Customer Reviews

Legends - Live at Montreux

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

They say you become a legend after you die, but these guys are truly living legends. Amazing musicianship from the top in their fields. Clapton is at his best on this video, and although not a jazz musician, he brings the best of his blues-rock chops to this eclectic, fusion mix.

The viewer is treated to electric and acoustic sets, being the electric ones my favorites. The song that is worth the price of the whole DVD alone, in my humble opinion is 'Put it where you want it'. Amazing, energetic solos by Sanborn, Clapton and Sample.

About the DVD itself. Audio transfer is flawless, with DTS and Dobly tracks, you get a crisp, kind of live quality to the show.

The video is letterbox format, great for concerts, but colors seem to be a little washed off, my bootleg copy from japanese Tv seems to have more quality to it. No extras on this dvd :( and only a very straightforward menu animation.

For it's price, this is one of the best concerts out there, especially if you are a Clapton fan, but Sanborn and Miller also deliver the goods like no other. Recommended

When you look at the lineup for this band, how can you not buy this DVD! Great setting, the camera work is excellent, the audio is very good (except for two songs, see below).

The set list is a nice mix of jazz and blues, containing both outright jams as well as a few more mellow tunes. Realize these guys are not fantastic showmen, but they are incredible musicians so buy it for that reason. I've always been a Sanborn and Joe Sample fan and neither disappoint, delivering soulful performances. Steve Gadd is his ususal flawless self and Marcus Miller on bass is superb. Although Clapton is very good, his sound and some of his solos don't seem to fit with some of the songs. A little too much of a rock sound. At times I wish he had opted for the Gibson guitar (like he did on One more car, One more rider) to get that smoother, cleaner jazz sound on some of the tunes. All in all though, the musicianship is outstanding as you would expect from these guys.

As I said the sound quality is very good. It would be excellent had they not botched up what could be the best song on the disc. It's one of two times Clapton uses an acoustic and you can barely hear anything he plays...very disappointing. However, Joe Sample has an excellent solo here. Also, on the closing song (which is great) the mike is messed up and his voice fades in and out.

The video quality (along with the couple of audio issues above) is the main reason I don't give this 5 stars. If you are not watching this on a large screen HDTV, then don't bother reading any further as the issues are a moot point for you. The camera work is excellent in terms of capturing the concert and it looks great on a 32 inch CRT. The downer is it was shot in 4:3 and doesn't view near as well on a 52 inch HDTV. It loses some clarity on the full screen and there are faint white vertical lines that are noticable when there is a dark back drop. I thought it was the lighting at first, but now I don't think that is the case. I realize I'm being a little picky here but it just seems strange that the video has the look of 'widescreen' (black bars top and bottom) without the actual benefit of being shot in 16:9.

Regardless, I am still very happy to have this in my collection. These are some of the best musicians in the business and if you are a fan of their music, it's worth the buy.

As I attended one the few concerts in July 1997 by “Legends”, in Copenhagen, and liked it, I have now and then looked for a CD issue. Now, after 8 years, it is here as a DVD! It is an exciting mixture of skilled musicians, all of them seem inspired. They give each other space, essential in improvisational jazz music, which this to a certain extent is. Joe Sample and David Sanborn really show their skill as jazz musicians, and so of course Steve Gadd. When I had watched this DVD, I took out some old Crusaders stuff and realised that Joe was a real first class player even back then, even if I didn’t realise that at that time. Marcus Miller plays vividly in a funky style, inspired by Jaco Pastorius but no copy of him, he is a brilliant musician. His bass clarinet on “In a sentimental mood/Layla “ brings a fresh touch. Eric Clapton, not being a jazz musician, is here a musical deviant, a very skilled such, and valiant. First I thought, it’s a pity that Clapton uses Stratocaster only (except some acoustic) and not bringing his Gibson “Jazz Box”, L5 I think. Then I realised that it is physically impossible to play as Clapton does here on Stratocaster, on a “Jazz Box”. That would force Clapton to a playing style which would limit his extraordinary skills as an improvisational guitarist, a skill he has in rock and blues, and not in jazz. If he tries to be at he same improvisational jazz level as his colleagues, using a Jazz Box, he would fail. (For those who don’t know, I can tell that the set of chords and chord progression used in jazz differs from those used in rock and blues music). I felt that stronger a couple of years later, when I read a Clapton interview for Guitar Player magazine. An extract of that interview is found in the DVD-sleeve:

“All the time that I knew I could play blues, I was still very insecure about my standing as a legitimate musician. I didn’t feel I could sit and have a conversation with a jazz player about music because they were on a higher level than me. Yet I’ve found over the last few years that I can approach any kind of music and bring a unique point of view to it. For example, when I toured with the Legends band, I thought I wasn’t worthy to play with them. But even though I felt I wasn’t in their league, when we talked about music, I realised, “Hey, I do know enough to stand alongside these guys and play” “.

I understand Clapton’s respectful attitude, although being, as stated in the DVD-sleeve, “the world’s most famous living guitarist”. I really agree to his statement above, “I can approach any kind of music and bring a unique point of view to it”. If you e.g. listen to “Concert for George”, especially when he plays the special Ravi Shankar composition for George, you’ll see what I mean.

However, I still think it is pity that he used the same tone from his Stratocaster as he too often uses, I would have preferred a more mellow tone.

Unfortunately one tune is badly mixed, Clapton’s acoustic guitar is hardly audible, I guess the electric connection to the guitar was out of order. Funnily enough the sleeve text says “Here, Clapton’s signature Martin acoustic underpins lead lines from Marcus Miller’s just-donned six-string bass.” The tune is “In case you hadn’t noticed”. However, when I watched an excerpt from the some of the concerts on TV many years ago, which I have on a video, the mixing is fine.

I really like the mix of tunes, from a soft “In sentimental mood” to a vivid “Full House”. As I consider the live concert in 1997 as some of my most memorable concerts ever, I may overrate it somewhat. At the live concert the genuine zest for what they were doing was even more obvious. That passes a joy to the audience without any studied, sophisticated show.
So finally, after eight years delay, I really enjoy this DVD!

I love David Sanborn, Joe Sample, Marcus Miller and Steve Gadd. I have heard several Eric Clapton songs and saw him play with B.B. King before, so I thought I couldn't go wrong with this DVD. Overall, the show presented here is entertaining, but I feel like this band was put together more for publicity's sake than for taking the music to the next level which, for my money, is what I want to see.

There were several great moments throughout the show. David Sanborn's solo work was as great as ever. He played lots of nice licks to be transcribed and emulated by sax players like me. He gets a nice, edgy, unique tone with that metal Dukoff mouthpiece. I loved Marcus Miller's bass solos and found it particularly cool that he came out with the bass clarinet for "In a Sentimental Mood" and at the beginning of "Leyla." I am a big fan of the electric bass, so I enjoyed his "thumping." I liked Joe Sample's ragtime feature (although I didn't feel that it really fit in with the entire scheme of things), and he displayed superb technique in his solos. Steve Gadd was at the top of his game.

But as a whole, the band is a little awkward. There are times that I feel like Eric Clapton doesn't quite fit in with the band, and he seems to know it, by the look in his face. The band attempts to be a "band of all trades" by incorporating jazz, blues and rock all in one. It seems like they just put together some simple arrangements of tunes that a few band members wrote, stayed away from the more challenging material, and basically had a glorified jam session. I just don't think it's possible to get a good sound that way, unless you have a group of musicians who are all on the same "sheet of music," e.g. they are not from completely separate ends of the musical spectrum. The musicians should complement each other and should be able to tell what each other is going to do before they do it.

I think that it's nice to share musical ideas with musicians from other genres, but in the end, each musician will develop his or her own style and will pretty much stick with it for their whole career. I think that Marcus Miller, who put this "Legends" ensemble together, was being too optimistic to think that he could take these old guards, all set in their musical ways, and turn them into a great ensemble. It would have taken more open mindedness and perhaps a couple more rehearsals. It might have worked out better 20 years earlier when they were all in their early 30's instead of their early 50's, and a lot more open minded. I guess that's why Miles' Davis, one of Marcus Miller's role models, had so much success, was because he always played with the young, up and coming cats.

These reasons are probably why the ensemble has not played together anymore since this recording. It was a valiant effort, and it will be enjoyed more by people who are less picky than me. Replace Eric Clapton with John Scofield, Pat Metheny or George Benson and you've got yourself a show, although you may not have sold as many DVD copies.

This DVD is a sensational value! Clapton "out of his element"? Hardly. While this forum may not necessarily be his forte, you wouldn't know it if you came in without a preconceived notion of who he is and what he represents...I think Eric holds his own extremely well with this stellar lineup. Everyone shines here. No blazing extended solos or gratuitous jams; just great musicians having a good time. This is, above all, a groove performance. Steve Gadd simply has to be one of the best "pocket" drummers of all time, and Joe Sample doesn't play the ivories so much as tickles them. David Sanborn hardly needs an introduction, and Marcus Miller on bass is just fun to watch. You could make the argument that this set would primarily appeal to musicians...but I'd defy anyone to not catch himself tapping along after a few of these tunes! Good show, especially at this price.

I had the privilege of seeing David Sanborn live with a band that included a couple of session players whose names I recognized. The show was awesome. It was in a state-of-the-art venue and sounded great.

The day before the show, I stumbled onto this Montreaux performance in a store. As a huge Sanborn and Clapton fan, I couldn't believe my eyes. And Miller, Sample and Gadd? These are all the best in their genre.

The DVD does not disappoint. It is great fun! I enjoyed that it was more of a bluesy soul jazz jam session. Each track, 6-10 minutes in length, gives each musician opportunities to shine. Though Clapton has the fame in this group, he didn't play like he was theee man. He played like he was one of five of the best musicians in the world, with great respect for what the other guys do. In fact, Sanborn may have the most solo time in this show, as they used mostly his tunes. The one other Clapton tune, besides "Layla," "Third Degree," could have benefitted from a Sanborn solo. Clapton seemed to need a song or two to really warm up to these guys. but all of his leads, primarily blues chops, sound great and are very satisfying. I highly recommend this performance from these legendary musicians for your DVD collection.

The disc of this show with this band and performance is decent enough to keep, BUT.

This is a Blu-ray disc, the audio MUST be flawless, and is not.

This Blu-ray disc has abundant problems of audio. Video seems fine. The harshiness of the audio recorded from the sax and the electric guitar are overpowering an otherwise balanced piano and bass. The accoustic guitar of Clapton was almost silent in one of the songs, and he was playing most of the song while the camera was filming the silent strings, absolutely ridiculous that a final production was made of these discs without any audio engineer fixing it before the final or dropping the song from the content.

Unfortunately this is a loosely done audio mix show but it is not worth the effort to try to return it, the content is valuable enough to keep it as a good memory.

However, I will think twice about buying anything else from the Recording Label and/or from Live at Montreux series. The reason I say that is because I bought another Life at Montreaux "Ray Charles" Blu-ray disc that shows even worst audio problems to the point of having to trash it.

To keep my comment in perspective, my home theater has about $100K of hi-end audio and video electronics, my system is of excellent quality, and I work with the audio/video industry, but I am not reviewing these products representing the companies I am associated with, they are for personal use, I am just making others aware before they order.

Ya know when Eric Clapton is the weak link in a band it is a pretty amzing group. Joe Sample and David Sanborn are tearing it up. Marcus Miller and Steve Gadd are so locked in and driving the band. Most of the material is Funky Jazz but there are some tunes for Clapton to shine on. Layla is probably one of the more interesting takes on the tune you will hear. With Marcus Miller on bass clarinet joined by Clapton on acoustic later in the tune. Clapton is out of his blues/rock element, but never backs off and digs into every tune. Great concert footage and sound, a DVD all musicians will love.

Most of the reviews have already said it all and are pretty well on the mark. I enjoyed watching and listening to this performance by five of the best in their respective genres. To some people, Clapton may seem out of his league, but he fits in very well and holds his own for most of the show. Eric's Blues guitar playing is truly legendary, though one could imagine Robben Ford, Larry Carlton or Lee Ritenour blending in better in tunes like "Put It Where You Want It", "Full House" and "The Peeper". Still, Clapton's overall effort here is commendable and it's great to see and hear these guys together after listening to them on numerous records over the last thirty - or more years. Great playing, without ever really grabbing me completely in an emotional way, but I'm glad I got it.

Like an all-star sports group is not a team, assembling a group of top rate musicians does not a band make. The playing on these mostly mid-tempo pop-jazz offerings, while very pleasant, seldom generate any real excitement or interplay. The band seldom coalesces into a unified sound. Clapton seems hesitant on most of the numbers. The surprise (for me) was David Sanborn: he generates most of the passion on the date and genuinely smokes on several of the tunes. Things pick up on the second half of the DVD: some really beautiful sax on "First Song" and "In a Sentimental Mood", a very solid groove on "Put It Where You Want It" and Joe Sample's fierce piano solo "Shreveport Stomp". The mix is poor: the DTS is brash-sounding and sounds like the listener is sitting on the stage; the Dolby 5.1 is very soft, like listening from the lobby; and the PCM (the least flawed) is more like listening to a CD. Worth a rent, but for a 4 star experience, start by skipping to "First Song". If you've heard any of Miles Davis' latter day DVDs, you know what it sounds like when you hear jazz blended with rock and blues with emotion and innovation. This ain't that.