Arts Criticism with Gene Seymour (CNN.com, USA Today, Newsday) - 009

Gene Seymour is an arts critic and culture reporter who writes frequently for CNN and USA Today. In New York, he was a longtime film and jazz critic at Newsday. His writings have appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The Nation, Entertainment Weekly, the Washington Post, and many other publications. Gene is a contributor to The Oxford Companion to Jazz and is the author of Jazz: The Great American Art, a history for young adults. Gene is a two-time winner of the New York Association of Black Journalists Award for distinguished criticism. Notes from the show: Gene started out as a reporter, and approaches criticism from a reporter's perspective. Got his big break when Nels Elson passed along opportunity to cover the Philadelphia Jazz Festival. Gene's years as a television critic were among his happiest as a journalist because he got to cover tv, politics, and culture. Gene's came to Newsday as a New York City jazz critic, but later provided movie criticism. Gene was raised in a Hartford CT household which always had jazz records playing: Miles Davis, Ahmed Jamal, Dave Brubek, Chet Baker, Charlie Parker. His Dad's motto: "If it doesn't have soul, it isn't worth it." His Dad loved Paul Desmond's "Time After Time" and Sonny Stitts's "Who Can I Turn To?"- these songs became emotional touchstones. Music critics range from composer Virgil Thompson to George Bernard Shaw. It is not Gene's role to explain on behalf of a musician, but to write on behalf of the spectator. The art of note-taking during a live performance vs. a movie. Lena Horne vs. the cell phone. Jazz: The Great American Art First Book of Jazz - Langston Hughes "Jazz is the 20th century." "Have We Reached the End of Jazz Itself?" - The Nation Flying Lotus, Kendrick LaMarr, and the future of jazz. Groundhog Day, The Big Lebowski, and giving movies a second look. Critics' controversy over Wes Anderson. John Leonard's disdain for All in the Family. The passing of Harper Lee. Better Living Through Criticism - A.O. Scott Recommended Blogs: James Wolcott - Vanity Fair Christgau's Consumer Guide to Rock Music Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule Self-Styled Siren Sunset Gun RogerEbert.com The Psychology of What Makes a Great Story - Brain Pickings This podcast hosted by New York attorney Michael Prywes was sponsored by Prywes Schwartz, PLLC, a law firm devoted to artists and entrepreneurs. This podcast may contain attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee future outcomes.