Legends - Live in Montreux 1997

Tracks:

1. Full House

2. Groovin'

3. Ruthie

4. Snakes

5. Going Down Slow

6. The Peeper

7. In Case You Hadn't Noticed

8. Third Degree

9. First Song/Tango Blues

10. Put It Where You Want It

11. Shrevport Stomp

12. In a Sentimental Mood/Layla

13. Every Day I Have the Blues

Switzerland's legendary Montreux Jazz Festival has been host to countless once-in-a-lifetime performances since its 1967 inception, but none more thrilling than the 1997 collaboration between guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist Marcus Miller, drummer Steve Gadd, pianist Joe Sample, and saxophonist David Sanborn. Clapton brought his deeply felt blues-rock influence to the quartet's sophisticated jazz stylings for an amazing reinvention of classics such as "Full House," "Groovin'," and "Shreveport Stomp," as well as a haunting acoustic version of "Layla." Almost 1 hour and 45 minutes from legendary players of JAZZ.... A bit unusual for Eric Clapton playing jazz tunes but he was able to get away with it! Remarkable showmanship...

Michael McDonald - Live in Concert - July 2003

Soundstage is a show that we did 25 years ago with The Doobie Brothers, and for us to come back all these years later and still be continent is a big plus for us."- Michael McDonald

All Star cast: Michael McDonald (lead vocals, electric and grand pianos), Patrick Simmons (lead guitar, vocals), Tom Johnston (rhythm guitar, vocals), Nikolas Ashford (vocals), Valerie Simpson (vocals)Other Stars: Bernie Chiaravalle (lead guitar, vocals), Vince Denham (sax, keyboards), Yvette "Baby Girl" Preyer (drums, percussion, vocals), Pat Coil (keyboards), Lanice Morrison (bass, vocals), Francine Smith, Simbryl Whittington, Yvonne Gage (backing vocals)Director: Joe Thomas

With a diverse range and an incredible popular appeal, Michael McDonald has been entertaining audiences with his own brand of "blue-eyed soul" for years, continually turning out catchy and inspirational pop music influenced in equal parts by Memphis-style soul, rhythm and blues, and soulful ballads. First attaining popularity with the legendary Doobie Brothers, McDonald has gone on to be a guest performer on recordings with many acclaimed artists such as Steely Dan, Quincy Jones, Patti LaBelle, Kenny Loggins, and many others. On this live performance, broadcast by the BBC in July 2003, he is reunited with fellow Doobie Brothers Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons as they perform such Doobie classics as "What a Fool Believes," "Blackwater," and "Taking it to the Streets," as well as McDonald's solo hits; the performance is highlighted by the guest appearance of Valerie Simpson and Nickolas Ashford, the visionary husband and wife songwriting team.

Joe Sample Trio - Estival Jazz - Lugano, Switzerland 9-07-2005

Leslie "Joe" Sample (born February 1, 1939 in Houston, Texas) is an American pianist, keyboard player and composer. He was one of the founding members of the Jazz Crusaders, the band which became simply The Crusaders in 1971, and remained a part of the group until its final album in 1991.

Sample played the piano since he was five years old. Since the late 1980s, he has enjoyed a successful solo career and has guested on many recordings by other performers and groups, including Miles Davis, George Benson, Jimmy Witherspoon, B.B. King and Steely Dan. Although it received less radio airplay than several of his other releases, many consider Invitation to be his finest solo recording to date. On this concert Randy Crawford is a special guest and perform her popular hits like "Street Life" One Day I'll Fly Away, Rio de Janiero Blues and more. Along with him are Adam Nassbaum - on drums and Jay Anderson on bass. 1 full hour of Joe Sample's swingin' jazz....

Toots Thielemans - In New Orleans - 2001 release

Harmonica virtuoso Toots Thielemans has recorded dozens of albums and CDs as a leader, but this DVD is a rare opportunity to catch him in concert during a 1988 set at Lulu White's Mahogany Hall in New Orleans. Accompanied by the brilliant Fred Hersch on piano, as well as the superb bassist Harvie Swartz and veteran drummer Adam Nussbaum, Thielemans' well-rounded program flows very nicely. He's a master interpreter of ballads, avoiding the often-maudlin tempo of "The Days of Wine and Roses," adding an incredible coda to the pretty ballad "The Meaning of the Blues," and sharing a memorable duet with Hersch on "If You Go Away." Thielemans' Monk medley begins with a stunning but brief solo rendition of "'Round Midnight" that is left unresolved as it segues into "Little Rootie Tootie" with the group joining him. His furious take of "On Green Dolphin Street" is also a highlight, but it is his finale that steals the show. Putting down his harmonica and switching to guitar and whistling along as well, Thielemans messes around with a little bit of the bop anthem "Anthropology" before moving into his well-known composition, "Bluesette," which has clearly stood the test of time very well. The excellent sound and camera editing are a treat considering that many jazz performance videos almost seem to be shot as afterthoughts. Several enlightening interview excerpts with Thielemans are inserted within the program. Highly recommended.

Boz Scaggs - Greatest Hits Live - 2004

In 2004 Boz Scaggs released his first, and what is likely to be only, officially sanctioned live disc in an extensive career. With 35 years of experience and 13 albums of material to choose from, it also substitutes as a reasonable best-of, although Sony/Legacy's 1997 double set My Time did an excellent job of recapping his studio hits. Even if it's a byproduct of the associated DVD recorded at the same August, 2004 San Francisco gig, this is a lively and professionally performed show that makes up in soul what it lacks in spontaneity. Live hits' discs coming in the twilight of the artist's career are typically dicey affairs, often used as a backdoor way for a new label to release some of the act's best material, the originals of which they do not have rights to. While that may be the case here, this is far from a fast way to make a few bucks off Scaggs' catalog. The seven-piece band (plus two backing vocalists) offer perfect, occasionally inspired renditions of a relatively unsurprising set list. The show is a terrific mix of the lovely, but sometimes sappy Scaggs ballads such as "Heart of Mine," "We're All Alone," "Slow Dancer" and "Look What You've Done to Me" with the blue-eyed funk-pop of "Lowdown," "Jojo," "Georgia" and "Lido Shuffle." The songs that ultimately work the best and are the loosest are the blues-based tracks, in particular a sumptuous version of Bobby "Blue" Bland's "Ask Me 'Bout Nuthin' but the Blues
," and nearly a half-hour on disc two dedicated to the jazzy jump blues of "Runnin' Blue" and a fiery "Loan Me a Dime." Scaggs is in terrific voice throughout, the band adapts remarkably well to a varied set list and the live sound is crisp but not sterile. Many of the arrangements, especially of the pop songs, don't differ substantially from the originals, but the effect is lively and with slightly more drive due to the live setting. The rather forced between-song patter very present in the DVD is edited out for the audio version, which provides a better musical flow. Some of these songs never charted, and were not even particularly popular. Many tracks from My Time and even three from the slimmer Hits! collection are missing. But these are minor complaints for an extremely well produced, immaculately played, stylishly presented and dynamic look at Scaggs' diverse catalog. Great performer from a very sophisticated stylish songs.

Tracklist:




01. Lowdown

02. Slow Dancer

03. Heart of Mine

04. It All Went Down The Drain

05. Harbor Lights

06. Jojo

07. Ask Me ‘Bout Nothin’ But The Blues

08. Breakdown Dead Ahead

09. Look What You’ve Done To Me

10. I Just Go

11. Georgia

12. Miss Sun

13. Lido Shuffle

14. Runnin’ Blues

15. Loan Me a Dime

16. We’re All Alone



Also includes:



Photo gallery,

Behind-the-scenes documentary,

Bonus track: Harbor Lights



Personnel:



Boz Scaggs - Vocals, Guitar

Matt Bissonette - Bass

Drew Zingg - Guitar

Charles McNeal - Saxophone

Richard Armstrong - Trumpet

Jim Cox - Keyboards

Michael Bluestein - Keyboards

John Ferraro - Drums

Barbara Wilson - Background Vocals

Ms. Mone't - Background Vocals

Don Grusin - The Hang

The younger brother of producer/composer Dave Grusin, Don Grusin is an excellent keyboardist who has had his own solo career. He originally avoided music (not wanting to be in his brother's shadow), becoming an economics professor and not becoming a full-time musician until 1975. At that time, he put together a band to tour Japan with Quincy Jones, freelanced in Los Angeles.

Complete personnel line up in this DVD album

Harvey Mason, Sr.
Drums
Frank Quintero
Guitar, Arranger, Vocals (Background), Vocals
Lee Ritenour
Guitar
Ernie Watts
Saxophone, Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor)
Carl Thomas
Vocals (Background)
Oscar Seaton
Percussion, Drums
Don Grusin
Bass, Programming, Piano, Session Leader, Arranger, Fender Rhodes, Producer, Keyboards
Alex Acuña
Percussion, Drums
Charlie Bisharat
Violin
Dave Grusin
Bass, Piano, Fender Rhodes, Keyboards
Nathan East
Bass
Abraham Laboriel
Bass
Greg Ladanyi
Engineer, Mixing, Live Mixing, Monitor Mix Engineer
Patti Austin
Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Pete Escovedo
Percussion
Nelson Rangell
Flute, Piccolo, Sax (Alto), Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor), Saxophone
Ricardo Silveira
Guitar
Sadao Watanabe
Arranger, Sax (Alto), Saxophone

Ricardo Silveira
Guitar
Sadao Watanabe
Arranger, Sax (Alto), Saxophone

Chuck Mangione - The Feeling Is Back

Chuck Mangione laid low throughout much of the '90s, perhaps the end result of a disappointing string of albums for Columbia during the '80s. He returned to the road in 1997 and evidently it was a positive experience, since he returned to the studio the following year to cut The Feeling's Back. For all intents and purposes, The Feeling's Back is a comeback album, finding Mangione returning to the smooth, melodic style of Feels So Good, but laying off the sappy pop tendencies that dogged his '80s efforts. Although the end result is a little monotonous -- many of the tracks are quiet and slowly swinging, blending together into one long track.

It's charmingly laid-back, mellow and melodic, all of the things that brought Mangione fame and fortune inthe '70s. There isn't a whole lot in the way of "real" jazz here -- the solos are extensions of the themes, and they never stand apart from the lite groove -- but this has the "feeling" that Mangione fans have been waiting to feel again. And that's enough to make it a successful comeback. 1 hour of - Feel So Good music of Mangione...