Lionel Hampton &
The Golden Men Of Jazz (Concert)
Picture: C+
Sound: B- Extras: C- Concert: B
More Lionel Hampton material is being issued on DVD. First, we got to see earlier years of “The
King Of the Vibraphone” in Koch’s Swinging At His Best, but Geneon has a
concert that is a non-stop 99 minutes with the release of Lionel Hampton
& The Golden Men Of Jazz. This
was taped during his 1993 European tour and shows a master still in great form
after decades of being essentially a living legend. As joined by Clark Terry (Flugelhorn, Trumpet), Harry “Sweets”
Edison (Trumpet), Al Grey (Trombone), Benny Golson (Saxophone), Junior Mance
(Piano), Jimmy Woode (Bass) and Panama Francis (Drums), they deliver very
energetic and terrific performances of the following:
1) Hamp
2) Cool
Vibes
3) Lester
Leaps In
4) God
Bless The Child
5) Turn Me
Loose
6) Paradise
7) How High
The Moon
8) I
Remember Clifford
9) Drum On
In
10) Lover
11) Seven Come Eleven
12) Hey Baba Rebob
13) What A Wonderful World
They also have a great audience and all the musicians get
showcases to show just how exceptionally talented they are; all one would want
from any concert disc. What was most
impressive as far as “Hamp” was concerned was just how naturally he plays with
such grace and ease so many decades later.
This disc is a true pleasure and a great way to start of music DVDs for
2005.
The full frame 1.33 X 1 image was shot on analog
videotape, likely NTSC, because it matches up too well with our monitors. It is clean and Dieter Hens’ directing
captures this as a large concert without doing endless close shots that have
become a cliché of such tapings. The
stereo sound is presented here in PCM 16Bit/48kHz 2.0 Stereo and a Dolby
Digital 5.1 mix, with the former exhibiting less compression. Yet, the Dolby has a bit more detail in
parts of the frequency range and was slightly preferable. The problem is that this was not recorded
with multi-channel stereo playback in mind, so it may ultimately be about what
the listener prefers. That leaves
limits on playback, but the music is so good, you will still keep
watching. Extras are few and all text,
but include liner notes, profiles on the band members and a write-up on Hamp
himself. All in all, Geneon has out
together the best possible near-basic DVD of this concert and it is one fans
will love.
- Nicholas Sheffo
