The Magic Hour Review

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(More customer reviews)Wynton's Blue Note debut album, The Magic Hour, is a sweet, simple affair full of catchy melodies and tasteful playing. None of the performers (Marsalis, Ali Jackson-drums, Carlos Henriquez-bass, Eric Lewis-piano) are bending their talents to the breaking point, but that's not really the thrust of this album I don't think. It's a groove record that invites you in with open arms and says, "when jazz feels good, it's better than any musical feeling you can find, and we want you to feel good, so let's go." Marsalis is a careful composer and his melodies here are deliberately simple, the focus being on the rhythmic interplay that can be achieved between gifted musicians like the quartet he's assembled. Ali Jackson especially stands out--check out his playing on "Free to Be" and "Big Fat Hen"--grooving and full of feeling--complex but not showy. The only weak spot is "Feeling of Jazz" sung by guest vocalist Dianne Reeves, but it's not her fault. She sings well but the song's meaning is forced and doesn't feel natural. Luckily it's the first track on the record, so you can skip to track two and away you go. The recording quality is superb and makes this one a treat to listen to.

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Wynton Marsalis has compiled a remarkable track record as a jazz trumpeter, bandleader and composer. He has become the most recognized jazz artist in the world today. He serves as Artistic Director of the prestigious Jazz at Lincoln Center and is renowned as a jazz statesman-a role officially recognized in 2001 when United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan proclaimed him an international ambassador of goodwill and appointed him a UN Messenger of Peace. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Awards and is the first jazz musician ever to be honored with the prestigious Pulitzer Prize in Music (for his epic 1997 recording Blood on the Fields). Wynton Marsalis has produced 33 jazz and 11 classical records, including three certified gold records. Now Wynton Marsalis has joined the roster of legendary jazz label Blue Note Records, reuniting with Blue Note president and music industry veteran Bruce Lundvall, who signed Wynton to his very first record deal in 1980. Marsalis makes his label debut with The Magic Hour, an upbeat, lyrical eight-song outing featuring his remarkable quartet-pianist Eric Lewis, bassist Carlos Henriquez and drummer Ali Jackson -and two special guests, Blue Note label mates Dianne Reeves and Bobby McFerrin. The Magic Hour is Marsalis' first jazz ensemble studio recording since 1999's Marciac Suite. His last album was All Rise, an extended composition for big band, gospel choir and symphony orchestra. "All Rise was such a huge piece involving over two hundred people. I wanted to produce my next recording with a smaller group," says the trumpeter, who settled into Right Track Studios in New York for two days last June to record the new album. "I wanted to restate my basic love of jazz music in a quartet format," says Marsalis. Wynton Marsalis: Trumpet Eric Lewis: Piano, Carlos Henriquez: Bass, Ali Jackson: Drums Dianne Reeves vocals on Feeling of Jazz Bobby McFerrin vocals on Baby, I Love You

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Stevie Wonder: Live at Last (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)I purchased the Stevie Wonder - Live At Last yesterday and I have to say that finally Motown stepped up and put together a great DVD featuring one of the great pioneers of our musical time. Simply one of the best from beginning to end. My all time favorite song is also featured on this DVD "Visions", I went to see Stevie in concert this last year in Philadelphia, and I would have to say that the picture quality and the surround 5.1 DTS sound made me feel like I was at the concert all over again at a reasonable price. I was also amazed at how wonderful Stevie's daughter sounds on her solo. All in all....this is definately a classic DVD with all of his favorite songs, from "I Wish", "All I Do", " "As", "Don't You Worry About A Thing", "Superstition", "Overjoyed" to the all time classic "Lately". Truly a must have for any music lover and keep in mind that after almost 6 decades....Stevie Wonder is still selling out arena not only in this country....but around the world. If you've never been to a Stevie Concert.....sit back, relax and enjoy this 2 hour DVD concert....you may never get a chance to enjoy great music like this again, so don't take it forgranted. Just simply enjoy and again....thanks Stevie and Motown.....You both finally got it right!!!!!

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This is Stevie's first EVER official DVD release!! Filmed at the O2 Arena, London, UK on September 30th and October 1st 2008 in front of 15,000 people, this show was part of the A Wonder Summer Nights Tour which visited the US, Europe and the UK as well as Australia and New Zealand.1. Intro / All Blues2. As If You Read My Mind3. Master Blaster (Jammin')4. Did I Hear You Say You Love Me5. All I Do6. Knocks Me Off My Feet7. Uk Medley*8. Higher Ground 9. Spain10. Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing11. Visions12. Living For The City13. Part-Time Lover14. Overjoyed15. Lately16. I'm Gonna Laugh You Right Out Of My Life 17. My Cherie Amour18. Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)19. Sir Duke20. I Wish 21. Isn't She Lovely22. You Are The Sunshine Of My Life23. I Just Called To Say I Love You24. You Are The Only One (Snippet)25. Superstition26. So What The Fuss27. As*UK MEDLEY TRACKS ARE London Bridge Is Falling Down (Traditional) * Fool On The Hill (The Beatles) * I Wanna Hold Your Hand (The Beatles) * I Can't Get No Satisfaction (Rolling Stones) * That's What Makes The World Go Around (The Sword In The Stone - Disney)

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Mojo (Blu-ray Audio w/ Bonus Download) Review

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(More customer reviews)The Heartbreakers have evolved distinctly throughout their 30+ years of recording together. Listening to their catalog from the beginning to the present, one travels from an era of short, punchy garage-rock tunes in the 1970s, to the laid-back pop hits of the Jeff Lynne era, to their current period of meditative rock planted firmly in the band's primordial roots.
It's a natural progression, what with Petty's lament of modern music with the Last DJ in 2002, his efforts to keep '60s and '70s-era classic rock alive through his Buried Treasure radio show, the success of last year's Live Anthology, and a rapidly decentralizing music industry that's no longer ruled by the gatekeepers of Top 40 radio. It almost seems that Mojo just... had to be.
If Mudcrutch was Petty's country album, Mojo is his foray into blues recording (sprinkled with a little psychedelia and reggae to taste). Like Mudcrutch, Mojo is freewheeling, high-energy, and upbeat, and prone to a little jam session here and there -- which would have been unthinkable in the days of the neatly-trimmed Full Moon Fever or Into the Great Wide Open. Without a single bad song in the mix, Mojo is a cohesive album you can listen to from beginning to end.
Personally, I am digging latter-day Tom Petty. The band is as good as they've ever been, and each member seems to have increasing freedom to showcase their immense instrumental talents and unrivaled ability to complement one another. Mike Campbell's guitar is on fire through the whole album, and Scott Thurston breaks out of his shell with fine blues harmonica on several tracks.
As a departure from the past musical stylings that made the band successful, Mojo will certainly raise some eyebrows and not be to everyone's liking. Frankly, I think that's a good thing. These guys aren't trained monkeys paid to crank out the same songs over and over again. They're world-class musicians, and they deserve the chance to breathe a little. Play on, boys.

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Some time in the last few years Tom Petty And the Heartbreakers took a left turn. Maybe it was when Petty woke up in the night with the idea of reuniting his first band, Mudcrutch, to cut the album they never got a chance to make back in the early 70's. Maybe it was when the Heartbreakers assembled the mammoth multi-disc 'The Live Anthology,' which detailed thirty years of concerts. Maybe it was when they gave all their home movies, outtakes and live footage to director Peter Bogdanovich to create the Grammy-winning four-hour career documentary 'Runnin Down A Dream.' There have been side projects and experiments since the band last went into the studio to cut a new Tom Petty And the Heartbreakers album. With 'MOJO,' they have taken their recent freedom and experimentation to heart. They have gone off the reservation and all signs indicate they aren't coming back.The first thing that hits you about 'MOJO' is that the spirit of the Mudcrutch sessions has carried on with the Heartbreakers. This is the sound of a band playing together in a room not a studio - facing each other, all singing and playing at the same time. The music is alive, with no overdubs or studio trickery. What you hear is what they created on the spot at that time.Tom Petty says, 'With this album, I want to show other people what I hear with the band. 'MOJO' is where the band lives when it's playing for itself.'As for the songs, 'MOJO' showcases a wide variety of American music from rock 'n' roll to country and both electric and acoustic blues. And then there are the images in Petty's lyrics which slip in on the melodies and set up a home in your head: The barefoot girl in the high grass chewing on a stick of sugar cane, the run-in with the law that begins when a carload of buddies decide to party with the motel maids, and the hilariously audacious idea of opening an album with an electric blues rocker about Thomas Jefferson's love affair with Sally Hemings. Petty would probably chuck a rock at anyone who called him a poet, but he sure is a southern writer of humor and sensitivity.'MOJO' has juice and guts but it also has some sweet balladry for the slow dancers and even a wacked-out reggae number that is unlike anything that the Heartbreakers have done before. It's the kind of album nobody's supposed to be able to make anymore. It got here just in time.PRODUCER'S NOTE:ABOUT THIS HIGH RESOLUTION BLU-RAY AUDIO DISCThis disc contains all 15 tracks from 'Mojo' in high-resolution 48K 24 bit PCM stereo and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound. It is an audio-only disc, with basic navigation and song information displayed on screen.The 48K 24 bit audio on this disc has 256 times more resolution than a CD, providing greater detail and reproducing the music's full dynamic range, from the softest to the loudest sounds. To achievefull dynamic range it's necessary to master with less overall level, sothis disc might not sound as 'loud' as a standard CD or film soundtrack.To compensate for this, turn up the volume!The screensaver switches song information to non-static imagesof the cover art 30 seconds after each song begins.Thanks for caring enough to invest in high quality sound. With this disc you are now able to hear at home what we hear in the studio. The Blu-Ray audio package also includes a code to download the album in one of three formats: 320kbs Mp3, Apple Lossless, or FLAC.

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