Improvisation: Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald and More (1944)

In 1944 Norman Granz and Gjon Mili collaborated on a film about jazz music called "Jammin' The Blues". Highly successful, it was nominated for the Oscar for Best Short Film and is described on the IMDB as "Maybe the greatest film ever about jazz." In 1950 they collaborated again on a film about jazz improvisation that was never completed. This footage has now been combined with other film of jazz improvisation shot by Norman Granz at different times and locations to create this new film simply titled "Improvisation".

Tracklisting: Mili's Studio Sequence 1950 1) Opening Title 2) Ballade 3) Celebrity 4) Ad Lib 5) Pennies From Heaven 6) Blues For Greasy Duke Ellington at the Cote D'Azur 7) Blues For Joan Miro Count Basie At Montreux Jazz Festival 1977 8) Nob's Blues 9) Kidney Stew 10) These Foolish Things Joe Pass 1979 11) Ain't Misbehavin' 12) Prelude To A Kiss Ella Fitzgerald 1979 13) Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me 14) I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good Oscar Peterson At Montreux Jazz Festival 1977 15) Ali & Frazier

Bonus Features Disc One: Portrait of Norman Granz narrated by Nat Hentoff / Portraits by David Stone Martin Disc Two: Extra rushes / Interviews about the Mili session / Interviews about Charlie Parker / Photo gallery of Paul Nodler's pictures of the Mili session / The original 1944 film "Jammin' The Blues"

 Great video.
It is a rare privilege to see these great artists playing their music.
I will never understand why Norman Granz opted to film at Mili's studio. The result is that the performance was filmed, but the sound track was dubbed in from another session. The musicians did their best to replicate in sound what they had improvised on film. It seems to me that it would have been worth the effort to film the "Jam Session" tracks in a great hall - like Carnegie. They could have also filmed at any number of sound studios.
The result is a video that is in and out of sync with the sound track. It can be a little disconcerting to see fingers moving or not moving when the notes are heard; breaths occasionally being taken by the artists while the sound of the horns is heard. Why someone didn't film these great artists in a more natural manner is a mystery.

Having said all that, it is very moving to see Charlie Parker the person as well as Charlie Parker the artist.
He is very relaxed and expressive. It is also great to see Prez. All of the musicians are real. They are there to play.

The other musical material is quite interesting.
For me, the other great moment comes when Roy Eldridge performs and scats "Kidney Stew". It is a gem.

This DVD is an absolute must. November 29, 2007

 A priceless look at Bird, Ella, the Hawk and other jazz greats
The genius of the late Norman Granz lives on in this two-disk DVD showing some of the greats of jazz performing and relaxing in the 1950s, '60s and '70s. You'll want to see everything on both DVDs, but the real gems are five tunes featuring alto saxman Charlie Parker, pianist Hank Jones, drummer Buddy Rich, bassist Ray Brown, tenor saxmen Lester Young and Flip Phillips, and trombonist Bill Harris in a 1950 session, plus a reissue of "Jammin' the Blues," Granz's 1944 Oscar-nominated movie short featuring Young, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Illinois Jacquet, Barney Kessel, Jo Jones, Sid Catlett, Red Callender and others. That's not to say the 1966 Duke Ellington trio session, two tunes apiece in 1979 from guitarist Joe Pass and singer Ella Fitzgerald, and 1977 Montreux Jazz Festival sessions featuring Oscar Peterson, Count Basie, Benny Carter, Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Vic Dickenson, Al Grey, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and other stars aren't also good. They are, and you'll want to view all of these several times. Other features like Nat Hentoff's portrait of Granz, Granz's introduction, still photos and silent footage from the jam sessions, jazz portraits by artist David Stone Martin, and interviews with Jones, Edison, Terry, Jay McShann, Phil Woods, Ira Gitler, James Moody, Slide Hampton, Roy Haynes and Jimmy Heath are all fine additions. But the music, appropriately, is the biggest part of these DVDs. It will take you more than three hours to experience it all, but the time will be very well spent. You'll be grateful that Granz collected and preserved these bits of history during his career and that Laser Swing Productions and Eagle Eye Media have put it all together on DVD. September 17, 2007

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