Legends of Jazz: Showcase

This is a masterfully produced disc. When you put this in your player and the theme music starts, you know you are in for a great night of jazz. What truly makes this collection compelling is the well-balanced list of performances. There are artists new and old, well-known and not so well-known, from a surprisingly varied pool of jazz sub-genres: fusion, bebop, swing, latin, and bossa. There is even a blues performance thrown in. The performances themselves are mostly very good, with the occasional eye-opening one mixed in such as Marcus Miller's Panther. The production value of the disc is fantastic too. I would've loved this even on VHS because it is ultimately about the music; but there is something to be said about the excellent high definition video and sound. This is truly as close as one can get to being there live. The disc is also very well organized. It is easy to switch between sound formats and you can access the performances individually from the main menu too. Even the artist bios are well done. In fact, I found this Blu-ray disc so great that I'm now torn between buying the Legends of Jazz DVD collection or waiting for a Blu-ray release. I will probably buy the DVD set now since the music and the performances are what's important I think. As far as shortcomings, the only one I found is that the length is on the short side at 55 minutes. Everything else was perfect. If you like jazz, you'll love this disc.

Legends of Jazz With Ramsey Lewis: Showcase. LRSmedia 968701 DVDIGI. This album is a cherry-picked sampler of songs from other "Legends of Jazz" albums. As such, any clunkers have already been deleted. The CD contains the same songs as the included DVD. This music is worth another listen. Five Amazon stars. The songs, and performers, are as follows: 1.) Take Five (Legends of Jazz "The Jazz Singers), by Al Jarreau, Vocals; Kurt Elling, Vocals; Laurence Hobgood, Piano; Robert Amster, Bass; Ernie Adams, Drums. 2.) My Funny Valentine (Legends of Jazz "The Golden Horns"), by Chris Botti, Trumpet; Willie Pickens, Piano; Larry Gray, Bass; Leon Joyce Jr., Drums. 3.) The Panther (Legends of Jazz "Contemporary Jazz"), by Marcus Miller, Bass; George Duke, Keyboards; Lee Ritenour, Guitar; Vinnie Colaiuta, Drums. 4.) Senor Blues (Legends of Jazz "The Altos"), by David Sandborn, Alto Saxophone; Phil Woods, Alto Saxophone; Willie Pickens, Piano; Larry Gray, Bass; Leon Joyce Jr., Drums. 5.) Armando's Rhumba (Legends of Jazz "NEA Jazz Masters 2006"), Chick Corea, Piano. 6.) 12 Year Old Boy (Legends of Jazz "Roots: The Blues"), by Robert Cray, Vocals/Guitar; Keb' Mo', Vocals/Guitar; Jim Pugh, Keyboard; Karl Sevareid, Bass; Kevin Hayes, Drums. 7.) Killer Joe (Legends of Jazz "The Tenors"), by Benny Golson, Tenor Saxophone; Willie Pickens, Piano; Larry Gray, Bass; Leon Joyce Jr., Drums. 8.) The Island (Legends of Jazz "Brazilian Jazz"), by Ivan Lins, Vocals/Piano; Abraham Lopez Laboriel, Bass; Michael Shapiro, Drums. 9.) Mumbles (Legends of Jazz "The Golden Horns") by Clark Terry, Vocals/Trumpet; Willie Pickens, Piano; Larry Gray, Bass; Leon Joyce Jr., Drums. 10.) They Can't Take That Away From Me (Legends of Jazz "American Songbook"), by Jane Monheit, Vocals; John Pizzarelli, Vocals/Guitar; Micheal Kanan, Piano; Martin Pizzarelli, Bass; Rick Montalbano, Drums; Orlando LeFleming, Guitar. 11.) Obsession (Legends of Jazz "Latin Jazz"), by Dave Valentin, Flute; Bill O'Connell, Piano; Joe Santiago, Bass; Robby Ameen, Drums; Richard Flores, Conga Drums. 12.) Take The 'A' Train (Legends of Jazz "The Piano Masters"), by Dave Brubeck, Piano; Billy Taylor, Piano; Randy Jones, Drums; Michael Moore, Bass. 13.) Dear Lord (Legends of Jazz "NEA Jazz Masters 2006"), by Ramsey Lewis, Piano. Sold by: Aspen Distributing, 3837 Bay Lake Trail, Suite 115, North Las Vegas NV 89030 USA. © & (P) 2006 LRSmedia LLC; Distributed by WEA Corporation; email: experience legendary performances™@www.legendsofjazz.net; web: legendsofjazz.net.

The picture quality on this Blueray disc is oustanding. The soundtrack is encoded as DTS HD master audio. It still sounds very good even if my equipment can only extract the DTS 1.5 mps core. My Sony BPS1 does not have the capability to decode DTS HD master Audio. All blue ray concerts should have uncompressed PCM. Uncompressed PCM never needs decoding and is compatible with most receiver's.

If you have a Blu-ray player and enjoy Jazz this is a must have. Each performance is great. The styles of Jazz vary from performer to performer. I like a variety of music so this was not a problem for me. It shouldn't for most either, since, after all, the performers are "Jazz Legends". The most benefit from this disc will be to those who have their Blu-ray hooked up to an audio system and especially if you can take advantage of the Dolby Tru-HD sound track here. There is also a two channel uncompressed sound track. I haven't been one to embrace multi-channel music but this disc is an excellent example of how surround sound music can be done right and with Tru-HD listening becomes quite an experience. The mix is done as if you are in the audience. The instruments are in front of you with just enough to surround speakers to give ambience to the music. The video, of course, being in high definition, is stunning as well. Legends of Jazz on Blu-ray is a real audio video treat and the price is no more than a typical CD. Looking forward to hopefully seeing more of this series come to Blu.

It was lovely to finally have a music DVD that presented great performances, the smooth transition from one great sound to the next sound was seamless. This was one of the best DVD that I have purchased in a long time. This was so good that it was a shame that it is only 55 minutes in length, I would have gladly spent hours with this release. More music DVDs need to be made like this and in so doing it would stop that disappointed feeling that far to many music DVDs leave you with. It is like some meals the presentation is great but after the meal you still have an appetite for more and this DVD did that for me it left me wanting more! Very Pleased!

Having read a review at Hi Def Digest saying that this looks better than any material shot on film ever will, I ran to buy this disc (along with Chris Botti's favorably reviewed BD). I do not know what these people were thinking? Music, performances and sound are great, but this looks awfull and not wothy of a Hi Def disc. Really, some upscaled DVD's are looking much better. Very disappointing...

The interviews are good, but the song selection could have been much better!

I'm reordering this DVD because my ex wife kept mine in the divorce. I play this DVD over and over because most of my other DVD's just don't measue up to the audio and video quality and wonderful selection of music in this DVD. Chris Botti on My Funny Valentine is over top great as is John Pizzarelli and Jane Monheith on Can't Take that Away From Me. And the video and audio quality are the best. Crank of the volume on this one and settle back with your fav cocktail for a musical adventure that will make your day.