DVD Videos

Two incredible Coleman Hawkins concerts from 1962 and 1964 featuring 140 minutes of music.

Both concerts feature stellar European and American side-musicians including Harry “Sweets” Edison on trumpet and drummer Jonathan “Jo” Jones – both Jazz Legends in their own right.

The 1962 show is a newly-discovered one-hour concert from the Adolphe Sax Festival in Belgium, which has never been seen. Coleman Hawkins, “The Father of Jazz Saxophone” demonstrates in these two concerts why he is still considered one of the most important innovators in the history of jazz.

B&W • All regions • English • Mono • 140 min

An amazing one hour Art Farmer concert from 1964 featuring the great flugelhornist in his prime.

Farmer’s top-notch band includes legendary guitarist Jim Hall (fresh from Sonny Rollins’ band), drummer Pete LaRoca and Steve Swallow on bass.

This legendary ensemble plays both standards and originals with ease and finesse and highlights why Farmer was considered one of the most innovative horn players in all of jazz.

B&W • All regions • English • Mono • 60 min

An incredible 90-minute Jimmy Smith concert from 1969 filmed in Paris.

Working in a trio format (including longtime guitarist Eddie McFadden), Jimmy shows why he is still the uncontested king of the jazz organ.

Highlights include blues jams “Got My Mojo Workin’” and “Sonnymoon For Two,” the classic ballads “Alfie” and “Satin Doll” as well as a blinding 23-minute version of Jimmy Smith’s showcase number “The Sermon.”

B&W • All regions • English • Mono • 90 min

A blistering one hour Woody Herman big band concert from 1964 featuring one of the very hottest line-ups of the “Swinging Herd” including trumpeter Bill Chase, trombonist Phil Wilson and the amazing saxophonist Sal Nistico on the front line as well as drummer Jake Hanna and pianist-arranger Nat Pierce in the rhythm section.

Woody and his band roar throughout the entire show which includes both classic standards such as “Lonesome Old Town’ and “After You’ve Gone” as well as new originals including Horace Silver’s “Sister Sadie” and Charles Mingus’s “Better Git It In Your Soul.”

B&W •All regions • English • Mono • 60 min

Two wonderful Anita O’Day concerts from 1963 and 1970 that present the “jazz singer supreme” in fine form and show unequivocally why she is ranked in the top tier of vocalists along with Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday.

O’Day’s horn-based approach to singing is in full effect throughout both shows including stand-out renditions in each show of audience favorites “Tea For Two” and “Sweet Georgia Brown” (both reprised from her triumphant appearance at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival.)

In the wake of O’Day’s recent passing, this DVD is a fitting testimony to one of jazz music’s true originals.

B&W • All regions • English • Mono • 60 min

An exceptional one hour concert by Art Blakey from Paris in 1965. This performance showcases one of the few undocumented Blakey bands, the New Jazzmen, and features the incomparable Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, as well as Jaki Byard on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, Nathan Davis on sax and, of course, Art Blakey on drums – truly a powerhouse quintet!

Freddie Hubbard's recent death underscores the timeliness of this release as it features his incendiary playing on "Blue Moon" and his own "Crisis," and serves as a cogent reminder that Freddie was one of the best in jazz history. This show cooks from start to finish.

Art Blakey is Jazz Icons’ first repeat artist as he was featured in our first series back in 2006 and remains one of the best-selling titles in the entire series.

B&W • All regions • English • Mono • 60 min

Two Erroll Garner concerts from 1963 and 1964 featuring his classic trio of bassist Eddie Calhoun and drummer Kelly Martin.

Erroll Garner was one of jazz’s true original players and this DVD is a parade of his most classic numbers.

The trio delivers throughout both shows including favorites “Fly Me To The Moon” and “I Get A Kick Out Of You” as well as originals “Erroll’s Theme,” “Mambo Erroll” and his best-known composition, “Misty.”

B&W • All regions • English • Mono • 60 min

SPECIAL FEATURES

24 page booklet featuring:

-liner notes by Robert Doerschuk

-foreword by Bill’s daughter Maxine

Afterward by Joe Lovano

-rare photographs

This DVD features five separate performances by one of the most revered pianists in music history. This collection coves an 11-year span, highlighting Evans’ ever-deepening artistry as he performs with four different all-star rhythm sections.

It includes for the first time on home video Evans’ renditions of the rarely performed “Sareen Jurer”, “Blue Serge” and “Twelve Tone Two”.

“The release of JAZZ ICONS is like the unearthing of a musical time capsule – an audio-visual treasure trove of the music that changed the world. From an educational standpoint this series is a gift to our culture.” Quincy Jones

SPECIAL FEATURES

24 page booklet featuring:

-liner notes by John Kruth

-foreword by Dorthaan Kirk

-rare photographs

-memorabilia collage

Rahsaan Roland Kirk presents three astounding concerts by this musical superhero playing his entire instrumental arsenal of saxophone, flute, mazello, stritch, siren and whistles – often simultaneously!

Kirk is backed by extraordinary side-musicians including legendary bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, drummers Alex Riel and Daniel Humair, and long-time pianist Ron Burton who keep the fire and swing burning throughout Rahsaan’s blazing workouts.

This collection also includes two different renditions of “Three For The Festival”, arguably Kirk’s most spectacular performance piece, showcasing him as a thunderous acrobatic player whose multiple horn work was all jazz and no gimmick.

“The release of JAZZ ICONS is like the unearthing of a musical time capsule – an audio-visual treasure trove of the music that changed the world. From an educational standpoint this series is a gift to our culture.” Quincy Jones

SPECIAL FEATURES

24 page booklet featuring:

-liner notes by John Szwed

-foreword by Olga Adderley-Chandler

-afterward by Ira Gitler

-rare photographs

-memorabilia collage

Cannonball Adderley boasts two beautifully filmed concerts from one of the most celebrated sextets in jazz history, captured at the top of their game. Cannonball Adderley (alto sax), Nat Adderley (cornet) Yusef Lateef (tenor sax, flute, oboe) provide a massive three-horn frontline attack, while the stellar rhythm section featuring a pre-Weather Report Joe Zawinul (piano), Sam Jones (bass) and Louis Hayes (drums) fuel the songs with a deep infectious swing. Quincy Jones’ “Jessica’s Day” leaps from the gate with a huge “big band” sound that is extraordinary for only six musicians.

This DVD is a reminder that Cannonball Adderley was one of the most outstanding and highly respected alto saxophonists in the history of jazz, a blues-based jazzman who could play anything in a superb fashion.

“The release of JAZZ ICONS is like the unearthing of a musical time capsule – an audio-visual treasure trove of the music that changed the world. From an educational standpoint this series is a gift to our culture.” Quincy Jones