Search - Lester Young/Count Basie: Jammin' the Blues on DVD

Works For Me

Cassin Y. Stacy | Space Coast, Florida | 11/01/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This DVD worked on my old player and on my new XP Media Edition system. It did take some button juggling at first on the player.
The DVD includes the original film, some 10 minutes long, in a very good quality presentation. To provide more value, the disk also includes seven 1940's Count Basie tracks, in varying quality, but of considerable interest. Although the packaging highlights Lester Young, who is the principal player in the original movie, he does not appear in the seven Basie tracks.
If this is the only way to get the film, it's worth it, and the Basie is an extra plus."

Intriguing buy

Nikica Gilic | Zagreb, Croatia | 04/15/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First of all, this DVD contains MAGNIFICENT material:
- musical film that tries to recreate the atmosphere of jazz jam-session (with Lester Young, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Illinois Jacquet...)
- two numbers of Count Basie's orchestra, with a nice Jimmy Rushing vocal on Take me Back Baby
- several tracks of a brilliant Basie sextet (featuring Buddy DeFranco and Clark Terry) plus great and charming vocalist Helen Humes

However, the quality of footage (restoration and transfer) is far from impeccable and, just like another user at this site, I also had trouble playing the DVD, so it might be more than coincidence (one of my DVD players played only firts 13 seconds of the DVD, the second player was, fortunately, more willing to give me my Prez and Count...).

BTW- some criticize Gjon Milli's great musical film Jammin' the blues because it is not a real jam-session, but the music is so great it really doesn't matter... Even the fact that you hear Young's sax while on screen he holds it on his knees...

So, buyers, have caution..,"