Featured performers: Art Pepper, Chet Back, Zoot Simms, Phineas Newborn Jr. Trio (3), Shelly Mann Quintet feat. Conte Candoli (2), Wes Montgomery
Studio: Music Video Distributors
Video: 4:3 full frame, B&W & color
Audio: PCM mono
Length: 54 minutes
Rating: ***
This is a rather motley collection of nine videos from TV studio sessions as well as club dates, with no spoken introductions – in fact a few of the numbers begin with the music already in progress. Most are four or five minutes length but the opening Art Pepper video is nearly 13 minutes. There are three such DVDs of West Coast artists and three more of East Coast Jazz.
The Art Pepper selection opens this volume, and seems a poor choice due to both its length and the fact that it is extremely out of focus – so seriously that it looks bad on even a 17-inch screen. Also, the sound is very thin, as are most of the video soundtracks. The Chet Baker segment is in color, but Chet at this point is looking pretty bad in closeup. Zoot Simms is fun to hear playing Grofe’s On the Trail, but the noisy environment of the club where he was filmed intrudes.
The major attraction here for me was the three clips of pianist Phineas Newborn Jr. He is seen in often extreme closeup, and both picture and audio quality are better on these. His first number employs a Ravel piano piece as clever introduction to Billy Strayhorn’s Lush Life – best version of this great tune I’ve ever heard! It’s also a delight to see guitarist Wes Montgomery in action, and close up – don’t believe I’ve ever seen anything on him before.
These clips are something like the scratchy historic 78s of great classical performers of the past. Those vitally interested in the interpretation and music won’t care if the sound quality is not the best. This is still a worthwhile potpourri of jazz artists not readily available on videos. But hi-def it’s not…
Tracklist: Art Pepper: D Section; Chet Back: If I Should Lose You; Zoot Simms: On the Trail; Phineas Newborn: Lush Life, Theme for Basie, Oleo; Shelly Manne: The Isolate Pawn, Fantan; Wes Montgomery: Jingles.
– John Henry
