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Let's Give Thanks for the DVD

By Jack Bowers
February 4, 2011
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As there isn't much to report—well, nothing, actually—about big bands this month, I'll use the space to say a few words in praise of the DVD. Yes, I know there aren't a whole lot of jazz DVDs on the market, especially big band videos, but there are a few, and I'm grateful for every one of them, as they enable me to see as well as hear some of my favorite bands, past and present. Not that I have the time to do that, but they are there waiting in case I should ever set aside enough spare moments to relax and enjoy them.

Of all the marvelous bands that have come and gone through the years—Basie, Ellington, Kenton, Herman, Lunceford, Gillespie, Goodman, the Dorseys, Miller, James, Barnet, Krupa, Hampton, Thornhill, Florence, Ferguson, Jones / Lewis, Clarke / Boland, the Boss Brass, to name a few—and the many that remain active today (Holman, Clayton / Hamilton, Wilson, Akiyoshi / Tabackin, Kubis and others), the band that has always been closest to my heart is the one led by the greatest big-band drummer I've ever heard or ever hope to hear, the incomparable

Buddy Rich

drums
1917 - 1987

" data-original-title="" title="">Buddy Rich. Luckily for those of us who cherish fond memories of Rich's formidable ensembles, the band was recorded on a number of occasions, and there are in my library half a dozen DVDs to serve as a reminder of how awesome those bands really were. There may be other recordings by Rich and his ensembles; the ones I have are Live at The Top (1973), The Lost Tapes, Channel One Suite, Live in '78, Live at the 1982 Montreal Jazz Festival and Up Close (1982). I also have two memorial albums, The Making of "Burning for Buddy" and The Buddy Rich Memorial Scholarship Concerts, each one featuring various drummers paying tribute to Rich. I wish there were videos of Rich's great band from the late 1960s on which two of my friends, trumpeter Bobby Shew and tenor saxophonist Jay Corre, played leading roles, but if any are available I've yet to find them.

Other celebrated bands on DVD include

Toshiko Akiyoshi

piano
b.1929

" data-original-title="" title="">Toshiko Akiyoshi /

Lew Tabackin

saxophone, tenor
b.1940

" data-original-title="" title="">Lew Tabackin (Strive for Jive),

Count Basie

piano
1904 - 1984

" data-original-title="" title="">Count Basie (Live in '62),

Louie Bellson

drums
1924 - 2009

" data-original-title="" title="">Louie Bellson (And His Big Band),

Maynard Ferguson

trumpet
1928 - 2006

" data-original-title="" title="">Maynard Ferguson (Live at The Top, 1975),

Dizzy Gillespie

trumpet
1917 - 1993

" data-original-title="" title="">Dizzy Gillespie (Live in '58 and '70),

Lionel Hampton

vibraphone
1908 - 2002

" data-original-title="" title="">Lionel Hampton (Live in '58),

Woody Herman

band / ensemble / orchestra
1913 - 1987

" data-original-title="" title="">Woody Herman (Live in '64) and

Quincy Jones

arranger
1933 - 2024

" data-original-title="" title="">Quincy Jones (Live in 1960). Again, there may be others but those are the ones I have in hand, along with lesser-known groups such as the

Robert Bachner

trombone

" data-original-title="" title="">Robert Bachner Big Band (Live in Vienna),

Tommy Igoe

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Tommy Igoe and the Birdland Big Band (Live from New York), the City Rhythm Orchestra with organist

Joey DeFrancesco

organ, Hammond B3
1971 - 2022

" data-original-title="" title="">Joey DeFrancesco (Vibrant Tones), the NDR Big Band with vocalist

Roberta Gambarini

vocals
b.1972

" data-original-title="" title="">Roberta Gambarini, the Steve Huffsteter Big Band (Gathered Around), the Las Vegas Jazz Connection (Remembering
Russ Freeman
piano
1926 - 2002
" data-original-title="" title="">Russ Freeman), the Madison (WI) Mellophonium Jazz Orchestra (In Concert), the

Frank Mantooth

" data-original-title="" title="">Frank Mantooth Jazz Orchestra from 1997, the

Eric Miyashiro

" data-original-title="" title="">Eric Miyashiro Big Band with

Bobby Shew

trumpet
b.1941

" data-original-title="" title="">Bobby Shew, the Resonance Big Band (A Tribute to
Oscar Peterson
piano
1925 - 2007
" data-original-title="" title="">Oscar Peterson), the Mike Treni Big Band (Turnaround) and the University of North Texas One O'Clock Lab Band (Lab 2007).

As is true of CDs (not so much now as in years past), sound quality varies from one DVD to the next, as do picture quality and production standards. There may be one camera or many, fixed or in motion, stable or spastic. There are times, however, when the music transcends every limitation, as on a DVD recorded by the Toledo Jazz Orchestra with guest artist, tenor saxophonist

Zoot Sims

saxophone, tenor
1925 - 1985

" data-original-title="" title="">Zoot Sims. Sound and picture are dreadful, but the concert was taped in February 1985, less than a month before Sims passed away at age 59. It was perhaps the last performance he ever gave, and as such warrants a place of honor in any library, warts and all. And yes, Sims was playing as well as ever, with nary a hint of any illness. He was born swinging and went out the same way.

There are, of course, more than big bands in the DVD library. Among the small group videos worth mentioning are those by pianist

Hank Jones

piano
1918 - 2010

" data-original-title="" title="">Hank Jones, trumpeter

Chuck Mangione

flugelhorn
1940 - 2025

" data-original-title="" title="">Chuck Mangione, baritone saxophonist

Gerry Mulligan

saxophone, baritone
1927 - 1996

" data-original-title="" title="">Gerry Mulligan, trumpeter

Marvin Stamm

trumpet
b.1939

" data-original-title="" title="">Marvin Stamm and another by Zoot Sims, this one with a quartet taped, I believe, in San Francisco. Documentaries are beginning to appear as well, and they include splendid overviews of the lives of

Benny Goodman

clarinet
1909 - 1986

" data-original-title="" title="">Benny Goodman,

Artie Shaw

clarinet
1910 - 2004

" data-original-title="" title="">Artie Shaw, drummer

Stan Levey

drums
1925 - 2005

" data-original-title="" title="">Stan Levey (The "Original" Original),

Rob McConnell

trombone
1935 - 2010

" data-original-title="" title="">Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass,

Bud Shank

saxophone
1926 - 2009

" data-original-title="" title="">Bud Shank (Against the Tide) and

Phil Woods

saxophone, alto
1931 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Phil Woods (A Life in E Flat), with others on

Stan Kenton

piano
1911 - 1979

" data-original-title="" title="">Stan Kenton and Woody Herman among those in the works. Last but not least, mention must be made of our own Albuquerque Jazz Orchestra, which has recorded videos with trumpeters

Wayne Bergeron

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Wayne Bergeron and

Scott Wendholt

trumpet
b.1965

" data-original-title="" title="">Scott Wendholt and others showcasing the music of Dizzy Gillespie and

Johnny Richards

composer / conductor
1911 - 1968

" data-original-title="" title="">Johnny Richards' "Cuban Fire" suite, as well as a live broadcast on KUNM Radio. In sum, what has been videotaped to date is less than a treasure chest but enough to give anyone many hours of pleasure. And for that we should be thankful.

Northwoods Camp Returns

Saxophonist

Kim Richmond

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Kim Richmond says the annual Northwoods Jazz Camp will be held May 11-14 at the Holiday Acres Resort in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Owing to the size of the resort, the number of students is limited to 25-30, so those who are interested in attending are encouraged to sign up as soon as possible. As usual, the Northwoods Big Band will be a part of the camp whose faculty members include Richmond, trumpeter

Clay Jenkins

trumpet
b.1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Clay Jenkins, trombonist

Scott Whitfield

trombone
b.1963

" data-original-title="" title="">Scott Whitfield, guitarist Tom Hynes, pianist

Lee Tomboulian

piano
b.1960

" data-original-title="" title="">Lee Tomboulian, bassist

Jeff Campbell

bass
b.1963

" data-original-title="" title="">Jeff Campbell, drummer Tim Davis and vocalist Betty Tomboulian. For information, visit the camp's web site, www.northwoodsjazzcamp.com

A Farewell to Margaret Whiting

Margaret Whiting

vocals
1924 - 2011

" data-original-title="" title="">Margaret Whiting, whose long and successful singing career on radio, television and in night clubs began when she was a teenager in California, died January 10 in Englewood, New Jersey, She was 86 years old. As the daughter of Hollywood songwriter Richard Whiting (whose hit songs included "Sleepy Time Gal," "Beyond the Blue Horizon," "Too Marvelous for Words" and "Hooray for Hollywood"), Margaret Whiting became friends with a number of other writers including

Jerome Kern

arranger
1895 - 1945

" data-original-title="" title="">Jerome Kern and

Johnny Mercer

composer / conductor
1909 - 1976

" data-original-title="" title="">Johnny Mercer, whose lyrics helped launch her career when at age 18 she recorded Mercer /

Harold Arlen

composer / conductor
1905 - 1986

" data-original-title="" title="">Harold Arlen's "That Old Black Magic." Next came "Moonlight in Vermont," followed in 1945 by Rodgers and Hammerstein's "It Might as Well Be Spring." Mercer penned the lyrics to another Whiting hit, "Come Rain or Come Shine," and her duet with Mercer, "Baby It's Cold Outside," spent 19 weeks on Billboard magazine's list of hit songs. Whiting had more successes with "A Tree in the Meadow," "Now Is the Hour" and "Faraway Places," and her nine duets with country music star Jimmy Wakeley, brought more accolades. Whiting recorded her last big hit, "The Wheel of Hurt," in 1966. She was a regular on television in its early years, and later appeared in touring productions of such Broadway plays as "Call Me Madam," "Gypsy," "Pal Joey" and "Over Here!" In the 1950s she had co-starred in the TV comedy "Those Whiting Girls" with her younger sister, Barbara, who died in 2004. In 1997, Whiting appeared on Broadway for the first and only time in "Dream," a tribute to her lifelong friend Johnny Mercer who died in 1976.

And that's it for now. Until next time, keep swingin' . . . !

New and Noteworthy

1. Ray Brown's Great Big Band, Kayak (Brown Cats Productions)

2. Marcus Shelby Orchestra, Soul of the Movement (Porto Franco Records)

3. Dirk Fischer & George Stone, Coming of Age (Sea Breeze)

4. Dani Felber Big Band, More Than Just Friends (No Label)

5. John Burnett Swing Orchestra, Down for Double (Delmark)

6. Bobby Watson / UMKC Jazz Orchestra, Gates BBQ Suite (Lafiya Music)

7. Fatum Brothers Jazz Orchestra, Here to Say! (No Label)

8. Kurt Rosenwinkel and OJM, Our Secret World (Word of Mouth Music)

9. Mike Barone Big Band, Live 2005! Redux (Rhubarb Records)

10. Paquito D'Rivera / WDR Big Band, Improvise—One (Connector Records)

11. University of North Texas One O'Clock Lab Band, Lab 2010 (UNT Jazz)

12. Stephen Guerra Big Band, Namesake (Bada Beep Music)

13. Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra, The Endless Search (Origin)

14. Western Australia Youth Jazz Orchestra, Road to Red Hill (WAYJO)

15. University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire, Soul Searching (Sea Breeze Vista)

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