Watchin’ all that jazz
Just out is the 4-disc DVD box set, Masters of Jazz (Metrodome Distribution).
The collection, which runs to 689 minutes, includes previously unreleased footage, interviews and performances with jazz legendaries such as Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, Billie Holiday and Thelonious Monk to name but a few.
The collection begins with A History of Jazz featuring two introductory films. Bluesland — A Portrait In American Music, exploring the blues genre that underlies jazz and The Story Of Jazz offers an introduction to some of the music’s pivotal figures.
From there, viewers are taken on a musical extravaganza through three other discs exploring other legendary personalities such as Count Basie, Sarah Vaughan, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk.
For jazz fans the footage of Coltrane, Monk and, in particular, The Life of Louis Armstrong, are reasons enough to be tempted.
Documentary ****
