Search - Billy Eckstine/Gene Ammons on DVD

Swing Era: Billy Eckstine/Gene Ammons - Rhythm in a Riff

Olusegun Sijuwade | 08/02/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This was a great CD, except that Gene Ammons is only featured on ONE song. He has no other solos! Frank Wess handles all the other tenor solos with Eckstine's band. The "...featuring Gene Ammons" is too misleading -he only solos one time!"

Two different DVDs with the same Ekstine material

Carlos from Rio | Rio de Janeiro, RJ Brazil | 04/15/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"
If you pick DVD 'Billy Ekstine Sings/Dizzy Gillespie Swings' [also available here @Amazon], you'll find the same great video clips with Billy Ekstine and his extraordinary big band as in this DVD 'Swing Era'. This would lead you to buy any single one.

However, there is an important difference between these DVDs: the first one offers Dizzy Gillespie as a bonus while this 'Swing Era' offers rare video clips by Andy Kirk, John Kirby, Tix Beneke, Johnny Long, Ozzie Nelson, and Johnny Messner with their own bands.

All is brilliant material, important jazz docs.
So that's a question of choice. I chose both even considering Gene Ammons really plays one track. Credit should be really given mainly to Frank Wess.

'Swing Era' also offers a misplaced video clip with Bing Crosby, singing a slow ballad despite the DVD title.

All in B/W - All Region
"