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Whistle Stopper - The Story of Jazz
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List Price: $18.98
Our Price: $17.99
Your Save: $ 0.99 ( 5% )
Availability:
Manufacturer: Bmg Special Product
Starring: Various Artists
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786303023021
Format: Color
ISBN: 6303023029
Label: Bmg Special Product
Manufacturer: Bmg Special Product
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Bmg Special Product
Release Date: 1994-03-02
Running Time: 90
Studio: Bmg Special Product
Theatrical Release Date: 2002-04-16
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: The Story of Jazz
Comment: This is a good DVD for people of any age who are interested in learning more about the roots of jazz music. The DVD features excellent recorded and video music clips, as well as interviews from some contemporary-to-the-great jazz musicians.
My only complaint is that the DVD, for the sake of time, glosses over some of the more intricate details of jazz history (which is understandable), and seems to ignore larger contributions from some of the lesser known jazz artists.
A great buy, especially if you are a music teacher in need of a sub plan at a good time in your curriculum.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Just right
Comment: Quite enjoyable--a good overview and in some ways preferable to the more recent and pricey, 10-disc Ken Burns production titled "Jazz." There is less somber pontificating here, and less time spent on negative biography. I found it as perceptive as the Burns series, but less pretentious. Some very nice video footage, too. Highly recommended.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A decent Jazz primer
Comment: Not Ken Burns, but it doesn't take 10 hours to watch, either. I use this DVD to introduce students to Jazz history over the Burns video, simply because the Burns video is too big, too long, and too inclusive. However, that means that this DVD leaves out much. My biggest problem with using it, though, is that the narration is hard to understand and goes by quickly, so that I must stop and fill in and/or reiterate points made. That said, I will continue to use it unless and until I find a better, concise version of the history of Jazz. If you are interested in the history and development of jazz, this video has some great interviews that make it worth owning.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Eductational and Entertaining
Comment: Covers a broad chronology with nice balance and organization. The historic film and audio clips are of impressive quality. Retrospective commentaries by jazz figures who were there are reinforced by serious contemporary artists who help supply context. The pace of the interviews and music is just about perfect. I used this in a U.S. History course about the 1920s and 1930s, to illustrate connections between that era and contemporary culture, but also to stimulate students to consider persistent arguments about the distinctiveness of "American" culture. It did all of that, and was a pleasure too.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Enough of this racial bias!
Comment: I watched this CD with great anticipation, and was very disappointed. It treated the contributions of African American musicians well, but downplayed what white musicians did. The Original Dixieland Jazz Band ("not the real thing"), Bix Beiderbecke (north side Chicago, but King Oliver was the south side--where it was really happening), and Benny Goodman (whose real claim was that he used Fletcher Henderson's arrangements) are not given their due. The contributions of Muggsy Spanier, the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, the Bob Crosby Bobcats, and (more recently) the Basin Street Six and Pete Fountain were either not mentioned or brushed aside. Jazz came out of a multicultural climate and white musicians have made their indelible marks,so that jazz is America's true art form. Enough of this bias--jazz is international!
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Editorial Reviews:
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Produced as the title segment to a six-part series, this 90-minute documentary traces the evolution of jazz from its 19th-century origins in New Orleans's Congo Square, where slaves first introduced American listeners to the complex rhythms and earthy textures of African music. How that cultural diaspora combined with European and American folk, classical, and popular styles to become jazz, "America's classical music," is an oft-told tale, but it's handsomely served here by an intelligent script shaped by veteran jazz journalist Chris Albertson, and a well-chosen array of performances: Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Willie "the Lion" Smith, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Jimmie Lunceford, Charles Mingus, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Sarah Vaughan, and Gil Evans all appear, representing as complete a pantheon of major innovators and influences as could be hoped for. Period footage, including both stills and rare film clips, and interviews with musicians and scholars round out a portrait equally appropriate for hard-core jazz fans and novice listeners looking for a point of entry. --Sam Sutherland
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