Reviews (2)

Okay
Like the other reviewer said this is a fairly decent video showing a good history of rock and blues guitar, and the guitar in general. But the video fails to mention greats such as Duane Allman, Buddy Guy, Johnny Winter, Joe Satriani and so on.

Teachers Beware: PG-16
Actually, it is a decent video, covering a fair amount of territory in the history of Rock and Blues guitar playing. Lots of big-name cameos (though they neglect to introduce some of them to the camera by name). Unfortunately, it is NOT APPROPRIATE for public school if you are looking for something to add this perspective a guitar class--You may get away with it if you preview and fast forward through the 5-or-so instances of rough language, the smoking, and the less-than-quaint section on the sexual nature of playing the electric guitar. Censored, you can use it, but there is probably a better option out there. It is a much better buy if you are not planning on sharing this with the 13-year-olds in your life. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

The ultimate jazz record label, lovingly documented.
Well, as a fan of jazz I simply never get tired of this film! This 1997 documentary covers all the bases - the background and perspective of Blue Note's founder, Alfred Lion, the recording session atmosphere, the enthusiasm and dedication of the musicians, Francis Wolff's photographs, Reid Miles' covers and Rudy Van Gelder's sound. If you own the Burns series, this film fills in some of the gaps and corrects some of the misconceptions perpetrated by that series' final few episodes, and it does so without all the constant cloying narration. The director does a masterful job of editing and sequencing the various segments to provide an expert and entertaining balance between interviews and performance footage and between coverage of the label's heyday and its contemporary influence. The performance footage for the most part is electrifying, including period clips of Art Blakey, Horace Silver and Thelonious Monk, the Town Hall concert of '85 (showcasing Freddie Hubbard's virtuosity), and Junko Onishi from '96. There is one b&w clip of a Sonny Rollins performance that is just mesmerizing to watch! (The only soft segment for me is a clip of Cassandra Wilson performing one of her tunes in a "smooth jazz" arrangement - ugh!) The interviews are in a variety of settings and include all the right folks such as Blue Note heroes Herbie Hancock and Horace Silver, session players Bob Cranshaw and Tommy Turrentine, industry figures Gil Melle and Michael Cuscuna, Alfred Lion's former wife Lorraine Gordon (interviewed while taking reservations at the Village Vanguard!)and his widow, Ruth Lion, plus several of Lion and Wolff's colleagues from Europe, who give a valuable perspective on the reception of jazz as high art. The soundtrack is well-crafted and indicative of the range of the label's music with selections from artists well known to Blue Note fans like Joe Henderson, Grant Green, Kenny Burrell, Lee Morgan, Jimmy Smith and Grachan Moncur. This film ranks alongside Monk's documentary "Straight, No Chaser". Highly recommended!

Classic Video
Blue Note is a Dream label to me.the depth&Importance of it is well documented here.so many Great Artists have Made this Label what it is truly in a class of it's own.this is a Jazz Video dream to me.from start to finish everything is special here.

More Great Jazz History That Ken Burns Didn't Cover
This video documents one of the great music labels in the history of American music. Alfred Lion, Blue Note's founder, recorded music that was the real thing, the authentic stuff. No other label in jazz or in any other form of music can boast at accomplishing what Lion and Blue Note were able to do. They were not interested in making hits to attract or pander to a popular audience. This video shows the history of a label in which some of the twentieth century's best musicians could have the freedom to perform and develop the way they wanted. We should be grateful that someone was able to create a space in which such musical expression could take place, and the history of Blue Note is still sadly overlooked for the most part by those attempting to make a definitive statement on jazz history. What it all comes down to is this: Every Blue Note record or CD is worth picking up. You know it will be great. How many other record labels can you say that of?

Where is the DVD version?
Really enjoyable and really historically significant.

The Organic Feeling of Music: The mind and the intellect, the soul and the feeling all got together. This video said it all.

Its about the Beethovens of Jazz, America's original (musical) artform.

But where is the DVD version?

A nice review of the history of the Blue Note Jazz Label
This is quite an enjoyable video that explains the history of one of the most important recording labels in Jazz, Blue Note. From its founding in the 1930's to the late 1990's, this video showcases the founders of the label, to the legendary artists that recorded with the Blue Note label. Legendary performers include John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Theolonius Monk, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, just to name a few.

Personal views from the musicians themselves enhance this video and it is captivating to learn how these musicians got together in the studios and collaborated to make some of the best Jazz the world ever heard or will ever hear.

The music is highlighted taking the best of beebop, fusion and avant guarde and is evolved through time. Blue Note has evolved to Jazz's ever changing sphere of music, but its re-releases of classic recordings still (in my opinion) make it the best of the Jazz labels.

This video is highly recommended to all who enjoy the history of Jazz and want to learn something about the evolution of Jazz in the last 60 years. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Cool, But Has Glaring Flaws
Viva Santana is an excellant way to view the many different time periods and group members of Santana. The video covers Santana's earlier days in Wood stock and on the Ed Sullivan show, and from those early days the video does a pretty good job of including at least on performance of Santana for every couple of years. The bad thing about this video is that the creators of this video decided to run their interview with Carlos over the music portion, which makes the music a lot harder to hear. (Couldn't they have saved to interview portion for its own little area on the video?) Aside from that glaring flaw, the music on the video is fun to watch, and this video serves as an okay summary of Santana's career.

Nice!
Enjoyed this video quite a bit....shows Santana through his many stages, including the jazz influnced 70s thru the rocking 80s. A nice mix of tone and tempo

Ruined!
Whoever edited this abomination should never work with Santana material again. He showed no understanding of the qualities of Santana's appeal. He treated them like they were a pop band, always careful to to show the band singing (never their strong suit) without interruption. Yet whenever the band beef up the instrumental muscle, especially when Carlos himself takes a solo, this is his cue to splice in the interviews with Carlos! Aarrgh! I found myself ignoring Carlos's interesting comments because I was trying to listen to the *music*! For Crissakes!

This could have been a great video. If someone with more taste and understanding was to re-edit it, who knows it might still be.

SANTANA SHOWS HIS TRUE COLORS
If you are an old Santana fan(since 1969) you will wear this tape out. I have sent it to many friends who play a variety of instruments and they all loved it. I hope they do VIVA SANTANA PART 2!! As a matter of fact it's on the TV now. I left it playing while I checked the web to see if he had any other tapes. GET THIS. 6 stars..

Documentary, not a music video
This is a great video to listen to Santana discuss his music and influences, but not to listen to his songs. Songs are spliced together from various concerts over the years and can be very annoying. Talking interupts most songs half way through the track. This is ok to watch once or twice, but not a tape you will wear out watching over and over. ... Read more

Reviews (19)

I WAS THERE!
I was personally there at the Live taping of the concert and the video is just as spectacular as the taping,especially when they showed the part where he sang,"Woke up in New York City".You couldn't see the effect until you saw the Special on TV or the video. This is definitely a Ricky Martin Fan must have item.

Must have for Ricky fans!
I received this video as a gift but I had wanted it for a long time. I purchased his video collection and that was great. This video shows how good he is in concert and just how cute he really is! His performance is great and it shows how great his stage presence is. I only wish I could have been there in person. The behind-the-scenes footage and where he personally talks is also great to see! Buy this if you really love Ricky Martin!

carnivale
Wow the whole show was entertaining. It felt like you were in heaven just dancing to the beats along with Ricky, the dancers and the band. The whole concert was great and really entertaining, it felt so much like Carnivale.

Exciting, Fun
Originally I had seen this on TV. I now own the DVD. It is about 45 minutes long and it is very lively. Let's face it, Ricky Martin is not the best singer out there but he is the most entertaining dancer I have ever seen.

I absolutely love this DVD. It is also sort of nice that it is less than one hour. I can always manage to squeeze in an hour of viewing just about any time of the week.

Thoroughly entertaining - what a performer!!!
What a fantastic performer - a great singer, dancer, and easy on the eyes...this is one DVD you will enjoy watching over and over again. ... Read more

Product Description

Carlos Santana pays tribute to three guitar players who were major influences on him: Wes Montgomery, Bola Sete, and Gabor Szabo. The video features rare performance footage by each of these great guitarists, along with passionate commentary and inspired playing by Carlos which demonstrate their impact. (60 min.) ? ... Read more

Reviews (3)

essential viewing and listening
Don't you wish you could hang out with Carlos Santana in his living room, watch music videos and talk about what inspires you musically? This video takes you there. Carlos Santana is a living legend who gave something back to his fans by making this video. It is a gift. He is one of those rare musicians who have developed a spirituality centered in his music and the music of others. He introduces you to three incredible guitarists who inspired him and helped him to break out of the "BB King headlock". The video footage is excellent and is balanced by Carlos sitting with his guitar describing the music and demonstrating techniques on the guitar. It is not a Santana master class for guitarists, it is not a guitar istructional video. It is a video for guitarists who are seeking inspiration and to broaden their musical boundaries.

Incredible footage, wonderful presentation
Carlos Santana has done it again! He has presented a video spotlighting 3 guitarists who influenced his music: Bola Sete (Djalma de Andrade), Wes Montgomery, and Gabor Szabo. It is an amazing video, full of footage of each of these great guitarists performing. Buy this video.

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Reviews (2)

Beautiful music and visuals!
Beautiful music and visuals! Our local PBS station plays this between shows. A stroke of genius by whoever thought of it. It's actually better than most of the shows. I got this video to help me recover faster from major back surgery (7 hours). I played it constantly while I was in the hospital (10 days). I still play it when I need to relax from the stresses of the day. Beautiful music and visuals!

The ultimate open eyed meditation!
Carlos Santana's Lightdance does just that. Scenes of nature glide by to his beautiful music. The music combines his ever reliable guitar in a composite of new age with spanish and rock overtones. One of our local PBS stations uses it between programs and often I wish these scenes would continue rather than the program starting. Way cool for taking one out of one's self. ... Read more

Amazon.com

"The world's greatest blues singer"? That's arguable, but there's no doubt that the late John Lee Hooker (1917-2001) was in a class by himself, a genuine original whose music--raw, primitively simple, scary even, powered by his deep moan of a voice--was the very embodiment of the Delta blues style. Big names like Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, and many more line up to pay tribute to the man in this absorbing 90-minute documentary; there are also plenty of interviews with family, friends, business associates, and the grizzled, laconic bluesman himself, along with some decent performance footage (as is usual in such projects, we get no complete songs). But this 2000 film's best moments come courtesy of writer-director Joerg Bundschuh's beautifully photographed contemporary footage, with no accompaniment except the hypnotic groove and profound soul of John Lee Hooker's music. --Sam Graham ... Read more

Reviews (2)

well worth buying
this is one of the best documentarys i have seen of a top blues artists. there are interviews with about anyone who's anybody in blues, it shows the compassion and love of the music of the man plus great interviews with john, you can really see what his music is all about and his style a must have.

A Unique Look At A Unique Man
I had the pleasure of meeting John Lee Hooker in the early 1980s. He was checking into a hotel and I heard the man next to me say, "I give you this (a GOLD American Express card, rare at the time) and you give me a room." Without looking, I said "That must be John Lee Hooker." and turned to him and said "You have no idea of how much pleasure your music has given me." We had a moment. A few months later I saw him perform solo with his pignose amp in the statuary garden at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. This video captures the John Lee Hooker I knew, still a mystery, still a voice that symbolizes the blues, and still a poet among men. Most of the footage is from the years before his recent death and there is precious little to explain how this solo artist came to be able to put together a band that could fill stadiums and satisfy the crowd every time. He was magic, mysterious and the essence of soul and yet a very sexy and friendly man who must have suffered for his art. He was a survivor among many who died along the road and a man among men. I can only hope to be remembered as warmly as he will be. He knew who he was and what he was and he thrived on it.
... Read more