DVD Videos

Ray Charles was the innovator who fused gospel, jazz and blues to create modern soul music. His crossover vision also widened the scope of country and western, his unique voice touching the hearts of people around the world. Never-before-seen interviews with Ray himself as well as his family and friends reveal the heartbreak and humour of a man who overcame all odds, moving through tragedy to triumph and immortality.

Included are rare and riveting clips of Ray’s finest performances and greatest hits from five decades of music that altered the musical map. “Like the man it profiles, ‘Ray Charles: The Genius of Soul’ has a voice that’s distinctive, emotional and impressively truthful.” – New York Post

A leading musician of the swing era and an outstanding representative of the big band style, Count Basie was an eminent bandleader and jazz pianist. He led one of the most enduring swing bands of all time; no other musician was ever more committed to stomping, shouting, swinging, jumping and dragging away the blues than Count Basie. In Swingin’ the Blues, a distinguished group of Basie alumni − including early band stars Harry “Sweets” Edison, Earle Warren and Claude Williams, and later stars like Illinois Jacquet, Buddy Tate and Joe Williams − lend their insights. The film is generously supported by vintage performance footage beginning in the 1930s and master recordings of the greatest Basie sessions.

The Story of Jazz puts the crown on the "Masters of American Music" series. As entertaining as it is informative, it is a seamless array of performances, comments, and compelling historic insight. This colourful tale of cross-cultural influences that produced a constantly evolving and enduring music is a rich 97-minute weave of sounds, rare film clips, stills and interviews. Never before have the filmed comments of so many important jazz artists been assembled for one project, and never before has the history of jazz been told as vividly and with such attention to historic detail.

Bluesland − A Portrait in American Music explores the blues, with all its poetic irony and sly humour, its eroticism and timeless power. A uniquely creative and highly visual look at American blues, Bluesland travels the expansive landscape of the music, tracing its roots from the beginning of the 20th century through the Mississippi Delta to Louisiana, Texas, Kansas City and Chicago. With rare and memorable footage of the greatest performers, the film follows the music’s many tributaries as blues flows into the sophisticated jazz of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Count Basie, the rhythm and blues of Louis Jordan and Dinah Washington, and the rock and roll of Chuck Berry and Elvis. Bluesland is a moving, authentic and illustrative overview of the blues – a must for all music lovers.

On New Year's Eve 2009 Havana's legendary nightclub, Tropicana, celebrated its seventieth birthday with a colourful revue, and the evening’s special guest was the world-famous Omara Portuondo. Together with her five-man band, which ranges in style from the Cuban guajira, bolero, mambo and son to elements of jazz, the grande dame of traditional Cuban singing offers a delightful contrast to the exuberant joy in dancing shown by the Tropicana Ballet.

Recorded live at the Tropicana, Havana, 2009.

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