DVD Review: ‘Jazz Icons 5’ Boxed Set
Coltrane, Blakey, Hubbard, Monk, Kirk and Griffin in sizzling historic performances…Read More
Videos
Frank Sinatra: The Concert Collection
Christopher Loudon reviews 7-disc set of Frank Sinatra television concerts and and appearances…Read More
Return to Forever Returns: Live at Montreux 2008
Reunion DVD is an overlong paean to fusion’s heyday…Read More
Yellowjackets: New Morning: The Paris Concert
Sans studio sheen, Yellowjackets rip and roar live…Read More
Freddie Hubbard: One of a Kind
Video of late trumpeter from 1981 showcases his remarkable chops and musicality.…Read More
Miles Davis: That’s What Happened: Live in Germany 1987
During a freewheeling half-hour interview that serves as a bonus feature on this DVD, Miles Davis is asked a number of questions regarding the controversy that has often surrounded his music. Somewhat dubious of the interviewer’s intent, Davis defensively dismisses it as a concern only of critics (white critics in particular). His explanation: “I bought…Read More
Anita O’Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer
While peers and critics have no qualms about equating her with Ella, Sarah and Billie, Anita O’Day’s passing in 2006 at age 87 was met with relatively little fanfare by the mainstream media, which is all the more reason to savor this engrossing documentary. O’Day’s gifts as a vocalist were unassailable. Preferring the word “stylist”…Read More
Jackie Paris: ’Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris
Two skinny, Italian-American guys from New Jersey, both equipped with extraordinary pipes. One, from Hoboken, emerges as the most celebrated singer of the 20th century. The other, from Nutley, builds as long a career, performing alongside the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus and Peggy Lee, yet remains in relative obscurity. Why did…Read More
Count Basie & His Orchestra: Live in Berlin & Stockholm 1968
By 1968 the big bands were supposedly dead, but someone forgot to tell that to Count Basie, whose orchestra, still going strong, hadn’t altered much of anything since its heyday. Although most of the key members of the classic lineups had either passed on or moved on (notable exception: guitarist Freddie Green, wrapping up his…Read More
Coleman Hawkins: In Europe
Late in his career, the Hawk still tore it up…Read More
