“Frustrating” might be the best description for this collection of eight performances by four different jazz musicians and their groups. On the one hand, it's a chance to experience some good players (tenor saxophonist Arnett Cobb, guitarist Charlie Byrd, and pianists Ben Sidran and Les McCann) serving up some pretty fair tunes in front of appreciative audiences. Byrd, one of the few guitarists to use an acoustic, nylon-stringed instrument (and a classical picking technique) to play jazz, is especially good on two standards, Fats Waller's “Jitterbug Waltz” and Jobim's “Wave”; Cobb, with his big Texas sound, swings mightily on Milt Jackson's “Bags' Groove”; and McCann is greasy and soulful on an extended “Someday We'll Meet Again.” (Sidran is less appealing, leading his band in a mostly-electric, bland “smooth jazz” medium and singing, well, poorly; he's joined onstage by rock ‘n' roller Steve Miller, a frequent Sidran collaborator.) But a kind of low-rent vibe permeates the entire proceedings: the graphics are cheesy; the accompanying text bios are informative but filled with spelling and punctuation mistakes; not a single recording date, location, or musician other than the leaders is identified; and while the sound and visuals are clear enough, they lack warmth and a certain dynamic quality. Larger music collections may want to consider Jazz Legends Live! 2, but for most this is a far from essential purchase. [Note: Jazz Legends Live! 3 (with Ahmad Jamal, Ron Carter, and McCoy Tyner) and Jazz Legends Live! 4 (with Charlie Byrd and Stephane Grappelli) are also newly available.] Aud: P. (S. Graham)
Jazz Legends Live! 2
(2004) 47 min. DVD: $9.95. Music Video Distributors (avail. from most distributors). Color cover. Volume 20, Issue 1
Jazz Legends Live! 2
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