Bireli Lagrene, Philip Catherine, Christian Escoudé and Sylvain Luc - Jazz in Marciac (2000)

Jazz in Marciac festival is held every year since 1978 in August (from 1 to 15), Marciac (Gers). Sessions fall, winter and spring are also proposed. Marciac, fortified in the late thirteenth century, is a town of 1200 residents today. It is located halfway between Auch and Tarbes, at half past one in Toulouse. During this fortnight of August, the main square which has preserved its medieval arcades welcomes its center off the festival (free) under a tent. All round, many craftsmen present. Concerts are held at night under a giant tent. Many restaurants and taverns of the village installed for the occasion offer meal accompanied by musicians.

This festival has hosted many internationally renowned musicians such as Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Oscar Peterson, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Bill Coleman, Stéphane Grappelli, Michel Petrucciani, Eddy Louiss, Sonny Rollins, Gerry Mulligan, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Wynton Marsalis, Ray Charles, Dianne Reeves, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Diana Krall, Bireli Lagrene, Ibrahim Ferrer, John Zorn ...

This group performance was stunning! Real positive, very creative ripping fast techniques! This rare gathering of the 4 most top guitarists from Europe was a knockout! The concert lasted for an hour of full of excitement!

Marciac Sweet:

Bireli Lagrene (guitar)

Philip Catherine (guitar)

Escoudé Christian (guitar)

Sylvain Luc (guitar)

Quincy Jones celebrates his 75th birthday July 14, 2008 at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland

Legendary composer, producer, arranger, and social activist Quincy Jones has been an inspiration for a number of different artists. During the years, he has worked with some of the greatest R&B, jazz, pop, blues, and gospel stars such as Michael Jackson, Chaka Khan, Duke Ellington, Al Jarreau, Herbie Hancock, and Miles Davis. In 1968, together with songwriter Bob Rissel, Jones became the first African-American to be nominated for an Oscar (Best Original Song for Banning). In 2008, Jones was also named an Ambassador at the Grammys, and served as Artistic Advisor for the Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

On July 14th, 2008, a very special event took place at the Stravinsky Auditorium in Montreux, Switzerland. A number of musicians who have had the opportunity to work with Jones during the years gathered to celebrate his 75th birthday. For well over two hours, they sang, played, joked and thanked a living legend.

The actual concert is truly impossible to describe with simple words. Even a quick glance at the names of the musicians who took the stage should immediately reveal to you how incredibly influential Jones has been. In fact, one could argue that many of them have been just as influential as Jones – years from now, people will still talk about Chaka Khan, Herbie Hancock, Al Jarreau, James Moody, and Toots Thielemans.
While I do not wish to single out any of the performances from Quincy Jones: The 75th Birthday Celebration as they are all absolutely terrific, there are two sets that I just have to mention to you. The first one is by the award-winning septet from New York City, Naturally 7. Their acapella versions of Billie Jean and Wall Of Sound are simply phenomenal. The second set is by Belgian jazz icon Toots Thielemans, who many years ago I was fortunate enough to see playing his harmonica live – at the age of 86, he is still as good as I remember him!

The most expensive seats costs $380 – for the Quincy Jones night and it was an event that mistified the whole audience.

When an artist of the stature of Quincy Jones celebrates his 75th birthday you can be sure its going to be quite a party. Quincy Jones has a long and rich history, and the cream of musical talent turned up to serenade Q on this very special occasion. The main concert lasted over two and a half hours and the musicians then spilled out into the bars and cafes of Montreux with the music still going strong as the sun was coming up the next morning! Backing on all tracks provided by the Montreux In The House Band: Greg Phillinganes (keyboards), David Delhomme (keyboards), Paul Jackson Jr. (guitar), Nathan East (bass), John Robinson (drums), Paulinho da Costa (percussion). Accompanied by the Swiss Army Big Band conducted by Pepe Lienhard. It was an unforgettable night to remember! A real star studded event!

Tracklisting:

Disc One

Introduction by Claude Nobs

1) The Good, The Bad And The Ugly Herbie Hancock, Patti Austin & Stevie Woods
2) Let The Good Times Roll Rahsaan Patterson & James Moody
3) Makin Whoopee Patti Austin
4) Moodys Mood James Moody & Patti Austin
5) The Television Song James Moody & John Robinson
6) Honeysuckle Rose Freda Payne & Joe Sample
7) Shiny Stockings Freda Payne & Joe Sample
8) Im Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town / In The Heat Of The Night Mick Hucknall
9) If I Ever Lose This Heaven Ledisi
10) Midnight Sun Al Jarreau & Larry Williams
11) One Mint Julep Petula Clark
12) Goin To Chicago Blues Petula Clark & Paolo Nutini
13) My Ship / Summertime Franco Ambrosetti
14) Smoke Gets In Your Eyes Nana Mouskouri & James Morrison
15) Almost Like Being In Love Nana Mouskouri & James Morrison
16) Miss Celies Blues (Sister) Chaka Khan, Patti Austin & Greg Phillinganes
17) Whats Going On Ledisi, James Morrison, Rahsaan Patterson, Tobias Preisig, Patrice Rushen & Toots Thielemans
18) Eyes Of Love (Carols Theme) / Bluesette Toots Thielemans

Disc Two

1) Walking In Space Chaka Khan & Lee Ritenour
2) Strawberry Letter 23 Paolo Nutini & Lee Ritenour
3) How Do You Keep The Music Playing Patti Austin
4) The Dude Al Jarreau
5) Billie Jean Naturally 7
6) Wall Of Sound Naturally 7
7) Mama Aifambeni Angelique Kidjo
8) State Of Independence Angelique Kidjo & Larry Williams
9) Everything Must Change Curtis Stigers
10) Cool Joe, Mean Joe (Killer Joe) Herbie Hancock
11) Ai No Corrida Patti Austin, Gabi Goldberg, Dorothea Lorene, Stevie Woods, Kent Stetler & Billy Cobham
12) Stuff Like That Monty Alexander, Patti Austin, Petula Clark, Billy Cobham, Herbie Hancock, Chaka Khan, Angelique Kidjo, Beverley Knight, Nils Landgren, Ledisi, James Moody, James Morrison, Nana Mouskouri, Naturally 7, Eahsaan Patterson, Freda Payne, Patrice Rushen, Joe Sample, Curtis Stigers & Larry Williams

The artists performing on this video are:
Ledisi, James Morrison, Rahsaan Patterson, Tobias Preisig, Patrice Rushen & Toots Thielemans

Tony Williams Quintet - live at Antibes - 1990

Tillmon Anthony Williams

December 12, 1945 -
February 23, 1997

A legendary jazz/Fusion drummer. More known as Tony Williams by drummers around the world.
He got most recognition for his fusion project; Lifetime (3) band with John Mclaughlin. He also was part of The Miles Davis Quintet, in the 60's and did extensive touring with Herbie Hancock's V.S.O.P band as well.

In this video, he was performing at his best along with his Quintet playing mostly their compositions during the 1990's. He was one of the best jazz drummer during his time. Known for his very incredibly unique style of playing. He has done a lot of great jazz recordings but unfortunately died of a heart attack after a gall blader surgery in 1997. He was 51 years old.

Bob James - Live at Montreux July 1985 - (2005) release

It'd be easy to say that watching Bob James at this classic 1985 performance from Montreux was like viewing the pianist in his prime. But as anyone who has seen James perform lately can confirm, it's obvious the 66-year-old hasn't lost a step on the keys. This concert brilliantly captures the contemporary jazz pianist as he treats the enthusiastic crowd to nine compositions.

Sharing the sweat with James on this hot July night were Harvey Mason on drums, Dennis Henderson on percussion and the amazing Dean Parks on guitar. The late Gary King jammed, as always, on bass and he provides an unforgettable highlight with his hoarse vocals with a snippet of "Lucille" tagged onto the end of "Westchester Lady." Add to that a young Kirk Whalum on sax--he also plays flute on "Angela (Theme From 'Taxi')" --and it's no wonder the Montreux crowd went nuts for an encore. Other songs include "Touchdown," Whalum's "Ruby, Ruby, Ruby," "Night Crawler," "Unicorn," "Zebra Man," "Winding River" and "Spunky."

Video clip is Bob James "Touchdown"

CASINO LIGHT S '99 - Live at Switzerland's Montreux Jazz Festival in 1999

Contemporary jazz, smooth jazz, jazz lite: call it what you will, if you have a taste for that kind of funky, groove-oriented instrumental music (with a couple of vocals thrown in for good measure), you'll certainly get a healthy dose of it here. Filmed at Switzerland's Montreux Jazz Festival in 1999, the concert (also available on CD) features some of the genre's best players, like pianist Bob James and guitarist Larry Carlton, both of whom appear with their own bands, backing other musicians, and with their group Fourplay. Also on hand are keyboardist George Duke, saxophonists Kenny Garrett, Boney James, Kirk Whalum, and Mark Turner, and trumpeter Rick Braun. The performances are all good; these fellows can play, and singers Kevin Mahogany and Gabriela Anders are no slouches either.

Miles Davis's "Four" (played by Fourplay), the standard "Old Folks" (Turner), and a couple of others, most of what passes for tunes is little more than riff-heavy, melody-free jamming--and that includes two hoary classics, Eddie Harris's "Cold Duck Time" (played here by Carlton, it first appeared on Swiss Movement, the Harris/Les McCann album recorded at Montreux in '69) and Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man" (the closing number, played by just about everybody). The simple truth is that listening to (and watching) some guy get down with his funky horn again and again gets old over the course of two hours. But then, perhaps you had to be there.


Casino Lights '99 is a live concert performance featuring renowned contemporary jazz musicians Bob James, George Duke, Rick Braun, Boney James, Kirk Whalum, Larry Carlton, Fourplay, Kenny Garrett, Kevin Mahogany, Mark Turner, and Gabriela Anders. Shot in 1999 at the legendary Montreux Jazz Festival, Casino Lights '99 showcases each artist's mastery of the art form spanning genres form traditional to the contemporary repertoire.

A complete track listing for the Casino Lights '99 DVD includes:

Mind Games - Bob James Trio
Old Folks - Mark Turner
Wayne's Thang - Kenny Garrett Quartet
Cold Duck Time - Larry Carlton
Soweto - Kirk Whalum
Yesterday I Had The Blues - Kevin Mahogany
Always There - Rick Braun, Larry Carlton, Kenny Garrett, Boney James & Kirk Whalum
All Night Long - Boney James
Notorious - Rick Braun
Fire of Love - Gabriela Anders
Brazilian Love Affair - George Duke
Four - Fourplay
Westchester Lady - Fourplay, Rick Braun, Boney James & Kirk Whalum
Watermelon Man - FFourplay, Rick Braun, Boney James & Kirk Whalum

Video was shown on Dutch TV - Brazilian Love Affair - This song performed by George Duke Band was also included in this Casino Lights 99 DVD.

Richard Galliano and Wynton Marsalis - Jazz in Marciac, France - 2006

Richard Galliano: Tangaria Quartet was recorded live during Jazz In Marciac on August 6, 2006. Marciac is a quaint, sleepy town in South-Western France that comes to life during the summer months when it hosts a massive jazz festival.

Tangaria features the music of its worldrenowned members – Richard Galliano, Alexis Cardenas, Philippe Aerts, and Rafaël Mejias, as well as their special guest, Wynton Marsalis on Trumpet and Hamilton de Holanda on mandolin.

Galliano describes the concert as certainly one of the most beautiful… an audience that was numerous, and alert; an incredible atmosphere in a mythical place. The Tangaria Quartet played some of Galliano’s standard songs – Tango Pour Claude, Laurita, Sertão, New York Tango, Fou Rire, Sanfona and Spleen – while exploring a few new ones including Chat Pître and Tangaria.

The concert features Hamilton De Holanda’s astonishing mandolin solo, Alexis Cardenas and Rafaël Mejias’ incredible duo and Galliano’s improvisation alongside both of them. Enjoy these intense, fascinating, and creative moments during an unforgettable night and the birth of a new band: Tangaria.

The soundtrack to Tangaria Quartet captures every moment of every song in the film in high quality audio recording format. Duration: 73 minutes.

Wynton Marsalis rehearsing La Vie en Rose with Walter Blanding for his concert with Richard Galliano at Marciac Jazz 2008

DAVID SANBORN - Leverkusen, Germany - 2008

Renowned and revered the world over as one of the greatest saxophone players of all-time, David Sanborn is an artist whose music has inspired countless other musicians while creating a body of work that spans the genres of rock ‘n’ roll, R&B, pop and jazz. A naturally gifted performer, David has helped defined the saxophone’s modern sound while influencing a generation.

In this Leverkusen JAZZ LINE presentation, he showed stunning performances. Absolute addictive to watch!
1 full hour of full JAZZ enjoyment....

Ricky Peterson (k), Nicky Moroch (g), Richard Patterson (b), Gene Lake (d), Nicolas Gardel (t), Martin Jacobsen (s), Xavier Richardeau (s), Thomas Savy (bcl), Jerry Edwards (tb)