Although some audiophiles prefer records or cd's the DVD also has its' charms when talking about music. Although some music is compressed the hard way (Dolby Digital), looking at the performance has charms of its own. And a better sound quality, with less compression, can be had with the DTS recordings. It's not perfect but some things can only be experienced by looking at the film.
In the near future there will be BluRay offering a better sound quality. So you can expect reviews from us for that medium as well.
Diana Krall plays the piano. And she does it the "jazzy" way. You might be reminded of Nat King Cole and other great piano players.
This concert of Diana is very well recorded (DTS) and the public is enthousiastic. Not only because of Diana. Anthony Wilson plays his electric guitar with lots of swing. Then there's Jeff Hamilton on drums and John Clayton on bass both accompanying Diana very well but also doing some solo parts showing their professionalism. In some parts a large orchestra is playing and all arrangements are written by Claus Ogerman.
This DVD really is a highlight of music and recording quality. Diana also recorded a concert in Canada, but that one is terrible.
Pioneer PDMM 60102
If you love opera and the voice of Placido Domingo this is one of those fine recording of that great singer. He sings pieces of Gounod, Bizet, Mozart, Donizetti, Lehar and others. It's a live performance in the London Royal Opera House Covent Garden.
The music is registered in high definition at 24 bits/96 kHz. So you need a player or amplifier decoding PCM the right way.
SPV 78267
A Night in Berlin. This is the recording of a young German trumpet player playing modern jazz. Apart from his trumpet he also plays the horn (Fluegelhorn) in a really fresh way.
The music is registered with the DTS system and the sound quality is extraordinary. If you like jazz and want to listen to something modern this is one of the few good recorded discs.
Warner 8573 87070-2
This is the video registration of Sinatra singing in Madison Square Garden in New York. That concert in 1974 first was released on record and later on on CD. The sound on both is far better then on this DVD. But looking at this man, the Voice, performing live in that large hall gives you a thrill. He really is one of the greatest!
Euro Arts 2072228
Gidon Kremer recorded these pieces in Salzburg (Austria) in 2002. The sound is registered in DTS format.
This DVD is one for Mozart lovers. Gidon plays the violin in a marvellous way and the sound is of good quality. Some parts are arrangements made by other composers based on Mozart compositions. A funny piece is "Mozart a la Haydn" written by Alfred Schnittke.
This is one of a series of registrations made at the Norman Granz Montreux (Switzerland) Festivals. Those festivals were a yearly highlight in Europe.
This DVD, with the original sound recorded in stereo and on this DVD converted to DTS surround, is one of the finest registrations of big band jazz. Well known music from the Count like Freckle Face, Splanky and Lil'Darlin' all are played with lots of enthousiasm in his band. A remarkable member of that band is a very young drums player (all others are at the least 20 years older then he).
This is one of the "standards" in big band jazz.
Clark Terry, a former member of the big band of Duke Ellington, presents his sextet. That group really is something special with Oscar Peterson at the piano, Niels Henning Pederson on bass and Milt Jackson on vibraphone.
The recording, stereo converted to DTS, is a pleasure to listen to. But although Clark plays his horn beautifully I enjoy the pieces with Milt Jackson the most. This is one of the best on this instrument. And looking at his 'sweating' performance makes me tick!
This is an exceptional performance by the great Oscar Peterson. Not only excptional because he's at his best, but also because he's accompanied by two bass players, Ray Brown and Niels Henning Pedersen.
This really is a contest between Brown and Pedersen. They both are first class players and competitors too. So what we have here is the "Battle of the Basses". Wonderfully played and good recorded.
Did you ever hear an old man, over 80 years of age, singing in a concert hall filled up with a massive big audience? You should hear and experience the emotions of this performance.
Aznavour is one of the two greatest singers in the 20st century, the other being Sinatra. And listening to this have a bottle of wine nearby, it takes over two hours to listen to the entire concert.
Some of his most popular songs are included on this DVD. So there's La Mamma, La Boheme and Non je ne regrette rien and 29 other songs. The recording is made in Dolby Digital surround. The sound quality, not only the voice of Aznavour but also the big orchestra, is really good. A milestone in music.
This movie of "Ray" is a masterpiece of its own. Nice played, by Jamie Foxx, and with lots of original recorded songs by Ray Charles. The film describes the live of Ray from the start, when he starts as a little kid on the piano, to the miserable end because of his drug addiction. Good film, good music, good sound.
There's also a DVD of a performance of Ray Charles in Montreux. That one is disastrous, bad performance and bad sound quality.
This is a live recording made in 2002 of Verdi's La Traviata. The play is conducted by Placido Domingo and recorded in DTS surround.
The players and singers are not very well known but the way they play and sing together is really outstanding. A jewel in the collection of any opera lover.
This is an old movie, from 1955, rereleased on DVD. The major plasyers in this film are James Stewart and June Allyson. Part of the music on this DVD is original, and in momo, played by the Glenn MIller big band. Some pieces are in stereo and the engineers even tried to create surround out of the original tapes.
The sound quality is not very good but that is hardly a problem when listening to the marvellous arrangements by Glenn Miller. Glenn is the real godfather of swing! A funny part is the performance of drummer Gene Krupa and trumpet by Louis Armstrong.
This movie about Charlie Parker or "The Bird" is fascinating. It's directed by Clint Eastwood and he made it an outstanding film about one of the greatest players in jazz history.
The sound is partly in stereo and partly in Dolby Surround. The reason of this is that original recordings of Charlie Parker are mixed with recent registrations of jazz musicians.
A "must" for jazz lovers.
