Customer Reviews

Jean-Luc Ponty: In Concert

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This concert was fantastic. About the closest we got to a live recording was that "Live at Chene Park" CD and the performance on that was horrible. Mainly due to the drummer Chris Barsimanto and his inability to keep up with the rest of the band. This concert, however, is Jean Luc Ponty at his best!!! The song selection is really good and the execution of each song was flawless!!! I highly recommend this DVD Concert.

It's good to see JL Ponty performing live with his zen-like patience and strength. I still remember his 1988 concert in Santiago, CHILE (South America). Ponty and his new mates are great, making a real group, good sounding and musicianship . Only JL Ponty is a bit out of tune in the first track or maybe it's a technical problem, but it easily overpassed.
I should have included complete tracks from the Touring Memories files, specially from the concerts in Lebanon.

I've always been a fan of Jean Luc Ponty. What he is able to do on the violin is extra-ordinary! He is a creative musical force which blends sounds and chords together that typically are not supposed to work. He not only makes them work, but he moves you deeply throughout! Every time I play this concert for ANY of my friends, they are Instant Jean Luc Ponty fans. This DVD is like one big "eargasm." A must have! Sound and video quality is great! The band is tight and magnificent! You will definately get your monies worth and then some. If you are a first timer, be advised, you will be hooked on this guy and his music forevermore. You have been warned.
Enjoy!

I've been waiting for years for something like this to come along, ever since DVDs were introduced. I've been a fan of JLP for years, so I had to buy this DVD as soon as it was released. While it's great to see him play (along with his superb band) I was disappointed somewhat in the song selection and the bonus material. But then, nobody asked my for my input during the production. Also, he seemed to have trouble with his intonation at times. They say electric violins tend to make intonation problems more noticeable, but he plays electric in the studio and I've never noticed any problems. If I could give this DVD a 4.5 I would, because I'm so glad to have something by JLP but I just couldn't give it a 5 without seeing him perform Stevie Wonder's "As" or "Once A Blue Planet" or without seeing some better touring video (most of it looked like it was shot by a band or family member - very unprofessional) with subtitles in English perhaps. Like another reviewer I'm hoping for an encore. S'il vous plait, Monsieur Ponty.

This is one of the best dvds ive seen.menue is amazing and the performance is incredible.Very well put together by a master musician in ponty.Sound and picture are stunning as well in dolby5.1

This a must for any JLP fan. It is just awesome track 3 shows how great he really is. Recorded in 99 and just released. This is a MUST have !!!!!!

I pre-ordered this one. I've seen JLP live 3 times. Once in 1978, 1985, 2003. I believe him to be the best jazz-fusionist/violinist/songwriter of all time. This DVD is very much worth getting. I wonder if there will be more? Would like to see more from his earlier beginings. The band is tight and superb. Every musician gets to show of his talents and they blend it all together so well. This is a must buy for all fusion lovers!

It's difficult for me to rate this DVD. I gave it 4 stars because there is a little over an hour's worth of wonderful performances by Ponty and his band members. However, it seems like Ponty only gets video taped during jazz festivals, and he always gets limited to falling short of doing a full-blown concert. Personally, I would have prefered to see a guitarist in the band to add a rock edge to this show. But, don't get me wrong! I love Ponty's jazzy side. And given the time period in which this show was taped (during the No Absolute Time tour), this was a GREAT though short portrait of his jazz material. It opened with 2 nice selections from his Mystical Adventures album....with "Rhythms of Hope" and "Jig" each lasting a full 7 minutes, showcasing Jean-Luc and various band members. Beautiful performances by everyone filled the show that did not last as long as the usual Ponty concert. The first 2 minutes of the song billed as "Memories of California" sounded surprisingly like the "Prologue" tune the opened Ponty's The Gift of Time album. And the jazzy-African version of Enigmatic Ocean (Pt. 2) that ended the show was a fine way to close. The only real disappointment beside the brevity of the show was the fact that the only encore was a quick, hurried rush through a 4 minute version of Open Mind. Open Mind was never my favorite song (or album) from Jean-Luc, but I've seen him do extended, extravagant versions of the song as either show closings or grand encore pieces coupled with other selections that made you respect him for choosing that song many times in concert!!! And the fact that it was the only encore piece on this tape....and so short!!!....was disappointing, and reminds the viewer that this tape does not depict an entire concert from this fabulous band. Again...don't get me wrong!!! I gave this a 4 star rating because there is over 60 minutes of real SWEET performances here!! And it's GREAT to finally have a DVD of Ponty in concert!!! If you get this DVD, you will enjoy it immensely!! But, a full concert would have been better!

I'm a huge JLP fan since I was 15, when I first met his music with the LIVE album now released on CD. I gave the DVD 3 stars cause the show at that live album and of many more live albuns and presentations here in Brazil are far better than this one.
There was so fantastic presentations with great drums, guitar, keyboard and bass musicians with amazing solos that the show at this DVD just look like a free sample of that anthologic ones. He performs just fine like he always do, but just listen to the Ralph Armstrong's bass solos, the Ray Griffin's drums solos and the Scott Hendersons guitar solos and you will find the real JLP deal. I'm still expecting a great JLP (band) live presentation on DVD besides this one is very good.

Jean luc Ponty is a French jazz/fusion violinist extraordinaire. This concert, filmed in Poland, shows a Jean luc Ponty at the height of his form. With a plethora of songs and tunes spanning his thirty plus year career, the performances by Ponty are wonderful, and the supporting musicians of his then lineup are surprising, fresh, and vibrant in their performances. I was especially struck by the bass player and the drummer.

If you are a fan of Mr. Ponty, you should get this DVD.