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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Finest Jazz Film of All Time!,
By
This review is from: The Sound of Jazz (DVD)
In late 1957, producer Robert Herridge hired jazz writers Whitney Balliet and Nat Hentoff to assemble a group of musicians for an hour long jazz program (this was the era of live television, before there was videotape and the only way to preserve a program was to make a kinescope by using a 16mm camera filming the image off a monitor). Never before, or again, was an hour of jazz presented so well and so true. Herridge had the fine sense to go for the true essence of jazz, without any "dressing it up" in floor-shows or other silliness. The result, a live broadcast on CBS, featured six groupings of musicians and was relaxed, joyful and pure. The Sound of Jazz has been issued in various forms over the years including some poor vhs tranfers and incomplete dvd issues. At one point I bought a Japanese Laserdisc of this just to get a decent copy. This dvd is the complete program and all spoken introductions. It lacks visual contrasts (too light) in some sections, but it is the best copy out there on dvd. Fine copies exist in some of the better stock footage film firms, but no one has gone this route. Robert Herridge produced a few other fine jazz programs: the story of Frankie & Johnnie performed as a ballet with live music by Charles Mingus; a half hour featuring Ahmad Jamal's trio and Ben Webster's group; The Sound of Miles Davis (available on dvd as Miles Davis - Cool Jazz Sound); and an hour long piece for Metromedia, now lost, called Duke Ellington: A Portrait in Music. The Sound of Jazz is one program I never tire of watching, and whenever I have seen it shown in public -- the audience can't help but applaud afterwards.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A rare glimpse of jazz royalty,
By Matthew Watters (Vietnam) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Sound of Jazz (DVD)
The other reviewer clearly knows whereof he speaks, so I'll only add a few comments about the programme. It's heavily slanted towards classic swing of the 1930s, with the likes of Rex Stewart, Pee Wee Russell and Red Allen appearing alongside Count Basie with almost a reunion of his 'Old Testament' band, including Lester Young. Despite the year in which it was filmed, the only "hard bop" or mainstream contemporary jazz of the day is a single, spiky performance by Monk (and Monk is really a genre unto himself, hardly representative of anyone else's movement). Jimmy Giuffre's chamber jazz is almost wildly out-of-place in this programme, as is the effort to somehow anoint him as the young prince to all this old jazz royalty. (Gerry Mulligan is prominent in the programme as well, but his presence is largely uncommented upon, and he fits in well with the old guys.) All this aside, what is left is a rare chance to see some of the then-living legends of 1930s jazz, reunited and doing what they do best. Red Allen's two numbers, particularly that rousing old Earl Hines chestnut "Rosetta", are a joy, with ample solo space for Coleman Hawkins and a truly astonishing Rex Stewart. But the highlight of the show are the two vocal features, by Jimmy Rushing, who is such an impressive gentleman that I wish I could just reach out and hug him, and Billie Holiday, who does an extended blues that is relaxed, pure and heartfelt. A swansong to her career that gives me tingles just thinking about it. This DVD belongs in the collection of all jazz fans.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A celebration of times past,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Sound of Jazz (DVD)
This is a great DVD, filled with superb musicians playing for each other. Anyone who loves the era and its music should own this remarkable set of performances. The Billy Holiday tracks are worth the cost al by themselves.
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