Mike Stern Live – New Morning: The Paris Concert

 

Picture: C+     Sound: B     Extras: C+     Concert: B

 

 

Reminding one of musicians from Average White Band to Yes in the best possible way, Mike Stern Live from Inakustik’s New Morning: The Paris Concert series and of the many installments we have seen so far, this one is by far the best.  Guitarist Stern is not just a musician, but also a musician’s musician playing Jazz and Blues that even cross into Pop and Rock with ease.  Joining him for this nearly two-hour concert are fellow musicians: guitarist/vocalist Richard Bona, Drummer Dennis Chambers and Saxophonist Bob Franceschini.  What a great match and what great chemistry.

 

Though there are only the few following tracks, all are excellent, extended jam sessions for which these following compositions can more than endure:

 

1)     Play

2)     Slow Change

3)     Still There

4)     Tipatina’s

5)     Ha Ha Hotel

 

 

We see countless concerts and many are good ones, but this much more like an event.  To see Stern in action is amazing and a throwback to a time when the music usually mattered.  After a couple of decades of post-modern music (Rap, Hip-Hop, sampling, Djing, remixing) and countlessly bad bubblegum acts that have been overpromoted, resulting in insane (and inane) commercial success that has irreparably hurt music in general and the music industry in particular.  With his partners, they can play, know how to play very well, play off of each other with amazing showmanship, know their material and are just amazing together.  No formal band has been assembled, but that would not be a bad idea.  This is not new either, as the older clips in the supplement section attest to.  That makes Stern and company one of music’s best-kept secrets.  Let’s hope this great DVD changes that.

 

The letterboxed 1.78 X 1 image is colorful, but black turns to green in a few cases and that is bad.  One of the two bonus concert clips has the same aspect ratio and is even softer and greener, while the other is 1.33 X 1 and a little better.  The sound is here in PCM 2.0 16bit/48kHz Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 and a very pleasant DTS 5.1 mix that is the preferred way to play back the program.  Extras include two clips: After You from 1990 and Jean-Pierre from 1996, both of which are up to the energy and amazing musicianship of the main program.  There is also a fine (12 minutes is too short) interview with Stern than shows the man is as well spoken, as he is a skilled musician.  All this makes Mike Stern Live – New Morning: The Paris Concert the best DVD in the series to date.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo