Performers: Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers featuring Wynton and Branford Marsalis/Mike Mainieri Group featuring Eddie Gomez and Omar Hakim – Filmed live at Seventh Avenue South
Studio: Storyville Films (Distr. by Naxos)
Video: 4:3 Color
Audio: English DD stereo; DD rechanneled 5.1
Length: 55 minutes
Rating: ****
With poignant shots of the twin towers as a backdrop for the opening, we’re reminded how much the NYC jazz scene has changed since this was filmed in 1982 at Seventh Avenue South, the jazz club once owned by the Brecker Brothers. This entertaining DVD features two different jazz worlds, apparently filmed on the same evening. It also offers a fascinating glimpse of the 21 year old Wynton Marsalis, just as his career began to skyrocket. Drummer Art Blakey made a career out of featuring rising young stars. Marsalis is the focal point of this short four tune set, rattling off two lengthy solos that may surprise those accustomed to his later, more traditional and sedate musical persona. Whether playing furiously fast staccato and flashing his Dizzy Gillespie chops, or soulfully slow, each spacious note surrounded by silence and air a la Miles Davis, it’s obvious the 21 year old trumpeter had already absorbed the pre-1970 jazz canon. His playing is both fierce and lyrical, earnestly searching for the heart of jazz.
The second set features jazz vibist Mike Mainieri and his Group playing in the post-Bitches Brew/Weather Report fusion style that floated the jazz scene during that era. Mainieri’s vibe playing, kinetic and probing, is the star of the three tune set. But the gorgeous, Bill Evans-tinged pianism of Warren Bernhart, and the stellar drumming of Omar Hakim, anchor the splendid rhythm section. In many ways, this style of jazz is what traditionalists like Marsalis rebelled against. Their juxtaposition on this DVD makes for an interesting statement. Here, at least, they coexist without controversy. What detracts from unbridled enjoyment is the shortness of the two sets. As soon as we are drawn into either performance, we are snatched away and left slightly frustrated. But what is there is choice. The 5.1 Dolby surround sound is strictly found on the front speakers, purely imaginary on the rear. Bass is rather weak, barely audible through a sub-woofer. The Dolby stereo seems a bit more focused, though PCM stereo would undoubtedly have offered a richer sound.
– Mike Birman
