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Summary: Simply the BEST music DVD out there.
Review: I want all of my music DVDs to be presented in this manner because the music is primary and the video is secondary here. I listened and watched everything on it, and read every page. All record companies should view and listen to this disc because it reminded me of vinyl LP days when we could sit and listen to the music while reading the record jacket. If you don't have a good 5.1 surround system, get one and impress your friends by toggling the Audio Change feature between the stereo and 5.1 mix. After you listen to the 5.1 mix, then flip to the stereo, you'll never want to listen to stereo again!
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Summary: Dave Gruisin Does it Again
Review: If you liked the original West Side Story, you'll love this version. Jazzed up by the incomparable Dave Gruisin, Produced with luster by Phil Specter, Sung by Gloria, Jon Secada, Butler, etc, this is a must have disk for music lovers and dvd afficionados alike.
Rating: 
Summary: You will like Grusin’s interpretation of the original, but..
Review: Just in case you did not know, this is Dave Grusin’s version of some of the music themes of West Side Story original film with music by Leonard Bernstein (a masterpiece)....I like Dave Grusin. I have heard that some pure jazz fans do not have him in there grater esteem (perhaps they see him as a kind of modern Glen Miller), but I find most of his music and arrangements tasteful, balanced, adequate and easy to listen to (that is maybe why some don’t like him, but he manages to make his jazz style accessible to most audiences). He made for example a very good job with his interpretations of Duke Ellington and Henry Mancini’s music. He also has a delicate, distinctive and personal way of playing the piano (which I like) that makes his performances very recognizable. Well, his adaptation of West Side Story’s music is not an exception. It lacks the strength and vitality of the original but many might prefer it and consider it up to modern standards (or fashion). Even if your personal musical taste is such that you might not be very fond of the original score (I love it), I bet you will like this version which I suppose must be reachable and enjoyable by almost everybody. If you like Jon Secada, Gloria Stefan and Jonathan Butler, well, they sing some themes. Also, many other great and renown musicians participate. But be aware, the music is OK but the visual scenes going with it are mostly disappointing and seem out of place. I would have expected to see more of the musicians playing, maybe more of the film’s steady pictures (they use a few), why not some bits of the film, or even some sort of video clips matching the rhythm (the kind you can normally see nowadays on TV going together with almost any song). Instead, although you get some glances of the musicians while recording or of Dave Grusin conducting or playing the piano, there are two musical themes which go with a made up visual story that has to do with absolutely nothing, in most themes you constantly get flashing images of kind of psychedelic (and disturbing) lightings of what I guess might be the graphical representation of the sound waves, and with the “I Love to be in America” song you get different pictures of representative sceneries and buildings of America and Dave Grusin walking around and smiling in a country environment (which I suppose is his way of saying that he also loves America). I must warn you, at times it gets even annoying. Perhaps you just ought to go for the CD version (just the music). Anyway, the music and its interpretation are OK and I think you will like them. I, by all means, would recommend the original movie DVD (but you’d better check the reviews first, before you make up your mind)....
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Summary: Great DTS recording
Review: The big band / horn arrangements are excellent and the tracks just totally jump. DTS version is worth every penny, so just buy it! (If you don't have a DTS setup yet, what are you waiting for?)
Rating:
Summary: Great DTS recording
Review: The big band / horn arrangements are excellent and the tracks just totally jump. DTS version is worth every penny, so just buy it! (If you don't have a DTS setup yet, what are you waiting for?)
Rating:
Summary: THIS IS A GREAT MUSICAL!!!
Review: THIS MOVIE/DVD IS WONDERFUL!!! IT IS A DEFINATE MUST SEE. I HAVE RECENTLY BEEN PERFORMING AS MARIA IN THE PLAY AND HAVE FALLEN IN LOVE WITH IT!!
Rating:
Summary: Dave Grusin Does It Again ...
Review: When I first listened to a track I'd downloading using Napster from this album I absoluted hated it. A friend encouraged me to go into my music store and listen to the album in full. The verdict was this is a MUST HAVE Dave Grusin album - I was greatly relieved my initial feelings of this album were incorrect. I was so impressed with the album I bought it last Friday and haven't been able to stop playing it yet.Dave Grusin has come up with a richly innovative interpretation of Leonard Bernstein's "West Side Story" arranged in jazz big band format. My favourite tracks on this album were: "Somewhere" sung wonderfully by Jon Secada, and I like the classical arranged version of "I Feel Pretty" (this is perhaps my favourite piece); the syncopated sounds on "America" sound good too. Conclusion: IMHO one of Dave Grusin's best albums. Grusin always seems to pull of a winner of a jazz album with every record he produces :)
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