irish you will find the presence and arrival of the Irish refuges in New Orleans from the famine (1840's) clearly laid out in some detail. Many of these folk would have come from rural backgrounds and it is well known that they brought strong musical traditions with them.

Again the same Irish pbs show describes quite well the possible reasons for the absence of the Irish as big chunks in the gumbo. These reasons take the form of the push toward assimilation and Americanization. The Irish benefited from a skin color which could better assimilate and church leaders (priests) were quite antagonistic toward folk ways music and traditional cultural baggage. They even insisted on shoes changes in housekeeping styles and proper clothing. The Irish brought their music into the parlor rather than into the brothel one might say. From the parlor it went into the pat and mick shows and then to tin pan alley all places where songs and funny ballads were encouraged over slow airs, mystic sean nos and abstract playing which was more or less confied to the within group or private ceilis.

It is interesting that within both the African American Jazz tradition and the Irish tradition that the entire range of the music is divided between internal and external private and public personal and commercial modes. Louis armstrong out blazing away his career is a radical departure from the guys sitting on the back porches in the delta. The same is true of the Irish. In Baltimore you never really hear the best music in public. It is still carefully stored in the kitchens and parlors of the insiders. (sessions excluded however sessions are not generally held in prime time )

I do not fault Ken on his own path. It would be extremely difficult for anyone to get funding and sponsors of any kind if they produced a program which showed anything else but an African American dominated parenthood of the Jazz. As folklorists have known for years - the environment for both collecting and writing about folklore has always been a very strong censor that few have the power and might to resist. Bias of the cultural setting must always be factored in but this is not a difficult task. Where is Pete Seeger with his excellent cross cultural workshops when you need him!

Conrad