Jazz im Fernsehen der BRD
Jazz on West German television is usually squeezed into the disadvantageous broadcasting time around midnight. Consequently, it can only reach a small public, and is unable to win any new viewers. As a rule, the programming is done with no imagination, and American stars predominate, much to the sorrow of home musicians. At the frequent festival broadcasts, the camera direction is usually not informed in advance as to what will develop musically. Therefore, they destroy the music on a number of levels; with wrong cuts, with "non-musical" and too rapid picture sequences, as well as with meaningless close-ups which help promote a hero cult. The blame for this misery is also shared by the inadequate Jazz education of the directors. A way out of this unhappy situation could be found by musicians working closer with the producers in studio productions. In lengthy camera shots, the camera should show a whole and half-close picture of the musician with his instrument and his partners. The Jazz musicians could apprise their music in short statements, thereby making the music more intelligible to the viewers.