Good Jazz DVD's? (1 Viewer)

[Josh Simpson]

I was wondering if anyone had any reccomendations for Jazz DVD's? I have the Diana Krall Live in Paris DVD which I love, but I was wondering if anybody had any other reccomendations, like Mel Torme or something? Any suggestions would be great.

 

[oscar_merkx]

Josh
you really should start with Ken Burns Jazz 10 dvd set.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...503276-0769550
the best as I was so impressed with this that in no time, became a big Miles Davis fan and have bought to date 20 cds because of this and everyday I uncover more simply because of this series.

 

[Andy_MT]

try "Round Midnight"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...474334-4401524
great jazz film ...

 

[Brook K]

Jazz On A Summmer's Day

 

[Mike Broadman]

'Round Midnight is a feature film starring the great sax player Dextor Gordon as a fictional great sax player. It's not specifically a great movie, but it's fun to see Gordon acting.

Bird is a movie about Charlie Parker starring Forest Whitaker. While Whitaker does an admirable job with the material, I felt the movie was too soft and glazed over Parker's life. I didn't really learn anything. This is the same problem I had with A Beautiful Mind (though it's still a good movie) and Man On The Moon.

Straight, No Chaser is a film about Thelonious Monk. It is basically just a collection of performances and footage of Monk. It has a "day in the life of" feel to it. This is a great disc for Monk fans. Even if you're not into Monk as much as I am, it's worth it just to see the performances. I watched the whole thing through once, but now I just fast-forward to the performances.
I still didn't "learn" as much about Monk as I would have liked, but that is no fault of the movie- Monk was just such an oddball character that it's impossible to understand him!

I believe Clint Eastwood was the executive producer for the above two projects.

The only two that I owned before today are Straight, No Chaser and Bill Bruford's Earthworks- Footloose in NY. Bill Bruford was the drummer for Yes and King Crimson and is currently leading an English acoustic 4-piece group. They are lots of fun and very sharp. The performance DVD has a surround mix and some chit-chat, but mostly just great, fun jazz music.

Today I picked up a John Coltrane DVD. It seems to be a documentary / concert disc. I'll tell you how it is after I check it out.

I also saw one Dizzy and two Miles DVDs there.

What I really want are DVDs of just classic jazz musician playing: no talking, no commentary, just my musical heroes playing in their prime. For instance, I know there is some Mingus out there. I've seen clips. Why can't they put the whole thing on a DVD?

The Ken Burns documentary was fun to watch, but very biased and uneven.

 

[Bob_L]

I would tend to steer folks AWAY from the Ken Burns documentary.

First, there isn't enough pure music performance in it. It's mostly history. Second, it was one of the most racist and chauvinistic programs I've ever seen. It shamefully neglected the significant jazz contributions made by non-black and non-American artists.

 

[Eric F]

Are you looking for live performance, Jazz/music themed films, documentaries, what?
Going by the few live titles you mentioned, (the Diana Krall one is a standout, not many that good), I'd recommend:
George Benson - Absolutely Live (DTS track, anamorphic, etc. Very nice. I'm not into the big-band stuff at the beginning, but his own band is cookin').
BET on Jazz series - I haven't seem them all, both the Lou Rawls and B.B. King ones are excellent (Blues, yes, I know). DTS sound here too.
Toots Thielmans in New Orleans - The master of Jazz harmonica at work with a quartet, in a real Jazz club setting. Excellent DD 5.1 remix. Boy can he swing.
Maceo Parker "Roots Revisted"- Bootleg of him live in Europe, hard to find. Not the best quality but only of his stuff available on DVD. He's supposedly coming out with his own release. I can't wait.
Blues Masters - This one rocks! Yes, it's blues, but damn, it's great. Some of the best blues masters brought together in 1966 for a CBC "Festival" series. Some of the best and clearest footage I've ever seen and heard of these folks. 47mins but worth every minute of it. DD mono, but it's crisp and excellent. Muddy Waters, James Cotton, Otis Spann, Sunnyland SLim, Willie Dixon, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee. Oh my!
Stevie Ray Vaughn Live from Austin - Both of his Austin City Limits appearances. Great stuff.
That should be enough for now. I like music, especially Jazz and Blues, and I don't differentiate much between the two genres because there is so much crossover. Hope you enjoy my picks. Good luck.

 

[Bob Smith]

Charles Mingus: Triumph of the Underdog

 

[Richard Carnahan]

ELLA FITZGERALD/SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR is an 86 minute American Masters doc--narrated by Tony Bennett--that is well worth getting. It's from WinStar and has extras including Ella's well-known Memorex commercials.
And the Ken Burns jazz series is excellent, and certainly not in any way "racist". Costco has a good price on it.

 

[Louis C]

I am waiting on "An Evening With Fourplay" DVD I just ordered, arriving in the mail this week. Can't wait to check it out.