All-Star Swing Festival

Doc Severinson is the host for this all-star tribute to jazz filmed at New York City's Lincoln Center in 1972. Kicking off with Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald doing throaty renditions of "Lady Be Good" and "Goody, Goody", the show spotlights one major talent after another: Duke Ellington ("It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing"), Dave Brubeck ("Take Five"), Joe Williams, and the Benny Goodman Quartet ("Avalon", "Moonglow") in their last filmed performance together. The grand finale is a tribute to Louis Armstrong by, among others, Earl "Fatha" Hines and Dizzy (will you look at those cheeks!) Gillespie. With the top-notch talent, one wishes that the sound quality were a little better. Although the program is being marketed in stereo Hi-Fi, the fact that it's a 1972 live recording for television is evident. Nevertheless, recommended. (See CALLANETICS for availability).