Search - Lenny Breau & Brad Terry: Live At The Maine Festival on DVD

Overall, "Live at the Maine Festival" is an enjoyable watch

Jazz Fan in PA | USA | 05/16/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Lenny Breau & Brad Terry: Live at the Maine Festival is the latest DVD release from Art of Life Records. The DVD aims to provide an up close and personal look at this dynamic, though often overlooked, guitar and clarinet duo. Up until this point in time, any fan of the Breau-Terry duo had to be content with the two CD set, The Complete Living Room Tapes, which features the duo jamming during a house concert. With new archival performance footage from the 1980 Maine Festival, an interview with Terry, high-resolution audio files of two duo tracks and a complete discography of all of Lenny's recordings as both a sideman and leader, this DVD package showcases these two extraordinary musicians in a new and evocative fashion. The concert footage on the DVD consists of two extended versions of the Jazz classics "Emily" and "Autumn Leaves". Both players are at the top of their games on each of these two tracks. Lenny, who uses his guitar case as a footstool for some unexplained reason, maintains a focused approach in both his comping and soloing, something that has been lacking in several other of his live recordings. Not to be outdone, Terry highlights his diversity as a woodwind performer by using his clarinet as both a soloing and comping instrument. He not only improvises solos on the clarinet, but walks bass lines behind Lenny's single-note solos as well. While there are several moments that stand out during these tunes, none can match Terry's remarkable whistling solo during "Emily." His incredible range and ability to whistle complex bebop lines and melodic statements, transform this often "campy" skill into an instrument of complexity and dynamic musicality. The High-Resolution Audio Only Bonus Tracks add a welcomed second dimension to the video sections of the DVD. The first high-resolution recording is an up-tempo version of "Limehouse Blues," complete with Lenny laughing at the end of the track and exclaiming, "Forget it, man!" Hearing Lenny's voice provides a level of intimacy for the casual listener, as well as an enjoyable moment for die-hard Lenny fans. As was the case in the concert footage, both musicians perform expertly in their interpretation of this standard blues tune. One of the reasons why this duo has become so popular amongst Jazz fans is their ability to communicate on such a high musical level. There are no awkward moments of transition between solos and both musicians know when the moment is right to either comp or simply lay out and let the other musician take the reigns. The best example of this comes in the second audio track, a rubato version of "Make Someone Happy." Here, both musicians rely on their ears and intuition to guide them through the music as the time ebbs and flows during the melody sections of the song. Moments like this one surely leave fans wishing that this duo had been able to record at least one or two more records while Lenny was still on this earth. Another bonus feature included on the DVD is a complete discography of Lenny Breau as both a leader and a sideman, including all records that were released posthumously. The discography provides an excellent source of information for Lenny's fans, as well as newcomers to his music who may not be aware of his recorded history. People unfamiliar with Lenny's work may be surprised to see how many recordings he made as a leader, as well as the number of famous musicians he recorded with, especially his long standing personal and professional relationship with Chet Atkins. Overall, "Live at the Maine Festival" is an enjoyable watch with a little bit of something for both fans and casual listeners alike. Lenny & Brad's playing is exceptional on both the video and audio tracks. With a total of over 40 minutes of film and audio only bonus tracks combined, this DVD will leave fans wanting more, and hoping that this is only the beginning of a series of archival footage being released by Art of Life Records.

Dr. Matthew Warnock - Modern Guitars Magazine

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Greatest LB Performance Ever Captured on Film

Ronald Forbes-roberts | Northwest | 01/06/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Lenny Breau played with a lot of great musicians during the course of his life. A few of these players had an almost mystical effect on him, inspiring him to extend his playing and ideas into new realms. The sublime performance on this DVD confirms that Brad Terry was one of these. In front of a live audience, Terry, a jazz clarinet virtuoso, gently goads Lenny into a level of playing that may well have surprised Lenny himself. As a fan of Lenny Breau's who has listened to his best work for thirty plus years, I thought I'd heard the miracle of his playing at its peak on various recordings. But my jaw hit the floor in astonishment when I first viewed this performance. The technique and improvisational skills Lenny displays on this DVD are matched only by the joy, confidence and creative brilliance with which he plays. If Lenny Breau had played like this at every concert and on every recording he made during his career, he would undoubtedly have received the credit he well deserved as the greatest guitarist who ever lived. Seeing is believing so if you are a fan of Lenny's or simply a lover of guitar music, you owe it to yourself to get this DVD.

Note: This DVD is admittedly short but to criticize it for this reason is like dismissing a great piece of literature because it falls short of a requisite number of pages. This performance should be judged on the basis of its quality, not its quantity. At half the length it would be worth every penny.

10 stars."