Jazz Concerts on DVD

[mjzee]

Jazz Concerts of the '50s to '70s,

Now Seen as Well as Heard

By NAT HENTOFF

November 30, 2006; Page D8

For years, jazz musicians coming back from Europe have told me of being part of concerts -- televised live by state-owned stations in Europe -- that have been among the most deeply satisfying of their musical lives. Uninterrupted by commercials and produced without concern for competitive audience ratings, these gigs freed the musicians from time constraints. I've long regretted not having been able to see any of these performances, but now the first nine "Jazz Icons" DVDs have resoundingly arrived -- produced by Reelin' in the Years Productions on the international TDK label, distributed in North America by Naxos America.

Filmed in Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Holland, Denmark and Switzerland from the 1950s into the 1970s, "none of these performances" -- say the ceaseless explorers of Reelin' in the Years, David Pack and Phillip Galloway -- "has ever been officially released, and in many cases, the material was never originally broadcast."

To this jazz enthusiast, this is like the discovery of a bonanza of previously unknown manuscripts of plays by William Shakespeare. Among the international icons and their sidemen are Louis Armstrong; Dizzy Gillespie; Count Basie; Thelonious Monk; Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers; Buddy Rich; Quincy Jones; Ella Fitzgerald; and Chet Baker.

My recommendations among them begin with the DVD of the 1960 Quincy Jones ensemble, which Mr. Jones understandably called his "dream band." In the brass section (whose élan reminded me of Duke Ellington's "Braggin' in Brass" tribute to his horn men) are trumpeters Clark Terry and Benny Bailey and trombonists Quentin Jackson and Melba Liston (the latter long ago having proved that jazzwomen do have "chops"). And always going for a home run, there is Phil Woods on alto saxophone.

Also of historic and present joy are the 1958 Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers with the thrilling (I mean the term denotatively) trumpet of Lee Morgan -- with Mr. Blakey, as usual, on fire on drums. Also, the full presence of Thelonious Monk in a 1966 concert bears out what I tell listeners too young to have ever seen Monk -- that he was almost as mesmerizing to watch as to hear.

On the Ella Fitzgerald DVD, there are two concerts (1957 and 1963) in which Ella, reveling in her incomparable mastery of jazz time and swiftly inventive wit, is backed on the earlier set by my choice of a "dream rhythm section": Jo Jones, Ray Brown and Oscar Peterson.

Dizzy Gillespie, too, was best seen as well as heard to get the full, flavorful impact of his delight in continually surprising himself during his 1958 and 1970 concerts.

Louis Armstrong, as Wynton Marsalis says of Satchmo's 1959 "Jazz Icon" concert, "is the most modern trumpet player we've ever heard and the most ancient at the same time...this DVD captures that intangible power and allows us to gaze upon it in wonder."

The Count Basie band of 1962 brings me back to that time when, going down the stairs into New York's Birdland, the swinging gusts from the bandstand below almost blew me against the wall. And Buddy Rich, who could have swung a military band, bursts into view with his 1978 big band, which he called, with manifest pride, the "Killer Force."

Also among these first nine "Icons," with more to come, are 1964 and 1979 performances by Chet Baker, whose trumpet playing and singing have, for me, been an acquired taste that I've not been able to master. But many have, and still do.

Not only are these performances previously unavailable -- to most of us, unknown to have existed -- and invaluable contributions to the history of the music, but they also serve as a much needed model of economic justice to jazz sidemen. Uniquely, in my experience, each sideman in these concerts, as producers Peck and Galloway note, is being paid directly -- or if they're dead -- via the American Federation of Musicians, through the musicians' estates. The reason that so many jazz sidemen who have been sidelined -- for reasons of health or changing fashions -- are often hard put to pay their rent is that sidemen do not get royalty payments from sales of recordings, and relatively few of them ever become leaders of bands or combos.

Also part of the care Messrs. Peck and Galloway have taken with these DVD additions to the jazz heritage is the quality of the sound in the remastering and the knowledgeable liner notes, which include both the commentary of jazz critics and some of the reminiscences of colleagues and family members of the icons.

In the Thelonious Monk booklet, Don Sickler -- long associated with Monk and his family, and himself a trumpet player and an arranger of Monk's music -- has this illuminating passage, quoting drummer Ben Riley, who's on the DVD:

"Monk lets the music breathe. He doesn't clutter anything up. He leaves space for you to create. John Coltrane said that playing with Thelonious Monk was like opening a door and stepping into a room, and there was no floor. So now you have to figure how to stand up on your own." (Duke Ellington, a major influence on Monk, used to say to a sideman asking for instructions on how to solo on a wholly new piece of Duke's music: "Listen, sweetie, listen!")

Having opened doors to a pantheon of jazz creators with this first series of "Jazz Icons," Messrs. Peck and Galloway are trying to make arrangements to get artists' and other clearances to release "an incredible 60-minute concert from 1966 with Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington; various concerts of John Coltrane, Sarah Vaughan and (Rahsaan) Roland Kirk; and 90 minutes of live and in-studio concerts from 1964 with Charles Mingus and Eric Dolphy, filmed a few months before Dolphy passed away."

I heard about that Dolphy concert from one of Mingus's sidemen, who told me knowing that I had had the privilege of recording the often astonishing Dolphy: "Eric that day went beyond anything he's ever done before!"

Reelin' in the Years Productions does not focus solely on jazz. Messrs. Peck and Galloway have a library of more than 10,000 filmed performances from, they note, "over 30 TV stations that we exclusively represent from Europe, Japan and Australia." Among their previous releases are "American Folk Blues Festival 1962-69" and three James Brown "soul" concerts from 1966 to 1971.

Who knows? Maybe somewhere there is a recording of the legendary New Orleans trumpet player Buddy Bolden, whose horn on the streets could be heard for 10 miles -- or so I was told by musicians there remembering tales of their boyhoods. If such a recording exists, Messrs. Peck and Galloway will find it.

Mr. Hentoff writes about jazz for the Journal.

[erhodes]

Reelin' In the Years owns the rights to the video footage from Trane's 1965 Comblain La Tour perfomance and the clip of "I Want to Talk About You" from the 1962 Stockholm concert. It will be interesting to see what they have from the '64 Mingus w/ Dolphy tour. Shanachie has already issued the Oslo concert commercially on vhs and I believe it is also part of a commercially issued Dolph dvd. There are two other filmed performances that I know of: the rehersal from the Stockholm concert and a film of the Liege studio date, complete with footage of the musicians arriving on a bus. 90 minutes suggests that RITY may have the rights to both.

Exciting prospect. Hope it pans out.

[7/4]

The American Folk Blues Festival releases are amazing.

[kh1958]

The Larry Kart review posted here is much better than the Hentoff review.

http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=30144

I've watched the Blakey, Baker and Armstrong so far, and I love this series.

[kh1958]

The American Folk Blues Festival releases are amazing.

Yes, all three volumes, and in addition they have put out a Sonnyboy Williamson and Memphis Slim disc that is really good.

[Jim Alfredson]

My drummer from Root Doctor loaned me four of the Jazz Icons DVDs while I recover from back surgery. I'm watching the Art Blakey right now.

Wow! This is fantastic stuff. The sound and video are excellent! Lee Morgan is tearing it up and Blakey is, of course, just a huge presence... so powerful and yet nimble and plays the perfect accompianment every time.

Amazing find! The others he loaned me are the Monk, Count Basie, and the Dizzy.

So this 1958 concert was sent instead of the 1965 one? Is that one going to be released?

[.:.impossible]

I'd love to see the Mssgrs dvd. How is recovery going?

[Jim Alfredson]

Recovery is going as well as expected, thanks. I'm waiting for my doctor to get back to me because my pain level seems to be a bit more than what they said it would be.

Anyway, at the end of the Jazz Messengers DVD, Blakey is doing a solo on Night In Tunesia and he's wanging on his cymbal so hard the damn stand drops! YEAH! Kill that thing!

This is a great series. Any word on any other videos besides the current nine?

[Jim Alfredson]

Man, the Basie is fantastic as well! Thad Jones! Sonny Payne! Watch out!

[bolivarblues]

The Monk DVD is under my Christmas tree right now, one of several jazz-oriented gifts that I have my wonderful fiancée to thank for (as well as a couple that I know of under my parents' tree). I'll have a review in the next week or two.

[makpjazz57]

To date, I have only the Buddy Rich Jazz Icons DVD. I have $ now for one more (the rest to follow as money available). Anybody recommend one over the others of the Jazz Icon series? My top choices to be narrowed down to 1 are:

Basie

Quincy Jones

Blakey

Diz

I'm leaning heavily towards the Blakey first and then the Quincy Jones since I already have quite a bit of Basie and Diz video.

Any comments/suggestions welcomed.

Tks,

Marla

[kh1958]

To date, I have only the Buddy Rich Jazz Icons DVD. I have $ now for one more (the rest to follow as money available). Anybody recommend one over the others of the Jazz Icon series? My top choices to be narrowed down to 1 are:

Basie

Quincy Jones

Blakey

Diz

I'm leaning heavily towards the Blakey first and then the Quincy Jones since I already have quite a bit of Basie and Diz video.

Any comments/suggestions welcomed.

Tks,

Marla

The Blakey DVD is very exciting. It would get my recommendation.

I've only watched the first half of the Gillespie--Diz is paired with Sonny Stitt, who is in fine form--also recommended.

Edited December 27, 2006 by kh1958

[kh1958]

Recovery is going as well as expected, thanks. I'm waiting for my doctor to get back to me because my pain level seems to be a bit more than what they said it would be.

Anyway, at the end of the Jazz Messengers DVD, Blakey is doing a solo on Night In Tunesia and he's wanging on his cymbal so hard the damn stand drops! YEAH! Kill that thing!

This is a great series. Any word on any other videos besides the current nine?

I emailed the producer and he replied that they had many more films to release, but first they have to sell enough of the first series to convince TDK (who financed the first series of nine) that it is a profitable venture before another series could be produced.

He said there is a volume four of the American Folk Blues Festival series in the works.

[kh1958]

Possible future releases: (from www.jazzicons.com):

The Jazz Icons series was planned to be an ongoing entity, not just these first nine DVDs. If the first nine are successful, we have uncovered many more treasures to release in the next series. Of course, artist clearances are always a factor, but if possible some of the titles we would like to release include an incredible 60-minute concert from 1966 with Ella Fitzgerald & Duke Ellington, 90 minutes of live and in-studio concerts from 1964 with Charles Mingus and Eric Dolphy (filmed a few months before Dolphy passed away) and various concerts of John Coltrane, Sarah Vaughan & (Rahsaan) Roland Kirk all filmed in the early to mid 1960s.

[Jim Alfredson]

Well, damn! Let's get a move on:

Jazz Icons Full 9 DVD Boxset

Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers - Live in '58 (Jazz Icons)

Quincy Jones - Live in '60 (Jazz Icons)

Louis Armstrong - Live in '59 (Jazz Icons)

Count Basie - Live in '62 (Jazz Icons)

Chet Baker - Live in '64 and '79 (Jazz Icons)

Dizzy Gillespie - Live in '58 and '70 (Jazz Icons)

Buddy Rich - Live in '78 (Jazz Icons)

Thelonius Monk - Live in '66 (Jazz Icons)

Ella Fitzgerald - Live in '57 and '63 (Jazz Icons)

Click away and write a review if you've seen these! And if you haven't, give them a shot! I recommend the Basie and Blakey to start with.

[kh1958]

I don't see how any jazz lover could not get the Louis Armstrong--his trumpet sound is glorious in this concert.

And the Chet Baker is rather fine as well.

[brownie]

From an AP interview with Quincy Jones on the 'Jazz Icons' DVD series:

'The producers hope to release a second series of DVDs in 2007, pending clearances, by such jazz greats as Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, Duke Ellington and Cannonball Adderley.'

Hoping these will be from rarely seen videos too!

[jmc]

Bud Powell In Europe on the Jazz Performances label is a good examination of Bud playing in three different settings the only complaint is wanting it to be longer.

[kh1958]

I watched the Basie Jazz Icons DVD last night--it's another essential one. Well filmed, with good sound, and a star-studded band (the likes of Thad Jones and Quinton Jackson included), filmed for Swedish television in 1962.

[MartyJazz]

I have seven, the Basie, Blakey, Dizzy, Chet, Ella, Quincy, and Monk. They are all quite good to varying degrees. The care taken to preserve the film footage and to enhance the audio make this a very worthwhile series not to mention a tremendous bargain at $19.99 list price apiece. (Amazon has had them all available at various times for only $14.99 with free shipping on orders over $25). The booklets that come with each DVD also show great care and are very informative. Just a terrifc series and I'm sure I'll eventually spring for the Louis and Buddy as well from this initial issue of nine DVDs.

Of the above leaders, all but Quincy are now gone and I can only wonder how much input and negotiation was involved in order to get his DVD issued. (It's quite good BTW, featuring some terrific musicians in his 1960 big band, e.g., Budd Johnson, Phil Woods, Jerome Richardson, etc.) I can only hope that the producers have some Rollins footage from the '60s and, if so, that there won't be too many hurdles to jump to get it issued. Rollins understandably is very involved in decisions regarding the issuance of any material in which he is the leader.

Edited January 22, 2007 by MartyJazz

[mr jazz]

One thing I noticed was the similar styles between Buddy Rich and Sonny Payne. The liner notes for the Rich disc comment on how big a fan of the Basie band Rich was and it's very interesting to watch the two discs back to back. Glad I have all 9.

[medjuck]

I heard the Jazz Messengers DVD on the radio last week! Honest. I was in the Bay Area and the local jazz station was offering the DVDs as premiums. They'd play a number, then keep the sound going while they described the image and ask for donations. (They were sort of making fun of the way everybody was dressed.) I hadn't planned to get the Blakey but the music was so good I rushed out and bought it today. Watching/listening on my computer right now. It's great. Maybe better than the Bluenote release "Moanin".

[Guest youmustbe]

Buddy would sit in with Basie...nail it!!!! The band loved playing with Buddy at the drums, more so than Sonny. Sonny Payne couldn't swing 4/4.

[kh1958]

Based upon an email I received this weekend from Reelin' in the Years Productions, it appears they are proceeding with producing a second series of Jazz Icons DVDs.

[mr jazz]

that's good news. I'm really enjpying this set but still haven't watched them all.