Whether the mercantile strictures of 21st century television will ever again permit cultural programming of substance on the commercial networks is anybody’s guess. The field has largely been left to public television, which has met the challenge with various degrees of responsibility and effectiveness.
In the medium’s early days, serious music may not have been welcomed with open arms on the major US networks, but it did make it onto the schedules. NBC-TV’s The Subject Is 
Jazz ran once a week in 1958, during what more than one commentator has referred to as New York’s last golden age of jazz. The program presented prominent representatives of several jazz eras who were at work in the city. Gilbert Seldes was the host, with pianist Billy Taylor (1921-2010) as the viewer’s articulate guide through the mysteries of improvisation, orchestration and swing, among other aspects of the music. Seldes (1893-1970) was a prominent cultural critic whose books, included The 7 Lively Arts and The Public Arts. He had considerable influence on Americans’ understanding of cultural matters.
Seldes may have been a bit stiff on television, but he prepared his questions and comments with care. Taylor exhibited the same relaxation and expertise that later made him an attraction on CBS-TV’s Sunday Morning. Here they are discussing rhythm and leading into a segment that features guitarist Mundell Lowe, bassist Eddie Safranski, drummer Osie Johnson and Taylor in the rhythm section. We hear solos by trombonist Jimmy Cleveland, baritone saxophonist Tony Scott and—in a brilliant bebop chorus from his pre-Tonight Show days—trumpeter Doc Severinsen.
YouTube has several segments from The Subject Is Jazz. To view them and see Ben Webster, Lee Konitz, Bill Evans go here to make your selections.
The nonagenarian pianist presented de Barros with every biographer’s hope, unrestricted access to his subject’s personal papers and nearly unrestricted access to her private thoughts. He made the most of it, turning exhaustive research and hundreds of hours of interviews into a true story with the sweep of a novel. From the early discovery of McPartland’s musical gift through her wartime service, her ecstatic and stormy marriage to Jimmy McPartland, her growth as a pianist, her deep affair with Joe Morello, and the radio show that made her a national figure, she has had a fascinating life. It makes a splendid read.
Mulligan’s Concert Jazz Band had three fewer musicians than most big jazz outfits. Its size permitted precision, flexibility and subtlety, yet the band had the power of sprung steel. In this concert from a half century ago, the CJB is as fresh as yesterday. Arrangements by Mulligan, Bob Brookmeyer, Al Cohn and Johnny Mandel set standards to which big band writers still aspire. Bassist Buddy Clark and drummer Mel Lewis inspired Mulligan, Brookmeyer, Conte Candoli, Gene Quill and Zoot Sims to some of the best soloing of their careers. This beautifully produced issue of the complete concert is a basic repertoire item.
I’m giving away my age, but I remember watching every episode of this series live, back in that other century. Wouldn’t dare miss a week. I haven’t seen all of these shows on YouTube yet, but I remember one in which a panel, led by Tony Scott, took apart and analyzed Charlie Parker’s famous stop-time alto break on the first take of the Dial 1946 “Night In Tunisia” (the one he said he could never do again), complete with musical excerpts, the entire thing plotted out on a blackboard, and lots of discussion.
Imagine finding anything like that on TV today, even on PBS, never mind commercial TV, which carried the original series? As the Brits would say, not bloody likely!