Needless to say, the death of Michael Jackson created a media maelstrom. It didn’t take long before the rumors and rampant speculation began over the cause of his death. Had he been ill? Were drugs the cause? If so, what kind? One couldn’t turn on the TV without finding coverage of his death. The only way to escape it was the keep the TV off, or so it seemed. Read the full story

The Montreux Jazz Festival is arguably the finest music festival in the world. It has always been a dream of mine to attend the festival and hopefully, one day, I will be able to do so. However, with Blu-ray, with its high definition picture and lossless multichannel audio capabilities, we now have the technology that can transport us to a concert venue without us ever having to leave the couch. How successful this experience is in our home depends, in part, on the quality of the video and audio on a given disc, which can vary widely from release to release. The question to be answered today is how successful Eagle Vision’s Carlos Santana Presents Blues at Montreux 2004 is in being able to transport us to Montreux. The short answer, pretty darn good. Read the full story

Has Toto really been around for 30 years? Wow, how time flies! As I recall the band back in the day, they were know for some well crafted pop songs that featured excellent musicianship and even better sonics. Perhaps a bit too polished for some, their recordings really sounded great, whether on the radio or on a serious home stereo system. When I read that Toto would have a live concert release on Blu-ray featuring lossless audio, I was interested in seeing if that same attention to detail that made their studio recordings sound so good would make its way to the Blu-ray release. I can thankfully report that it does, and in spades. Read the full story

There is no doubt that Quincy Jones is a giant in the world of music, from his early days as a jazz musician and bandleader to his latter career as a record producer. In addition to many decades, his career in music spans all musical genres from jazz to pop, soul, R&B, classical and the blues. His signature is almost everywhere including being the producer of Michael Jackson’s greatest solo recordings, including the Thriller album, which in this writer’s opinion is the very best sounding pop album ever produced, due, in large measure, to Quincy Jones efforts. As he approached his 75th birthday, it was appropriate that a concert be scheduled to celebrate his long and distinguished musical career. I can think of no better place for that concert to occur than Montreux, Switzerland, home of the universally renowned, Montreux Jazz Festival. Read the full story

I must say, it is a great time to be a music lover. While the recording industry overall is in the doldrums, especially CD sales, the advent of high definition and the lossless audio codecs supported by Blu-ray really provide for the first time, the ability to bring the complete live concert experience into the home via the home theater. Fortunately, we are seeing more and more classic artists taking advantage of all the benefits that the Blu-ray disc format brings to the table both visually and sonically. The latest example is the John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers and Friends Blu-ray release featuring Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor and Chris Barber from Eagle Rock Entertainment, which is a real crowd pleaser. Read the full story

The history of modern pop music is filled with arrival what have been dubbed boy bands. Most are essentially one hit wonders and are gone quickly, relegated to the dust bin of history. The latest entry in this string of boy bands is the Jonas Brothers, catapulted into stardom through their appearances on The Disney Channel. Much like that other Disney property, Hannah Montana aka Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers have made their live concert debut on Blu-ray, in 3D no less. Is it worth a look? Read the full story

Reviews of concert discs are a funny creature.  Music is much easier to be pre-judgmental about than a certain film genre.  For instance, someone who isn’t crazy about dramas is still more likely to watch a drama than someone who dislikes classical music would be to watch an Andre Rieu concert.  Make sense?  Good.  Moving onward, I am more than happy to review the Blu-ray of my favorite music artist, Dave Matthews, and a good friend of his, guitarist extraordinaire, Tim Reynolds.  Read the full story

I love a good argument. In fact, I argue for a living. In addition to the usual subjects that are great fodder for argument and debate is music. Do you like Jazz, Rock, hip-hop, etc.? The way I look at it, there are just two types of music. Good and bad which is always a matter of personal preference.  One of the signs you are experiencing some great music is when you lose control over one of your feet, which begins to tap seemingly on its own to the beat of the music. Once your head begins to swing from side to side, you have hit pay dirt as you are listing not only to good music but great music. Read the full story

Diana Krall: Live in Paris is one of my favorite music DVDs, not just because of an incredible musical performance by Diana and her fellow musicians, but because of a fantastic DTS audio track which was among the best DVD musical tracks I have had the pleasure to listen to. While the video on Live in Paris was problematic, the audio and musical performances were so good that I could easily ignore the flaws with the video. When I learned that a new concert performances featuring the same backing band was being issued and on Blu-ray with a DTS HD Master Audio track, I was excited to get my hands on one to see if it could best the Live in Paris release. Read the full story

It’s weird how the older I get, and believe me I am feeling very geriatric as of late, the younger my musical tastes have become.  Much is the case with my recent purchase of Paramore: The Final Riot!, a Blu-ray concert in my opinion, that’s a must-have for any Paramore fan.  I seem to be living in this fantasy world, much like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, when it comes to my recent musical selections as of late.  It kind of scares me as I see myself breaking all the trends and unwritten rules I feverishly established for myself during my teenage angst years.  I just hope my Benjamin Button disease doesn’t progress to non-recoverable advanced stages where I am following the likes of the Jonas Brothers or Miley Cyrus.  God help me. Read the full story

OK, I will admit it up front. I am a Chris Botti fan. I first heard his music several years ago but didn’t get pulled into his music until the release of the Chris Botti: Live With Orchestra and Special Guests on Blu-ray back in 2007. That release featured top flight musicianship and excellent audio although the video was a bit disappointing. Even though it was clear from the outset that Mr. Botti had total control over his instrument, I was struck by the incredible tone he was able to generate on his instrument on that BD release. Read the full story

A Stevie Wonder concert is always a special event. As the son of a musician, I was exposed to all types of music from a very young age, with a particular emphasis on jazz. I have been to more jazz, classical and rock concerts than I care to remember, some good and others not so good. However, the best concert that I have ever attended was a Stevie Wonder concert in the 1980′s at the old Valley Forge Music Fair in suburban Philadelphia, a small in the round venue that alas, no longer exists. That concert featured incredible songs that were incredibly presented by Stevie Wonder and his band, which were all on top form that night. Read the full story

While it’s been a while since I’ve dabbled into the rap game, I do know a thing or two about a thing or two. Admittedly I no longer listen to the genre, but I do have a sense of appreciation for certain artists, and am going into this one with my mind open and with a sense of anticipation. Read the full story

When it comes to ranking concert films, the best always seem to have The Last Waltz at or near the top of a very short list. For those unfamiliar with the production, the film centers around the farewell concert of The Band, the Canadian group who helped Bob Dylan transform and expand creatively in the ‘60s, and Dylan’s assistance in their album “Music from Big Pink” was retribution for this. The album continues to be widely regarded as a very influential piece of music decades after its release. The group continued to release albums and tour at a frenetic pace, until Robertson had finally grown weary of the pace in 1976. Rather than hold a simple farewell concert, which would have been the easy choice, The Band decided to make the event a celebration of their careers in a very pure sense. They decided to hold it on Thanksgiving at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom, where they held their first live performance seven years earlier. They fed the several thousand concertgoers before bringing them the group’s work. And little did the fans know they would be witness to one of the great live performances captured on film.

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It’s hard to think that at one point, Led Zeppelin seemed to be almost anonymous to anyone over 35 years old. But apparently, in an era where the Beatles had just left rock and the Who and Rolling Stones were plugging away, Led Zeppelin’s records were found to be the perfect mix of acoustic, rock, electric blues and rockabilly, with touches of Indian and Nordic themes. When they embarked on their 1973 North American Tour, they decided to hire Joe Massot to shoot some footage from several Madison Square Garden concerts to put on film.

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Destiny’s Child Live in Atlanta wasn’t exactly at the top of my list for most anticipated movies of this year, but I?ll take it with a grain of salt. This Blu-ray release features Destiny’s Child performing live in Atlanta on July 15, 2005 during their Destiny Fulfilled – and Lovin’ It Tour, which was also the groups final tour. Read the full story