Bob James – Live At
Montreux (1985/DVD-Video)
Picture: C+
Sound: B- Extras: C- Concert: B-
Bob James is one of the great names in modern Jazz and
Jazz Fusion, but is still known best for Angela, the theme from the hit
TV comedy Taxi (reviewed elsewhere on this site). He has many albums, including a series of
well-respected releases from the CTI and Tappan Zee labels in the 1970s. A few years before he joined the band
Foreplay in 1991, he was still on his solo roll and this new DVD-Video of his
July 17, 1985 concert Live In Montreux is one of his favorites.
We can see why.
Though he has appeared on other DVDs (including the DVD-Audio of
Fourplay’s self-titled debut album), this is the first DVD disc to bare his
name alone. The camera angles are
nothing extraordinary, but they do get in there and show all the musicians in
extended jams of the following:
1) Touchdown
2) Ruby,
Ruby, Ruby
3) Night
Crawler
4) Unicorn
5) Westchester
Lady/Lucille
6) Zebra
Man
7) Angela
(The Theme From Taxi)
8) Winding
River
9) Spunky/Westchester
Lady (Reprise)
If you like extended Jazz jams, including the leisurely
pace of the best of them, this is a very nice set. Except for some of the video shooting showing its age, this is a
really entertaining concert disc. The
great thing here is once they start to play, you do not want them to stop and
they seem to feel the same way.
Keyboardist James is joined by guitarist Dean Brown, Saxophonist Kirk
Whalum, the late bassist Gary King, drummer Harvey Mason and percussionist
Dennis Henderson, melding together in a noticeable way. This runs about 95 minutes, longer than a CD
or LP would hold and if this is your genre of music, you will not be
disappointed.
As noted, the 1.33 X 1 video image is dated, but the
analog NTSC master is in good shape.
Color is consistent and the magnetic media has held up well for its
age. The sound is here in Dolby Digital
2.0 Stereo with Pro Logic surrounds and a 5.1 mix that is nicer, though one
wishes for DTS. There are no extras on
the disc, but the case comes with a nicely illustrated foldout that includes an
April 2004 interview with James. If you
are not familiar with James work outside of an old Checker Cab that cannot seem
to leave a particular New York bridge, than this is one of the ideal places to
start.
- Nicholas Sheffo
