Billy Harper in Concert: Live From Poland

Billy Harper in Concert: Live From Poland is nothing if not ambitious: saxman-composer Harper not only appears with his core ensemble (Francesca Tanksley, Clarence Seay, and Newman Taylor Baker), but also Polish trumpeter Piotr Wojitasik, several other Polish jazzsters, and a 60-piece choir for this concert at the Metropolitan Basilica Cathedral of St. Jacob in Szczecin, Poland. Unfortunately, while the video for this eight-song set looks great (an eight-camera setup allows for a variety of viewing angles), the sound quality generally disappoints as the cathedral setting produces a notable echo and the choir is poorly recorded (you really only hear a few of the five dozen voices). Harper's music—which here includes “Light Within,” “Quest,” “The Awakening,” and “City of Hunger”—is often dense and emotional, but much of it will strike non-fans as jazz noodling (pretty, ultra-earnest, but self-indulgent just the same). While Harper aficionados will revel in the sumptuous visuals here, the echo-plagued Dolby Digital sound will please few. DVD extras include bonus concert footage and a photo gallery. Optional. Aud: P. (M. Moore)