"Actor: Blakey"

• Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers | DVD | (21/06/2002) from £21.58   |  Saving you £-1.59 (-8.00%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers are captured at a joyful outdoor gig at the Umbria Jazz Festival on July 20 during the scorching summer of 1976. Here, in his third decade of leading the band, Blakey's enthusiasm runs high throughout a set lasting almost exactly an hour across six compelling numbers. The opening "Backgammon" is a 13-minute showcase for Blakey's masterful drumming and virtuoso improvisation from trumpeter Bill Hardman, with especially fine contributions from pianist Mickey Tucker. There are strong exchanges between Cameron Brown's bass and Tucker's keys on "Along Came Betty" and, while the ten-minute workout that is "Uranus" may be the most exploratory cut, the almost equally lengthy "Blues March" keeps up the tempo. Tucker is again the star of the classic "All the Things You Are", before the set reaches an uplifting conclusion with the breathtakingly interlocking dynamics of "Gipsy Folk Tales". This may not be one of the classic Messengers line-ups, but there's no doubting the commitment and dazzling precision of the musicianship. Likewise the rapt audience and romantic courtyard setting lend a magic which only happens when all the right elements come together, as they undoubtedly do in this highly enjoyable set. On the DVD: Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers on disc has trailers for other TDK jazz releases and a text biography of Art Blakey. The 4:3 picture is sometimes slightly soft and displays the usual faults of live concert footage shot on video, but is generally much better than expected for its age. The sound defaults to good stereo but the Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 remixes add considerably to the sense of a occasion. The DTS track is particularly weighty and almost tangible in its presence.--Gary S. Dalkin

• DMC UK Final 2004 | DVD | (06/09/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  The DMC DJ competition, created in 1986, now has three annual competitions: DMC/Technics World DJ Championship, Battle For World Supremacy, and the Team World Championship. 2004's judging panels, including past UK team winners The Mixologists, voted who would go on to compete against teams representing their countries from across the world.

• Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers | DVD | (28/04/2003) from £21.58   |  Saving you £-1.59 (-8.00%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Cool jazz from superstar Art Blakey. In the case of Art Blakey the name 'Jazz Legend' is wholly appropriate. Born in 1919 Blakey served his musical apprenticeship in the bands of Billy Eckstine and Dizzy Gillespie where his reputation as a drummer grew. The Jazz Messangers were formed in 1955 and were pivotal until Art's death in 1990 in nurturing the hard edged be-bop sound and the jazz greats of the future. When one considers the diversity of this array of talent it is amazing that Blakey had the strength of personality as a leader and musical geneous to put the stamp of the Jazz Messengers on each of them. This unique DVD also contains a set by Johnny Griffin.

• Art Blakey - Live In Sam Remo 1963 | DVD | (01/03/2008) from £17.79   |  Saving you £-8.80 (-97.90%)   |  RRP £8.99

• Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers - Jazz Masters | DVD | (24/01/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Art Blakey was an acknowledged musical master a founder of modern jazz drumming and a father figure to three generations of jazz superstars. His Jazz Messengers first appeared on the scene in 1954 and the alumni is a who's who of great jazz names including Lee Morgan Donald Byrd Johnny Griffin Wayne Shorter Keith Jarrett and many more. Here Wynton Marsalis makes his debut appearance as Blakey's trumpeter. From the first distinctive Blakey drum roll the Messengers deliver a sizzling hard bop concert playing Little Man New York Webb City and an extended version of Kurt Weill's My Ship which features Wynton as trumpet soloist.

• Art Blakey - Live | DVD | (08/12/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  As the virtuoso drummer and driving force behind the hard edged be bop sound that redefined jazz in 1960s, Art Blakey features here in a classic 1982 performance with his band the Jazz Messengers. One of the most influential jazz combos of all time, Blakey s Messengers nurtured jazz pioneers like Donald Byrd, Wayne Shorter, Wynton Marsalis and Branford Marsalis. Tracks Include: Fuller Love Miz B.C. My Ship This DVD also includes a bonus set by saxophonist Johnny Griffin.

• Jazz Legends - Art Blakey/Mike Mainieri - From Seventh Avenue South | DVD | (31/03/2008) from £10.78   |  Saving you £-0.79 (-7.90%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers:Art Blakey (drums)Wynton Marsalis (trumpet)Billy Pierce (tenor sax)Branford Marsalis (alto sax)Donald Brown (piano)Charles Fambrough (bass)Mike Mainieri Group:Mike Mainieri (vibes)Bob Mintzer (tenor sax)Warren Bernhart (piano)Eddie Gomes (bass)Omar Hakim (drums)