Review of Masters Of Jazz (Various Artists Box Set)

Introduction

It`s rare that such an extensive collection like this is made available to fans of Jazz and Blues. Last years Scorsese set was a real treat for Blues fans though, with different Director`s taking different approaches to the same theme, was patchy in parts. There`s no such worry with `Masters of Jazz`.

This no-nonsense package collects together 10 `made for TV` documentaries that will thrill both serious jazz fans and casual (Jazz FM) listeners alike. Whilst the documentaries themselves never sway from a traditional approach, it comes as something of a relief that creative programme making never gets in the way of content. And what a lot of content there is!

Each of the ten documentaries feature a wealth of archive footage, often with full and uninterrupted performances (even in the Cultrate doc where`s he left blasting out his `sheets of sound` for up to ten minutes at a time), as well as some very relevant interviews with fellow jazz musicians.

It adds up to some 12 hours worth of material in the company of Jazz`s finest.

Series Producer Toby Byron has deservedly won much critical acclaim for his painstaking research, unearthing amazing never-before-broadcast footage and recordings, and his tight unpretentious programme making skills for this significant set.

So here`s what you get for your relatively small investment:

DISC 1: JAZZ PIONEERS

`Satchmo - The Life of Louis Armstrong` - This superb appraisal contains a wealth of archival footage. So much in fact that the film rarely uses rostrum zooms on stills to pad it out like so many films of its ilk. What comes across strongly here is, not only the incredible musical influence Armstrong had on so many of his peers, but that, despite his general positive demeanour, and willingness to often play the stereotypical `Blackman` in the racist era in which he lived and worked, he was also a quiet revolutionary that did much to further the road to equality.

`Count Basie - Swingin` the Blues` - is a fascinating profile of a man who became a household name in fifties and sixties America, but who was amongst the first to fuse the blues with jazz when he led the greatest swing band of all time for over five decades.


DISC 2: JAZZ INNOVATORS

`Celebrating Bird - The triumph of Charlie Parker` - is a great programme profiling this larger than life talent who`s innovative playing was like nothing on earth! Even today, some of the scratchy footage shown here defies belief as his fingers blur across the valves of his sax.

`The World According to John Coltrane` - is an intelligent assessment of this giant talent who pushed the boundaries of what was possible with his music like no other. As a fan of Coltrane, this was perhaps the highlight of the set for me, especially the knockout modal workout on `Favourite Things` left here free from edits or narration. Nice!

`Thelonius Monk - American Composer` - details this complex pianist and bebop revolutionary, the epitome of hep-cat cool in the late 1950`s. His performances were almost the antithesis of the two chord modal workouts of Miles Davis and John Coltrane with the complex structures of his compositions.

DISC 3: VOCAL LEGENDS

`Ray Charles - The Genius of Soul` - (see my previous review of this single disc) - one of three shorter films (running at just an hour), this does a reasonable job at capturing the sheer positive force that was Ray Charles in full swing.

`Lady Day - The many faces of Billie Holiday` - is an award -winning overview of this unique talent, including all the good, the bad and the ugly of her tragic life. Her incredible talent is best displayed on footage of her singing live with orchestra without the aid of echo units, reverb, or special effects - and still sounding beautiful.

`Sarah Vaughn - The Divine One` - this is another great profile of a brilliant singer who`s voice was as note perfect as any of the instruments in the orchestra backing her.

DISC 4: A HISTORY OF JAZZ

This disc features two extensive documentaries (which should be viewed first in my view) that trace, in the first instance, the history of the blues, and in the second the history of jazz, with all the obvious overlaps in-between. These will be of great interest to anyone with even a modicum of interest in Jazz or the blues, and their mix of archive footage, interview bites and straightforward narration makes for some very enjoyable viewing.

Video

Just what you`d expect from programmes patch worked together from so many different sources - variable! The contemporary interviews all look fine, if a little soft which betray their NTSC broadcast origins.

Audio

Again, very variable though nicely mixed, meaning you can set it to a comfortable level and be reasonably sure it will stay there. This is a standard stereo presentation with many recordings played in their original mono.

Features

There are a number of `photo galleries` on the disc, essentially automated slide shows set to relevant music. Also included are text-based discographies, which, on the Louis Armstrong disc for example, run to some 30 pages in some instances.

Conclusion

This set will be greatly appreciated by Jazz fans unused to so much attention lavished all at once in a fairly comprehensive set. As far as it goes, there is a huge amount here to enjoy with some incredible archived footage that just can`t fail to excite.

Having spent some two weeks watching the programmes one at a time, keeping this review brief has taken some real discipline. There are so many great moments that it`s difficult to know which to highlight.

I suppose if I were to search for a gripe it would be the absence of a programme featuring Miles Davis who appears often enough throughout. It also seems a shame that Dexter Gordon, a personal favourite, also appears only to talk about someone else.

But these are minor gripes. It isn`t a definitive history of the genre after all. But with so much on offer here you`d be forgiven for thinking that it might be. Thoroughly recommended.