Product Details

• Actors: Freddie Hubbard, Gil Melle, Herbie Hancock, Horace Silver, Carlos Santana
• Directors: Andreas Morell, Julian Benedikt
• Writers: Julian Benedikt
• Producers: Bernd Helthaler, Lee Hirsch, Michael Krause, Ulli Pfau
• Format: Black & White, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Blue Note Records
• VHS Release Date: October 7, 1997
• Run Time: 113 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 630467063X
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #226,373 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The ultimate jazz record label, lovingly documented., March 17, 2003

By 

C. Rotolo - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blue Note - A Story of Modern Jazz [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Well, as a fan of jazz I simply never get tired of this film! This 1997 documentary covers all the bases - the background and perspective of Blue Note's founder, Alfred Lion, the recording session atmosphere, the enthusiasm and dedication of the musicians, Francis Wolff's photographs, Reid Miles' covers and Rudy Van Gelder's sound. If you own the Burns series, this film fills in some of the gaps and corrects some of the misconceptions perpetrated by that series' final few episodes, and it does so without all the constant cloying narration. The director does a masterful job of editing and sequencing the various segments to provide an expert and entertaining balance between interviews and performance footage and between coverage of the label's heyday and its contemporary influence. The performance footage for the most part is electrifying, including period clips of Art Blakey, Horace Silver and Thelonious Monk, the Town Hall concert of '85 (showcasing Freddie Hubbard's virtuosity), and Junko Onishi from '96. There is one b&w clip of a Sonny Rollins performance that is just mesmerizing to watch! (The only soft segment for me is a clip of Cassandra Wilson performing one of her tunes in a "smooth jazz" arrangement - ugh!) The interviews are in a variety of settings and include all the right folks such as Blue Note heroes Herbie Hancock and Horace Silver, session players Bob Cranshaw and Tommy Turrentine, industry figures Gil Melle and Michael Cuscuna, Alfred Lion's former wife Lorraine Gordon (interviewed while taking reservations at the Village Vanguard!)and his widow, Ruth Lion, plus several of Lion and Wolff's colleagues from Europe, who give a valuable perspective on the reception of jazz as high art. The soundtrack is well-crafted and indicative of the range of the label's music with selections from artists well known to Blue Note fans like Joe Henderson, Grant Green, Kenny Burrell, Lee Morgan, Jimmy Smith and Grachan Moncur. This film ranks alongside Monk's documentary "Straight, No Chaser". Highly recommended!

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Flawed but Essential, April 5, 2008

By 

Dean R. Brierly (Studio City, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blue Note: A Story Of Modern Jazz (DVD)

When Julian Benedikt's documentary on the famous Blue Note record label aired as a two-part television special in 1997, it was cause for celebration among jazz fans, albeit tempered with a sense of frustration. The small, independent company, founded by German immigrants Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff in 1939, played a seminal role in the development of jazz from the postwar period through the late 1960s. Lion and Wolff privileged quality over all other considerations, and recorded artists when other labels wouldn't touch them. (Thelonious Monk is a prime example.) Such an enlightened and progressive corporate attitude would be unthinkable in today's bottom-line climate. Blue Note had a sound, a style and a look all its own. The label arguably reached its artistic peak in the late-50s to early 60s with its roster of powerhouse hard bop players as Hank Mobley, Jackie McLean, Art Blakey and dozens of others. If Benedikt had simply focused his camera on the surviving musicians and included generous amounts of archival concert footage, this could have been one of the greatest music documentaries ever. Unfortunately, his film goes off in a number of inexplicable directions that seriously compromise its impact. In a misguided attempt to give the film "relevance," Benedikt accords an inordinate amount of camera time to the likes of Carlos Santana, Taj Mahal, and DJ Smash. Their perspectives, while sincere, lack the kind of insight that the original artists, many of them happily still alive, could have provided. Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, pianist Horace Silver and bassist Bob Cranshaw are given a fair amount of time to reflect on the creative freedom they experienced as Blue Note artists, but for the most part, Benedikt is content to name check famous musicians like Lee Morgan and Hank Mobley without providing any context. Even more problematic is the matter of concert footage. Benedikt is generally stingy with archival footage of such legends as Dexter Gordon, while indulging in extended performance footage of contemporary musicians Junko Onishi and Cassandra Wilson. Onishi is a nice pianist, but has nothing to do with the classic era. And including Wilson's smooth jazz pabulum is an insult to the innovative spirit the label represents. Moreover, Benedikt's kaleidoscopic, MTV-style of editing, while meant to be hip and cutting-edge, just comes across as annoying. Having said all that, I would still recommend this DVD to jazz fans, if only for its historical significance and the chance to see and hear icons like Herbie Hancock and Hubbard reminisce about an era when jazz was about pushing boundaries and enriching the culture. When Benedikt lets the original musicians speak and play for themselves, his film soars. If only he had left it at that.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice review of the history of the Blue Note Jazz Label, October 8, 2000

By 

historyone (Republic of Texas, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Blue Note - A Story of Modern Jazz [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is quite an enjoyable video that explains the history of one of the most important recording labels in Jazz, Blue Note. From its founding in the 1930's to the late 1990's, this video showcases the founders of the label, to the legendary artists that recorded with the Blue Note label. Legendary performers include John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Theolonius Monk, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, just to name a few.

Personal views from the musicians themselves enhance this video and it is captivating to learn how these musicians got together in the studios and collaborated to make some of the best Jazz the world ever heard or will ever hear.

The music is highlighted taking the best of beebop, fusion and avant guarde and is evolved through time. Blue Note has evolved to Jazz's ever changing sphere of music, but its re-releases of classic recordings still (in my opinion) make it the best of the Jazz labels.

This video is highly recommended to all who enjoy the history of Jazz and want to learn something about the evolution of Jazz in the last 60 years.