Artie Shaw: Stardust

In Ken Burns's documentary Jazz (2001), Artie Shaw puts down erstwhile rival bandleader Glenn Miller as a mere "businessman." Talk about a pot defaming the kettle! Their only difference is that Miller was pleased to be commercial, whereas Shaw shamelessly posed as an aesthete caught in the vile clutches of industry. To illustrate, "Stardust" offsets standout solos from Butterfield, Shaw and Jenney with strings sawing away as contentedly as if just signed to a lifetime contract with Mantovani. By expressing contempt for show business, Shaw was like the cagey used-car dealer who will ever-so-reluctantly sell you the best buy on his lot but only if you swear on your mother's Blue Book not to tell anyone where you bought it.