"Director: Gianni Paggi"

• Cedar Walton Quartet - Live At The Umbria Jazz Festival | DVD | (21/01/2005) from £21.58   |  Saving you £-1.59 (-8.00%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Recorded live at the Umbria Jazz Festival on 20 July 1976.Tracklisting:BoliviaNaimaSeven MindsBlue MonkFirm Roots

• Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers | DVD | (03/04/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Recorded in 1976 the concert features outstanding solo performances from Blakey and members of his band performing on a makeshift stage in the Umbrian square to a huge crowd.

• Horace Silver Quintet | DVD | (06/12/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Recorded live at the Umbria JAzz FestivalTracklisting:Adjustment Barbara In Pursuit Of The 27 ManSong For My Father

• Archie Shepp - The Archie Shepp Quartet - Part 2 | DVD | (18/02/2005) from £26.98   |  Saving you £-6.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Archie Shepp was a popular topic of conversation among jazz fans during the 1970s as it was becoming increasingly clear that a profound change was taking place in his approach to music and even his physical appearance. For years he had been the embodiment of black resistance dressing in traditional African garments and protesting against the suppression of black people. But now he was wearing suits and had given up his free style of playing in favour of interpretations of well-kno

• 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