Customer Reviews

Branford Marsalis Quartet: Coltrane's A Love Supreme Live in Amsterdam

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Branford Marsalis' new recording of Coltrane's masterpiece, A Love Supreme, is superb on many levels. If you're a fan of Trane, and even just luke-warm on Branford, I'm confident you'll find this to be a very worthwhile purchase.

Competent but lesser musicians playing ALS would try to channel Trane and the classic quartet. Not Branford. He is a mature artist with a fully-realized style. He sometimes lovingly quotes Trane, or puts his own spin on a Trane riff, but he is clearly his own man on this recording of A Love Supreme.

Jeff Tain Watts understands the essence of Elvin and Elvin's contribution to ALS. But, like Branford, Tain is his own man here. He's great as a sideman, and plays a great solo at the end of Resolution.

Joey Calderazzo - an outstanding pianist who has done excellent and original work with many of today's top jazz artists - falls into McCoy mode in his first solo, but then plays like himself in his second one. Both are great solos, but I think it shows a real maturity and confidence to be yourself rather than emulate the masters when playing their great works.

The bassist, Eric Revis, is very good, but I'm partial to Robert Hurst's performance on Branford's earlier recording of ALS.

It's worth comparing that earlier performance to the new one. Branford first recorded ALS ten years ago for a CD compilation called "Stolen Moments: Red, Hot & Blue". That version is much shorter - only about 25 minutes, compared to the full-length version on the new DVD/CD combo. On the older version, Branford's quartet went into the studio, didn't rehearse much (they were all fine musicians and all knew ALS), and started the tape rolling. It is a wonderful performance, and well-worth having in your collection. But it sounds like they are not trying to record anything original, just to have a fun time playing Trane's music. (Be warned, though, that most of that CD contains acid jazz & hip hop.)

In contrast, the new recording does have a bit more of Branford's personality and interpretation. For example, the chord changes in Acknowledgement are clearly different than on Trane's original recording - not so different to be annoying or trite - but different enough to let you know that Branford has something new to say. Plus, in the 10 years since the earlier recording, Branford has grown from a very good but young musician to a true master in his own right, and this is evident on the new recording.

The sound & picture quality are PHENOMENAL. I have about a dozen concert DVDs covering various genres. This is easily the best sounding & looking of them all. My TV/DVD player is plugged into a mere bookshelf stereo (albeit a good one), and the sound was SUPERB. Then, I took the DVD over to a friend's house who has Dolby 5.1 home theater sound, and my God, I thought I was in the club with the musicians! The picture quality matches the sound quality. I viewed this DVD on a high-definition wide screen TV, and it was really quite thrilling.

The DVD includes a bunch of interviews. First is a 30-minute interview between Branford and Alice Coltrane. She talks a lot about Trane, his music, his relentless pursuit of perfection, some reminiscing about when he wrote ALS, and she and Branford have interesting exchanges about the nature of jazz and other topics. Then there are a bunch of shorter interviews on various aspects of ALS, including some with Michael Brecker. I think the interviews are insightful and add value to an already great disc.

Finally, there's a brief segment called "Branford Casual" that shows Branford walking around town, working out at the gym, practicing some classical music on the soprano, rehearsing with his quartet, and misc backstage tour footage. Neat, but not essential.

Amazingly, you get all this for the price of a CD. And the package includes an audio CD of the concert performance as a bonus!

I'd have trouble articulating this performance so I'll just say: Wow! My girl friend and I just watched the entire thing in utter silence and joy. Neither of us spoke until it was over. Emotionally moving, exciting, intelligent... Maybe THE best jazz DVD I've ever witnessed. The camera angles are great and go with the composition - instead of being a distraction - as on some other videos... Highly, highly recommended.

I too just finished watching the entire dvd in one sitting. Remarkable. I kept thinking througout the performance, how blessed we are in this age to be able to see musicians of this caliber, performing a piece of this magnitude, in a venue of this quality, captured with such visual clarity and sonic envelopment--from the music to the musicians to the technology it is all top-notch----at last, there is no weak link! Really, this has never before been possible in the history of man, and it is nothing to take lightly. (I couldn't think of a way to improve upon the experience other than to have some people smoke cigarettes near you and spill some alcohol on your rug.)

I have seen old clips of John Coltrane's quartet from the 50's Ralph Gleason show "Jazz Casual" but it is black & white, with low sound and picture quality. It is a document, nothing more.

I have seen clips of Miles Davis's Quartet performing "So What" off of Kind Of Blue, but again, it is archival quality, found on documentaries, and usually some narrator talks over the piece----and it isn't complete in any case.

Tonight I popped in a shiny new disc of the [b]Branford Marsalis Quartet[/b] performing John Coltrane's [i]"A Love Supreme", [/i] and it looked and sounded like I was in the club!

At the beginning of track two, Pursuance, I turned it up for the bass-solo introduction.... it built and built in intensity, and when the rest of the band came roaring in, the room filled with crystal clear sound, and I knew I was experiencing a rare moment in jazz history----heck, in music history. That moment alone was worth the price of the dvd for me, especially when you consider tickets to a jazz club at $30 each and a drink minimum, you're looking at $75 easy.

The dvd also features interviews with the band, discussing their approach to the music, and an interview with Alice Coltrane.

My habit of late, is to burn a cd copy of my favorite live jazz dvd's to listen on my computer while working, or in the car. Branford thought of this, as a cd of the show is already in the package as disc two! Nice...

I would not hesitate to recommend this dvd to any jazz lover, music lover, musician, or artist. Get this, dim the lights, sit back with a drink, and enjoy!

I was really unsure about if the idea behind this DVD would work. How could you take a masterpiece like A Love Supreme and interpret it? Or should this even be done? An incredibly presumptious undertaking,was my thinking. There aren't even many versions of Naima I care to hear, outside of those performed by Coltrane himself or McCoy Tyner.
However, this is a beautiful performance and it does work. The cohesiveness and energy of the group is undeniable. The music simply oozes respect and homage for Coltrane and his timeless work.
If you appreciate modal jazz, you cannot dislike this performance.
If you think jazz is a spiritual art form, you will not be disappointed.
Branford playing is fairly well documented, but a special treat is the fantastic playing of Joey Calderazzo. And the incredible playing of Tain Watts who is always right there and pushing ahead.
This is one that will get several repeated listenings. Enjoy.

Had I not seen the Film and only the audio of the concert, I would've sworn it was Trane. This quite possibly the best Jazz DVD I have ever heard/seen. Performing A Love Supreme is no easy task. It's not like simply playing a standard, this is a very important piece of music and reqiures a different approach. Naturally I had my reservation about this DVD. Eventhough Branford and his quartet are exellent and very capable, A Love Supreme is just something else of its own. I decided to get this DVD despite my reservations, mainly b/c I wanted to see how they played it. I was not at all dissapointed. This disc is amazing. From the first note to the last, the energy is at a high, and just when you think they can't possibly raise the bar, they do. They don't exceed Coltranes famous quartet and they don't set out to do so.(and how could they) What these guys have done with John Coltranes' most famous recording is make it there own. Instead of trying to play it like Tranes quartet they played it like themselves. Ironically while trying to play it unlike Trane, they ended up channeling his energy and spirit. Overall a must buy for any fan of Jazz, or art in general.

Wow, buying this DVD I really had no idea what was in store. I actually bought it after the fact I saw Branford and his quartet perform in Ithaca, at the State Theatre. In the performance they played a lot of newer tunes, more avant-gardish. (More reminiscent of Archie Shepp & Pharoah Sanders than Trane.) I digress.

Anyways, this DVD is totally worth it. As some might argue that the pianist, Joey Calderazzo, mighty emulate McCoy too much, they're really missing the big picture. Of course he does, Tyner is perhaps his biggest influence. What Calderazzo does is take McCoy's playing to a whole new personal level. He makes everything his own. As his solo on "Resolution" is nice, his solo on "Pursuance" blew my mind on first listen. His technique, ideas, and sense of rhythm is unbelievable. One might buy this just for Calderazzo's performance. As Eric Revis is somewhat new to the group, I find his playing very good. A very tight player, he does a nice job of communicating well with Tain Watts, since he is one to suprise others on the bandstand! Tain Watts is equally impressive here, showing a deep appreciation for Elvin Jones' playing. His solos are filled with pure intensity, and never seems to play top-heavy, despite what some Branford fans might say. Lastly, Branford puts on a great performance, easily showing his Coltrane influence, but putting his own spin on groove and improvisation. His tone seems to be a combination of Trane and Sonny Rollins?? Tough to decide sometimes. In addition, the sound quality on the DVD is remarkable. Put it on a surround sound system. Trust me. There's also some bonus features which include Branford in chill mode: going to the gym, rehearsing, playing soprano, etc. Exciting stuff.....

I bought this DVD after seeing Branford and the quartet playing it live. The sound was dreadful - the drums drowned out everything, so I bought this DVD hoping to actually hear what was going on. Well, the sound is fine, great, in fact; the camera angles don't interfere with the music, the extras, particularly the interview with Alice Coltrane, are excellent, but the reason that I am only giving it three stars is simple - the music just isn't that good.
I decided to write this after seeing that the only negative reviews were written by people who didn't seem to 'get' the music, not those that did, but didn't like it. I am of the latter type. I know Coltrane's music very well, and the band here seem to have missed the point completely. They are not trying to emulate the classic quartet, and all respect to Branford for bringing his own playing into it, it's just that his own playing isn't that good (in this style). Many times in the concert it seems like it's about to take off, but it never does. I have seen Jeff 'Tain' Watts many times, and every time I've seen him he has really lifted the intensity of the music (and the volume). In this performance I can constantly hear him waiting for Branford to throw something his way, but it just doesn't happen. Joey Calderazzo sounds great, maybe too near McCoy for many people's tastes, driving the music, and Eric Revis is rock solid in accompaniment.
At no point in the DVD does Branford go 'out'. This was one of the most important aspects of the original - 'Trane would play something, move it up a fourth, invert it, etc. Dig out the original, 'Trane plays a glorious few bars in 'Resolution', just before he comes in with the melody for the second time. He does a wonderful sort of chromatic ascending thing which works beautifully. There is a section in the original, in the middle of 'Acknowledgement', where 'Trane plays the motif again and again, moving it around the cycle of fourths (sorry about the technical language). Branford also plays this, but where in the original it had been a sort of resting point after the driving intensity of the previous section, in this version it just falls completely flat.
I think that it is admirable that Branford embarked on such an enormous project, and to his credit that it came out sounding like him, but it just doesn't work for me, and it's all his fault. He is a great player, and I have really enjoyed some of his work, he just needs to decide whether he is going to go out there and start taking chances with his music, or whether he is going to continue playing in his own lyrical, almost European-sounding style. It just seems like the wrong thing for him to be playing; better to leave this sort of thing for the true masters of the genre - Liebman, Brecker, and Garrett.

Sorry I haven't been a lifelong, dyed-in-the-wool jazz afficionado. I came to jazz through the fortunate experiences one gets at live jazz dives when one is lucky. Coltrane is special. This
DVD is especially special. Better recording than the original classic. More physical meat. More sweat. This is a cardiovascular workout when you are relaxed enough to listen. Even the crowd is nuanced on this production.
Listen to the background of the crowd whistling and screaming with ecstasy when the band crescendos and "talks amongst themselves" when the band works the quiet passages.

Who could doubt that Coltrane himself would be pleased, when by the passage of time, with more acceptance for this masterpiece that a competent and brilliant ensemble would flesh this out? The devine expression intended by Coltrane is fairly well done out here. This is as close to a practiced, disciplined, orgy as anything I've seen in music.

This is my favorite of any jazz DVD I have in my possession. Branford and gang set off some artistic dynamite in this show!!!

As a saxophonist whose day(and night) job is video production, this DVD has me completely hooked!

Music: 10
Audio/Video Production: 10
Extras: 10

... so on a scale from 1 to 5, it deserves a 30.

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My one complaint: The BGM had me wishing the DVD set had a second disc with tunes other than the "A Love Supreme" portion. This magic leaves you yearning for an encore! More! More! More!

I didnt see any mention of the wonderful extended interview between Branford and Alice Coltrane; for me this was the a cream on the cake!!! We get to hear feedback from one of the great musicians of that time addressing the fundimental issues facing jazz then and now. As a musician myself, I felt both respect and empathy for the people on this dvd as they are recreating a composition that has much history and lore to it. But it got me thinking- Where does jazz stand today? Certainly Branford and his crew are dedicated, (does one play this music to get rich? no), but this is the question we face today as music does not stand still.
This month I have been thinking that the experiments of the west coast folks went unfinished, and there is more to be done. Sorry ladies and gents I'm just reflecting as you will too after seeing this recreation of 60's jazz history. jb