World Famous Comics: Legends of Jazz: Showcase (DVD/CD)
Legends of Jazz: Showcase (DVD/CD)
Starring: Ramsey Lewis, Al Jarreau, Kurt Elling, Chris Botti, Marcus Miller Directed By: Jack Ginay Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: DVD Format: Color, Compilation, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC Label: LRSmedia Number of Items: 2 Region Code: 1 Release Date: April 25, 2006 Running Time: 55 minutes Theatrical Release Date: April 01, 2006
Description: LEGENDS OF JAZZ with RAMSEY LEWIS "SHOWCASE" is a dynamic 2-DISC CD/DVD collection of 13 riveting performances from the series featuring THE BIGGEST STARS OF JAZZ and presented on one of the most dazzling AUDIO/VISUAL recordings of the year! Featuring SUPERIOR PICTURE AND SOUND all performances on the DVD were encoded from HD masters presented in 16 X 9 WIDESCREEN with DOLBY DIGITAL 5.1 SURROUND SOUND. Additionally, all musical performances are also featured on an accompanying audio CD.
Track Listing: 1. AL JARREAU & KURT ELLING "Take 5" 2. CHRIS BOTTI "My Funny Valentine" 3. MARCUS MILLER, GEORGE DUKE, LEE RITENOUR "The Panther" 4. DAVID SANBORN & PHIL WOODS "Senor Blues" 5. CHICK COREA "Armando’s Rhumba" 6. ROBERT CRAY & KEB MO "12 Year Old Boy" 7. BENNY GOLSON "Killer Joe" 8. IVAN LINS "The Island" 9. CLARK TERRY "Mumbles" 10. JANE MONHEIT & JOHN PIZZARELLI "They Can’t Take That Away From Me" 11. DAVE VALENTIN "Obsession" 12. DAVE BRUBECK & BILLY TAYLOR "Take The ‘A’ Train" 13. RAMSEY LEWIS "Dear Lord"
The closest experience to being there live This is a masterfully produced disc. When you put this in your player and the theme music starts, you know you are in for a great night of jazz.
What truly makes this collection compelling is the well-balanced list of performances. There are artists new and old, well-known and not so well-known, from a surprisingly varied pool of jazz sub-genres: fusion, bebop, swing, latin, and bossa. There is even a blues performance thrown in. The performances themselves are mostly very good, with the occasional eye-opening one mixed in such as Marcus Miller's Panther.
The production value of the disc is fantastic too. I would've loved this even on VHS because it is ultimately about the music; but there is something to be said about the excellent high definition video and sound. This is truly as close as one can get to being there live. The disc is also very well organized. It is easy to switch between sound formats and you can access the performances individually from the main menu too. Even the artist bios are well done. In fact, I found this Blu-ray disc so great that I'm now torn between buying the Legends of Jazz DVD collection or waiting for a Blu-ray release. I will probably buy the DVD set now since the music and the performances are what's important I think.
As far as shortcomings, the only one I found is that the length is on the short side at 55 minutes. Everything else was perfect. If you like jazz, you'll love this disc.
Extra-ordinary Performances From the opening duet with Al Jarreau & Kurt Elling doing a scat rendition of Dave Brubeck's "Take Five", to Ramsey Lewis' tranquil piano on "dear Lord", this disc had me hooked. There is some amazing performances on here, but I was especially partial to Clark Terry's "Mumbles". The man had me mesmerized, smiling and laughing...not something you find yourself doing on a disc such as this.
The only reason I didn't give it 5-Star rating is due to it's length! I longed for more and I was disappointed when it was over. I sure do hope that they release another Legends of Jazz Blu-ray...I certainly will be one of the first to pick it up.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED...even if you're only a marginal jazz fan (like me I suppose).
The best image I've seen on BD If you want to impress your friends with the best possible quality image, just show them this BD. And it's only 1080i!!!. You can see the minor details of the hair, faces, instruments of the artists, the texture of the clothes, all.
But the image is so amazing that you can forget that the musical pieces in this blu ray are also fantastic.
The only pity is why they don't commercialize all the complete shows one by one in high definition. I'd buy all of them.
Perfect test disc Perfect disc for Demo , one of my favorite blueray beside Pat matheny the way up disc
Nice Collection This is a nice set for Jazz Buffs; the DVD isn't as important but adds a nice touch if giving as a gift.
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