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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Clark Terry-Live in Concert (2001)

Clark Terry-Live in Concert (2001)

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Released 22-Oct-2002

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Music Interviews-Cast
Gallery-Photo
Rating Rated E
Year Of Production 2001
Running Time 83:43
RSDL / Flipper RSDL (58:34) Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 2,4 Directed By Lukkee Chong
Studio
Distributor

Warner Vision
Starring Clark Terry
Donald Harrison
Anthony Wonsey
Curtis Lundy
Victor Lewis
Case Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI $34.95 Music Clark Terry


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Full Frame English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
English dts 5.1 (1536Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio None
16x9 Enhancement No
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles None Smoking Yes, when the lights are down.
Annoying Product Placement Yes, an ad for St. Lucia tourism follows the feature.
Action In or After Credits Yes, the credits roll over the end of the show.

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    I must admit something from the outset - I am not exactly an expert on Jazz. I know enough that I'm not surprised when the audience applauds during the tunes after each solo, and that is about it. What I do know though is that playing Jazz is not at all easy, and playing with the skill and ability of Clark Terry and his band is flat-out amazing.

    Clark Terry is a Jazz trumpeter, and the songs in this concert largely follow the standard Jazz performance style where each performer solos for a minute or two, the audience applauds, and then the next performer solos. To my rather untrained ear, these performers are incredibly talented, and richly deserving of the applause that is heaped upon them.

    This concert was part of the St. Lucia Jazz Festival in 2001 (the 70th anniversary in fact). St. Lucia is one of the islands of the West Indies (if any cricket fans haven't heard of St. Lucia, that is because they are yet to produce a single test player for the West Indies), and its Jazz Festival has become the biggest event on their calendar, able to draw the best names in Jazz from around the world. This performance features nine tunes, and is a wonderful listening experience. If you are looking for something to sit down and relax to on a warm summer afternoon, then you really can't go past Clark Terry: Live In Concert.

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Track Listing

1. Quicksand
2. Elijah
3. Moten Swing
4. Love, Love, Love
5. St. Lucia Blues
6. All Blues
7. My Gal
8. Take The "A" Train
9. Bye Bye Blackbird

Transfer Quality

Video

    This video transfer is of average quality. While it is more than watchable, it is often let down by source issues, having come from what appears to be a standard video source.

    Presented at 1.33:1 this transfer is not 16x9 enhanced. As this concert was taped for the US cable Jazz Channel, and appears to have been shot on videotape, it is most likely the correct aspect ratio.

    The transfer is relatively sharp, displaying enough detail for the job at hand. There is very little in the way of video noise, with only the opening sequence from the start until 0:25 causing any issues in that regard. Shadow detail is not particularly good, with the long shots of the stage in particular being difficult to discern individual elements in. Overall this is not a large problem, as for the most part the important areas of the image are relatively well lit.

    Colours are slightly pale, although this is most likely the effect of the white and pink stage lighting. In general, the effect replicates the feel of a live performance quite well, so is not at all bad.

    The combination of many close-ups, stage lighting, and sweat on the performers causes a somewhat frequent number of instances of posterization. The most common culprit is the temple of the pianist (such as at 3:23), but other causes include reflections off jackets, and even the cymbals. Overall, the artefact is minor enough not to be readily noticed unless looked for, but the frequency of its occurrence means that once picked up, it will be quite distracting. Aliasing is also not very good. There are frequent instances of aliasing, and unlike the posterization, many are difficult to miss. The most frequent cause is the edge of the piano (such as at 15:22 and from 9:27 to 9:38), but the cymbals (2:50), drum sticks (77:06), and even some fingers (52:41) cause aliasing. There are absolutely no film artefacts at all, further suggesting the transfer was taken from a video source.

    There are no subtitles present on this disc.

    This is an RSDL formatted disc with the layer change occurring at 58:34 between Chapters 6 and 7. It is about as well-placed as a layer change on a concert disc can be.

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

Audio

    This is a very good audio transfer that carries the laid-back Jazz sounds very well indeed.

    There are three audio tracks present on this disc. All are the original English recording, in a selection of Dolby Digital 5.1 (at 448 Kbps), full bitrate DTS 5.1, and Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo (at 224 kbps).

    Dialogue, and vocals when used, are all excellently reproduced. The clarity of this soundtrack is extremely good. The location of the instruments is precise, and the notes very clear. This is a very good representation of music on DVD. The only real problem is a small amount of crackling in the recording that occurs from time to time, such as at 16:26 and 61:14. Some of these instances can be attributed to the lowest string on the double bass that has a small rattle when playing its higher notes, but some seem to be a recording error. They are infrequent enough to be only a minor distraction, but it would have been nice if they were not present.

    Audio sync is spot on throughout the transfer, and is never a problem.

    The surround soundtracks are not particularly active during the musical portions. They are used only to reproduce reflected noise, and predominantly to carry crowd noise. This works quite well, and has the effect of placing the viewer in the front row. It also means that the stereo soundtrack does not miss out on much, and is still very worthy.

    The subwoofer occasionally gets some work from the double bass, but for the most part is silent.

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

Extras

    There are two extras presented here. One is interesting if brief, while the other is about as interesting as watching paint dry, and is even shorter.

Menu

    The menu is presented at 1.33:1, is static, silent, and themed around the concert.

Interview (11:12)

    Presented at 1.33:1, not 16x9 enhanced, and featuring Dolby Digital 1.0 mono audio, this interview is relatively interesting, and gives a decent insight into the character of Clark Terry.

Slide Show (4:00)

    Presented at 1.33:1, not 16x9 enhanced, and featuring a silent Dolby Digital 1.0 mono soundtrack, this is a series of stills (both colour, and black and white) of the performers. Basically pointless, as the images come from the concert anyway.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    It appears that the same version of this disc is available in both Region 1 and Region 2. Therefore, get it from your favourite store.

Summary

    Clark Terry: Live In Concert, for someone who is not a hard-core Jazz fan, is an enjoyable and relaxing listen, featuring some very fine musicians playing some engaging music. Well worth a listen, even for those like myself who are not enormous Jazz fans.

    The video quality is serviceable, containing a few compression artefacts, and some distracting aliasing.

    The audio quality is excellent, producing exactly the type of musical experience that is expected.

    The extras are very brief, although there is at least something of interest here.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Nick Jardine (My bio, it's short - read it anyway)
Tuesday, December 17, 2002
Review Equipment
DVDPioneer DV-535, using Component output
DisplayLoewe Xelos 5381ZW. Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationOnkyo TX-DS787, THX Select
SpeakersAll matching Vifa Drivers: centre 2x6.5" + 1" tweeter (d'appolito); fronts and rears 6.5" + 1" tweeter; centre rear 5" + 1" tweeter; sub 10" (150WRMS)

Other Reviews NONE