One Night with Blue Note: The Historic All-Star Reunion Concert

Rating:
Summary: A must-own dvd for any collection of jazz films
Review: An essential dvd re-release of the original multi-volume vhs document of the historic Town Hall (NYC) concert of February 1985 that celebrated the rebirth of the Blue Note label.

Much comment has been written regarding the re-editing of the film footage and the modified selection of performances. As one would expect, the picture quality, color balance and sound are superior to the vhs versions. The producers attempted to enlarge the 'space' of the performances with wider-angle footage (the vhs film is mostly tight-focus on individuals on-stage). It is puzzling, however, that they chose not to employ the wide-screen 'letterbox' format (especially in light of the fact that the 1997 documentary film, "Blue Note: A Story Of Modern Jazz", uses the wide-screen format and has wide-screen film clips from this concert). Nonetheless, the dvd is a great visual show.

As a hard-bop enthusiast, I am pleased for the most part with the revised selection of performances. Inclusion of Joe Henderson's "Recorda-me", Jackie MacLean's "Appointment In Ghana", and Stanley Turrentine's "Scratch My Back" are welcome additions. Of the two Stanley Jordan performances on the vhs tapes, the dvd includes the more entertaining "Jumpin'Jack". Likewise, of the three Charles Lloyd numbers from the vhs, the dvd retains the best of the three, "Tone Poem". On the negative side, McCoy Tyner's performance of "Passion Dance" was excluded. Regardless, the three major highlights of the concert, Herbie Hancock's "Cantaloupe Island", Art Blakey's "Moanin'", and Cecil Taylor's solo "Pontos Cantados", are here in all their splendor and are worth the price of admission alone.

Nice menu options for Blue Note fans are the fine galleries of Francis Wolff's photography and Reid Miles' album cover designs. My one criticism of these features is that the graphic design for the galleries distracts somewhat from the power and presence of the images.

Overall, this is an essential addition to any jazz enthusiast's library. Now its time for Blue Note to issue the perfect companion to it - the dvd version of "Blue Note: A Story of Modern Jazz"!

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: An incredible night of music by an all star jazz lineup playing classic Blue Note repertoire. Watching this DVD on a large screen TV and listening to the superb 5.1 surround sound mix is almost like being there -- in some ways even better!

Two hours of great music, along with those classic Blue Note photos with narration between the tunes, make this an incredible buy and a "must have" for jazz fans. Great Job! Thanks!

Rating:
Summary: Para entender el jazz de la segunda mitad del siglo
Review: Este disco, que reinaugura el repertorio del hardbop en la escena del jazz en los ochenta, es uuna película imprescindible para entender la evolución del jazz desde los sesenta a la fecha. A la constelación de grandes estrellas como Herbie Hancock, Artt Blakey, Freddie Hubbard, Ron Carter, Joe Henderson, verdaderos jazz messengers después del bebop, se unen con asombrosa personalidad los new lions como Michel Petruciani o Stanley Jordan. Casi 2 horas de placer absoluto, la mejor música, los mejores temas, improvisación a la altura del siglo.

Rating:
Summary: Para entender el jazz de la segunda mitad del siglo
Review: Este disco, que reinaugura el repertorio del hardbop en la escena del jazz en los ochenta, es uuna película imprescindible para entender la evolución del jazz desde los sesenta a la fecha. A la constelación de grandes estrellas como Herbie Hancock, Artt Blakey, Freddie Hubbard, Ron Carter, Joe Henderson, verdaderos jazz messengers después del bebop, se unen con asombrosa personalidad los new lions como Michel Petruciani o Stanley Jordan. Casi 2 horas de placer absoluto, la mejor música, los mejores temas, improvisación a la altura del siglo.

Rating:
Summary: GoKidsGrow LLC Reviews Blue Note
Review: GoKidsGrow highly recommends "One Night with Blue Note" as a way to introduce children to music. It's filled with phenomenal music that both kids and parents will enjoy and sets the stage for parents and children to talk about music. That interaction is the very basis of the GoKidsGrow methodology. Parents can talk to children about the different instruments as well as how much practice and commitment it must have taken to be that good. Blue note pioneered jazz with some of the greatest artists of all time. This is world class music with a classy presentation. Well dressed, polished musicians that serve as an artistic role model for children of all ages.

Rating:
Summary: Diasappointing reissue
Review: I have had the two laser disk version of this show for a long time and this version is not only missing several excellent Charles Lloyd Quartet performance but has, in some insane effort to include the audience substituted some decidedly inferior angles to change the original footage. As such its a big disappointment. Frankly, I think the laser disk version is clearly superior. The few extra added cuts are nice but the missed footage is inexcusable.