The Jazz Icons series was introduced to the Jazz World in 2006 with nine titles; all concerts filmed in Europe, mainly for television stations and featured such jazz giants like Art Blakey, Thelonious Monk, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Buddy Rich and Louis Armstrong among others. The high quality of the DVD and the production values put into the presentation soon gained rave reviews. Each Disc came with a sixteen page booklet, packed with liner notes written by a few authoritative voices in jazz and rare pictures, which complimented the breathtaking taking footage and heart thumping music that exploded onto your screen and through one’s speakers as soon as the disc is loaded onto your player.
Quincy Jones a major player in the music business then and now and whose big band 1960 tours of Belgium and Switzerland are included in the first series has this to say about the series: “The Release of Jazz Icons is like the unearthing of a musical time capsule, an audio visual treasure trove of the music that changed the world.”
The series was showered with praise and great reviews from Jazz critics and Jazz lovers alike who could hardly wait for the series to be followed up. They did not have to wait long, the second series was released a year later over the Labor Day weekend officially at the 2007 Detroit Jazz Festival
The second set featured seven new titles, which were sold as single units or for those who wanted them all they were box sets, but unlike the first series which also was available as singles or in a box set, this one differed because there was a bonus disc in the box with unreleased music, making it a more attractive buy..
The series had built up quite a following by this time and with the strong backing of the now defunct IAJE, The International Association Of Jazz Educators, this new series quickly became a must have for many more jazz lovers; with names like John Coltrane, Wes Montgomery, Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan, Dave Brubeck and Dexter Gordon, many of those title soon became chart toppers in the Jazz DVD world.
How many times have there beenperformances that showed the Coltrane in the early years just as he was leaving Miles' band to start on the journey that would lift him to iconic stature? Not many, on this over ninety minutes DVD, three concerts are captured. His 1960 performance in Germany backed by Miles' rhythm section through his 1961 concert again in Germany with his quartet and his 1965 concert in Belgium, with special guest Eric Dolphy you could see and hear his development, both as a player and composer. Dexter Gordon's performances in small intimate setting makes for riveting viewing, Mingus tours with the exciting Eric Dolphy in tow was captivating. These concerts were the last Dolphy would do with Mingus and were captured a few months before his death.
Wes Montgomery's complete Belgium concerts were released on CD some time before the DVD and even though five of the tracks are on the DVD, it is still exciting viewing, his concerts in Holland and England, also from 65 is included. Guitarist Carlos Santana, no slouch at the instrument himself, summed it up this way: "Watching these videos of the magnificent Mr Montgomery leaves me with a profound sense of awe and appreciation for this genius."
Reelin In The Years Production which is responsible for this great series was already critically acclaimed for their music DVD works. Their other series includes the Folk Blues Festival Series, Dreams To Remember, The Otis Redding Story and Muddy Waters Classic Concert. They have just released the third batch of Jazz Icons; Seven more titles that includes the amazing Miss Nina Simone and the larger than life multi-instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk.
The Jazz Icons series is distributed in North America by Naxos
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