``Chicago and All That Jazz'' could not be faulted on the choice of artists. Some of the in-person performers were Jack Teagarden, Gene Krupa, Bud Freeman, Pee Wee Russell, Johnny St. Cyr, Joe Sullivan, Red Allen, Lil Armstrong, Blossom Seeley. The jazz buff could hardly ask for more.

Furthermore, Garry Moore makes an ideal master of ceremonies. (He played host at the Timex show already mentioned.)

One of the script's big problems was how to blend pictures and music of the past with live performances by musicians of today. NBC had gathered a lot of historical material which it was eager to share. For example, there was sheet music with the word ``jazz'' in the title, to illustrate how a word of uncertain origin took hold. Samples zoomed into closeup range in regular succession, like telephone poles passing on the highway, while representative music reinforced the mood of the late teens and 1920's.

However well chosen and cleverly arranged, such memorabilia unfortunately amounted to more of an interruption than an auxiliary to the evening's main business, which (considering the talent at hand) should probably have been the gathering of fresh samples of the Chicago style.

Another source of NBC pride was its rare film clip of Bix Beiderbecke, but this view of the great trumpeter flew by so fast that a prolonged wink would have blotted out the entire glimpse. Similarly, in presenting still photographs of early jazz groups, the program allowed no time for a close perusal.