Customer Reviews

From Billie Holiday To Edith Piaf: Live In Marciac

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I really enjoyed this album, recorded live in concert. Of course the Wynton Marsalis Quintet plays fantastically, but the addition of Richard Galliano on accordion provides a special twist and a French atmosphere that is special.

I was skeptical about the accordion for a while, until I heard the Jacques Brel classic "Vesoul", which converted me. Galliano's playing is in the best tradition of French style accordion and really adds to the music on this album.

Make no mistake, this is a Wynton Marsalis Quintet album. The accordion plays a supporting role and gives flavor to the music, without overpowering or taking over. The locomotive-like effects it provides on "L'Homme a la Moto" are a lot of fun and a dominant force on the track, but in other places, like "Strange Fruit", it is limited to a supporting role, providing feathery fills and atmospheric background at the low end. There are other tracks that take a middle course -- the album has plenty of fine accordion solos.

For great traditional jazz from the New Orleans tradition with a French twist, you can't go wrong here. The sound quality is great, there is little or no crowd noise besides the applause at the end of each track. On the MP3 version, which is what I bought, the bitrates are 237-258 Kbps. Highly recommended!

The Wynton Marsalis Quintet is found here at the top of its form. Whatever you think of Marsalis's revisionist approach to jazz history, the man can certainly play. These are not tired readings of the same old tunes, but something new, creative, and exciting. It is straightahead jazz was a little New Orleans flair. It's rare for me to listen to a new disk all of the way through at the first sitting. In this case, the ebb and flow of the set and the energy of the live performance kept me in my seat throughout. The recording quality is excellent. Instrumental timbres are as true as I've heard from any standard CD. Wynton's trumpet covers the gambit from burnished to sizzling. The only disappointment is that the bonus DVD doesn't carry a higher resolution audio track. Very highly recommended.

The Wynton Marsalis Quintet and the brilliant french accordianist, Richard Galliano collaborated on this tribute to Billie Holiday and Edith Piaf which culminated in a live performance at the 2008 Marciac Jazz Festival in southwest France. As the title obviously suggests, the CD includes a number of songs covered by Edith Piaf and Billie Holiday. The music of these women was chosen not only due their stylistic similarities, but also, as the liner notes state, similarities in the tragic trajectories of their lives.

This CD and the accompanying DVD are the result of that collaboration. Make no mistake: this is rare and magical stuff that does not come around very often. The music itself is nostalgic and beautiful, and the performances no less than inspired. The synergy between the performers and the appreciative french audience is wonderful and adds to the richness of the performance. Many American jazz and popular music fans are likely unfamiliar with Richard Galliano, a uniquely talented musician and innovator in both classical as well as jazz and french dance hall music. Wynton Marsalis introduces him simply as "one of the world's greatest musicians". And while the concept of accordian music in jazz may be novel to many listeners, Mr Galliano proves Mr. Marsalis's point on this CD. Highly recommended.

Breathless album... I could not stop listening nor stop watching the video until the end. The blending of the french musette with the New Orleans Jazz came from two giants of Jazz. Marsalis has evolved with the New Orleans style beyond the boundaries of Jazz towards International Music that bridged the gap between the specific and the general in terms in music. Galliano's mastery of the accordion cannot find better than Piaf or Holliday to lend its silky playing to. The result is a set difficult to forget and difficult to reproduce. The accompanying jazzmen are not lesser at all. Walter Blanding on the tenor saxophone, blew Jazz from the heart, pianist Dan Nimmer's swing and blues go straight to the heart, bassist Carlos Henriquez syncopated rhythms kept the band alive and Ali Jackson on the drums did everything to wrap up the sessions with rhythms in full synchronicity with Galliano and Marsalis.Ali on Drums is breath-taking, and Nimmer on Piano is out of this world with real swing and blues. I advise everyone to see the DVD first to get a feel of the group. The direction of the DVD is outstanding.

I am a big fan of both Marsalis and Galliano, i love the music and singing of Holliday and Piaf. My favorite tune is "La Foule" but i cannot point to one tune being better than the others. This is a historic album that is a must to all jazz fans, blues fans, french music fans and of course Marsalis, Galliano, Piaf, Holliday fans around the world.

I saw this same group play an amazing concert in Paris and decided I really wanted this album. Even with shipping it was slightly cheaper than buying it at the concert itself. The concert recorded in Marciac sounded just as good as the Paris concert (although nothing really beats seeing a group live); if anything the crowd in Marciac sounds a lot more energetic than the one at the concert I went to, which is for me enjoyable in a jazz album. I love the addition of the accordion to the quintet, obviously it's not as common in jazz, but the way Richard Galliano plays and solos with it is definitely right at home in this genre, giving the concert a slightly European feel. The playing by Marsalis and his group is excellent as expected. Having the DVD of the concert is also a welcome bonus. Whether or not you enjoy the singing of Piaf and Holiday, this group takes that music and really plays some terrific arrangements.

This is a fully realized collaboration, not just a spur of the moment blowing session.

Both the CD and DVD versions are well worth your time and repeated listenings/viewings.

The live audience is well-behaved and appreciative (me, too!).

BTW, I gave it four stars, as I save five for only seminal works.

This is just a phenomenal concert! No complaints whatsoever. This comes with a CD and DVD, and on the DVD is the whole live concert. The packaging is great too! When you open the cd case, you see two groups on words describing the history that inspired the concert. Amazing concert, everything about this cd+dvd is perfect! And the price is perfect too (I got my copy for 16 bucks)! Don't hesitate, buy this!!!

What a pleasant surprise. Never a really a fan of Edith Piaf and not a huge fan of Billie Holiday (I like some stuff). However, the two icons (Marsalis and Galliano) presented well. The "back up" band ain't bad either :) Add this to your collection, you won't be disappointed. I really like the DVD addition for collaborations like this because watching the musicians interact as well as hearing it, is equally entertaining if not more so.

Oh...my..what a wonderfull music...Duke Ellington once said somthing like "there is good music and then there are the other kinds of music"....this is the good one...how interesting that the New Orleans built by French and influenced by French culture with its JAZZ music and musicians and a French musician are back together making world music using every element of their styles and more....!!!
Jazz... with its African American culture as the back bone and French with it's melodic and romance mixed in .....this group is way beyond nice...it is incredible..specialy if you are watchimg the DVD that comes with the CD set.....they all feel like home...on every tune...!!

Wynton..as usuall is unbeleivable playing the melodies with such care and sensivitiy that brings tears..he can play with such soft touch or play fast ..check out the What A Moonlight Can Do...a jaw droper...!!

Galliano...on the accordion..shows the world accordion is NOT A POLKA instrumbut only..and how he also places every note with such care and tender...a true french rmoantic....and he also can play the swing and the bebop..

The drummer..Mr.Ali Jackson..almost steals the show ...with a very small drum set...see he only has a snare and two symbals...but watch how much he creats out of those alone...all you rock drummers you do not need a drum set that you need to rent a truck to haul..just learn how to play like this CAT...!!!

Tenor and alto sax...Mr. Blanding....sweet...sweet...sweet...

Bass...oh my...he is the heart beat of them all....

Piano....Mr. Dan Nimmer....I have seen other DVD's that he performs with Wynton...but never this inspired...amazing...!!


Conterary to one of the reviews I think the inclusion of the "Strange Fruit" is very appropiate..this could heave been the Funeral Song for Billie( consider this song as Billie's REQUIEM)....it's so sad and yet beautiful at the same time...I could immagine this song being arranged and played with large classical orchestra....

and last but not least....they play LA VIE EN ROSE as a bossa nova..yet another style ..Brazilian....what an great idea...


buy this CD+DVD..and listen and specialy watch these great musicians creat a timeless masterpiece...

When I purchased this recording, I was somewhat skeptical about the trumpet-accordian combination. Eight of the nine tracks on the CD are brilliantly played (the version of "Strange Fruit" doesn't seem to fit with the others). Marsalis and his quintet deserve all the accolades other reviewers give them. The real bonus, however, are the improvisational moments from Ricahrd Galliano's accordian and his polyphony with Marsalis. The playing by the two leads and the quintet, live in Marciac, is just not some clever fling; it is engrossing, refreshing and highly satisfying jazz.