Paquito D'Rivera & Chano Domínguez-Quartier Latin (2006) (NTSC)

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General		Extras
Category	Music	Menu Animation Booklet-Colour, 24 pages, Spanish & English text Alternative Version-Music Only (81:27)
Rating
Year Of Production	2006
Running Time	95:09
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Robin Lough
Studio Distributor	Opus Arte Select Audio-Visual Distrib	Starring	Paquito D'rivera Chano Domínguez Angá Díaz Marc Miralta Mario Rossy Israel Suárez "Piraña"
Case	Amaray-Opaque
RPI	?	Music	Duke Ellingon Chano Domínguez Paquito D'rivera

Video (NTSC)		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) Spanish Dolby Digital 5.0 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	480i (NTSC)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Captured live at the Teatro Real de Madrid on the 5th of April 2006, this landmark concert sees the coming together of two legendary Latin Jazz artists; pianist Chano Domínguez of Spain and saxophonist Paquito D'Rivera of Cuba. Besides the formidable musical talent on display, the concert itself is also made special by its incredible stage surroundings - the sets of La Boheme - superbly lit backdrops that lend an inspiring, unique atmosphere to the concert.

    Chano Domínguez and his band open the show with a relatively mellow ten minute performance, before introducing Paquito D'Rivera and welcoming him onto the stage. D'Rivera's flawless clarinet style makes for sublime listening, which is complemented by the very soulful piano playing of Domínguez. Paquito says it has been his dream for some time for the two to share the stage and they clearly have a great respect and chemistry for one another. The musicians performing in this superb concert, most of which are Domínguez regulars, include:

• Chano Domínguez - Piano
• Paquito D'Rivera - Saxophone & Clarinet
• Miguel "Angá" Díaz - Percussion, Congas
• Marc Miralta - Drums
• Mario Rossy - Upright Bass
• Israel Suárez "Piraña" - Flamenco Percussion (Cajon)

    The set list includes some familiar territory, particularly classics such as Poinciana which have been recorded in many various arrangements over the years by numerous artists, and this version is excellent by anyone's standards. The band improvise an arrangement of La Boheme's Musetta theme, which seems to somehow tie the event and the surroundings together superbly. While researching for this review I was sad to learn that percussionist Miguel "Angá" Díaz died suddenly at home only a few months after this performance. His participation is an integral part of the show and it is surely great loss for Jazz to lose such a talented musician.

    As you'll read below, this DVD presentation is 'top shelf' to say the least. There are not one, but two edits of the concert included on the disc; one with all of the revealing spoken song introductions (in Spanish language), and another, shorter edit containing the musical performances only. This is a great inclusion for those days when all you want is the music, without the chatter. The standard (complete) version includes some fascinating discussion between the two gents during the breaks between songs, discussing the origin of some of these tunes and some rather emotional dedications as well.

    No lover of Latin Jazz can afford to be without this DVD.

Video

    This is an NTSC video transfer, containing most of the usual video issues we have come to expect from the format. This concert was captured and edited digitally, and  would be absolutely fantastic to see on a high definition format, such as HD DVD.

    The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, complete with 16x9 enhancement. The image is tight to frame on all sides and looks great on a big screen.

    The level of clarity in this image is beyond what I would normally expect from standard definition NTSC material. There are frequent jagged edges on detailed objects such as bass strings and the like, but as a whole I found this transfer very pleasing on the eye. Shadow detail is excellent and although the stage is rather dimly lit, every dark corner translates well, with excellent depth to the image and no apparent lack of shadow definition. There was no low level noise evident in the transfer.

    Colours are rich and very well handled. There is no dramatically bright, contrasting stage lighting used here, everything is quite natural, if not a little on the sepia side.

    Compression artefacting of the very mildest variety is visible on occasion, usually in the form of MPEG grain. The compression artefacting is not particularly distracting on a large screen, and would be even less so on a normal display. Because the concert has been captured and edited digitally, no film artefacts enter the equation in the slightest.

    I viewed this disc on both my Denon 3910 and the Toshiba HD-D1 for review purposes. The Toshiba's upscaling function seemed to do a superior job with the NTSC material, and would almost certainly be the machine I use for playback in the future for this disc.

    An English subtitle stream is provided to translate the Spanish language conversations and song introductions. I noted a couple of minor errors in the text, but nothing too distracting.

    This disc is dual layered (DVD9 format), however there is no layer transition during the feature. There are two alternate versions of the feature to choose from, one of which is void of between-song banter. The disc has been authored with one version on each layer.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There are two Spanish soundtracks accompanying this concert on DVD, selectable by the viewer from a setup menu that loads prior to playback of the feature. I listened to the Dolby Digital 5.0 (448Kb/s) option and sampled the Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo (192Kb/s) option during a few key musical passages.

    This is a lovely, crisp mix, with bright cymbals and a broad range for the lead instruments. The drums and percussion have a tremendous punch, which really impressed me from the outset. The dialogue and chatter between songs is clear, despite the men often speaking without a microphone in arms reach. Audio sync is perfect.

    The surround channels are utilised predominately for audience applause, but also accentuate rhythm with spill from the drums and percussion. I would best describe the surround presence as tasteful and light, yet involving.

    In comparing the audio options, I found the stereo soundtrack at least six Db quieter than the surround alternative, with not nearly as much depth in the percussion. With such a large amount of video data on the disc, it is obvious why they would choose to not include a stereo PCM soundtrack.

    There is no LFE support, but my amplifier did direct quite a bit of bass to my subwoofer with EX processing. Despite the absence of an LFE signal, there are beautiful, rich bass tones from the double bass, in fact this soundtrack contains some of the most impressive depth I've heard from a 5.0 soundtrack. I have no hesitation in giving this audio presentation 5 stars.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

Music Only Version (81:27)

    A slightly shorter edit of the concert is provided, without any of the between-song chatter. Each piece fades to black silence during the audience applause, returning again for the next song. The video quality and audio options appear to be identical to the main feature, but the surround option is significantly lower in volume. This is a fantastic inclusion.

Booklet (24 pages)

    The booklet includes colour photos and a lengthy concert review titled Cooking Dreams by Javier Estrella. Also included are biographies of D'Rivera and Dominguez. All text is presented in both Spanish and English.

    The NTSC video transfer is excellent. You could not expect any better from standard definition material.

    The audio transfer is excellent.

    The extras are fantastic. The only additional thing I could hope for would be some glimpse into their extensive rehearsals for the gig.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall