Customer Reviews

The Centennial Collection (Bonus DVD)

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

 

 

Not only was his music intricate not "simple" swing, but the man was an immense mind..the CD is great, wonderful recordings, many live broadcasts presented where Artie later on the DVD explains a preferance for live in the moment playing as different from studio wizardry..clearly a scholarly person the DVD shows you the man's uniqueness with his warm
ruminations on it all and life..discussing art and entertainment,his upbringing,his place in music history,his individuality,the similarities of Miles and Dizzy and how they differed all with a great DVD of movie clips and the stellar music CD.If you are into swing at all listen to this CD for a truly unique voice.

This is a tremendous introduction to Artie Shaw, a band leader who captured the spunk of swing like no other. He grooves in an intense beat akin to a rock n' roll guitarist absorbed in pulsating to the magic of his instrument. Many of his numbers require full attention. This is not passive background music. If you want to swing in high gear you cannot overlook Artie Shaw.

I purchased this collection solely for the DVD. I have all of the music from the CD on various collections and it is indeed great music. I was hoping that the DVD was going to show many clips of his performances. Instead you get two video clips from a movie - the first clip is not even two minutes long and the second clip "Concerto For Clarinet" (a great song that is over nine minutes long), taken from the movie at about three minutes. There was a "School of Swing" segment that was ok, but nothing great. I can't believe that these are the only good clips available. The interview session is also just ok and after viewing it once I don't think you'll ever go back to it. Where's the performances???? There is nothing special here except the price - it's too high!!! If I was just rating the music it would get five stars. However I believe that most folks will make this purchase because of the video. EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED.

This is a series of CD/DVD covering the important people in The Big Band History of music. Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller and Fats Waller are the four in my collection. I recommend this series as a nice musical history lesson.

What absolutely gorgeous swing era recordings. Shaw is/was an amazingly talented artist. Love the cd; love the dvd included in this collection. Artie Shaw lived to age 94 - passed away in 2004. I just learned of him a few months ago! I've read 2 biographies - very interesting. If you love music and intelligent innovative performers, welcome to the world of Artie Shaw.

I must share how I even learned about Artie Shaw. A few months ago I saw the movie "The Jolson Story" starring Larry Parks and Evelyn Keyes. Parks performance introduced me to Al Jolson - another intelligent innovative performer. About the same time I also saw the movie "The Gene Krupa Story" starring Sal Mineo. Krupa another intelligent innovative performer. Another movie I saw at that time introduced me to Artie Shaw. What can I say - music is my joy! By the way, a fun fact regarding Evelyn Keyes - she was one of Shaw's 8 wives. Enjoy! Please spend your time and money wisely. Attend local live music productions. :)