Search - Zoot Sims Quartet/Shelly Manne Quartet on DVD

I Have Good News and Bad News

Warren Weise | Lakeville, MN United States | 11/11/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Let's get to the bad news first...this is 1970 video and audio technology so it's not going to meet today's standards of acceptability. That being said, however, the good news is that (at least on the Zoot Sims portion) it's good enough to enjoy one of the great jazz tenor players on a very good performance night. Zoot just could not help himself...his sense of swing is so much a part of his playing that he could play Pares scales and you'd be tapping your foot. I'm sure his tooth brush swung when he was brushing his teeth! If you've never had the pleasure of seeing him perform, you'll want to buy this video and see first-hand what made him so revered and respected by other musicians and jazz fans. His accompanying trio gives him good, solid support throughout. As for the Shelly Manne portion, the audio is putrid. It's like filling your ear canals with oatmeal and then trying to discern what's going on musically. One exception is the unaccompanied bass solo by Ray Brown which begins the first tune in the set. That may be reason enough to overlook the rest of the horrible audio and, along with Zoot's performance, make this DVD worth getting. I know I'm not sorry I have it and will enjoy it despite its technical shortcomings. Five stars for Zoot's playing, 2.5 stars for the rest of it. This pig doesn't need any lipstick!"