The Performance
Quincy Delight Jones, Jr. has been a major force in the music industry for over five decades. Bearing the mantle of musician, composer, conductor, arranger, and producer, there is hardly any argument against his musical talent, though the term "genius" might be a slight exaggeration. Over his long and illustrious career, Jones has worked with so many giants of the musical world from all genres, it would be impossible to list them all, but to help put it into perspective, I'll throw out some names. There's the legendary French classical music instructor Nadia Boulanger and French composer Olivier Messiaen, Lionel Hampton, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and of course, the late Michael Jackson, to name a few. He has composed scores for films such as The Color Purple, In Cold Blood, and In the Heat of the Night.
Given his close ties to jazz and his longstanding relationship with the Montreux Jazz Festival, it was only fitting that in 2008 this special concert celebrating Quincy Jones' 75th birthday was arranged. The concert brings together many artists that Jones has worked with over the years to perform some of the music with which he is associated. Some are Jones' own compositions, but many are just arrangements by Jones. Either way, it is a celebration of the man and his music.
Jazz-heavy numbers fill the evening's slate, with Herbie Hancock's performance of a Jones arrangement of Ennio Morricone's "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" being one of the finest along those lines. But perhaps the liveliest time comes in the last 1/3 of the evening when vocal group Naturally 7 performs Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" and another number, "Wall of Sound" in a mash up with "Off the Wall" using nothing but their voices to perform all the instrumentation. It is an amazing performance that prompts a standing ovation from Quincy Jones and the entire crowd. This is followed by an energetic performance by Grammy award winning African singer Anjélique Kidjo first performing an a capella number, "Mama Aifambeni" written by Quincy Jones then a piece co-written by Vangelis entitled, "State of Independence" arranged by Jones, which sounded not unlike a cross between So-era Peter Gabriel and something from Paul Simon's Graceland.
In all, this Montreux concert is a fitting tribute to a musical legend who has touched the lives and careers of so many.
The Picture
This Live at Montreux Blu-ray release comes from an original high definition 1080i/60 recording that has been transferred in an AVC/MPEG-4 encoding. It is among the best looking presentations from Eagle Rock to date. With absolutely solid and deep blacks, natural, lifelike colors, and amazingly sharp detail, Quincy Jones: The 75th Birthday Celebration will quickly become a reference for concert video in any collection.
The Sound
As has become the standard for Live at Montreux releases from Eagle Rock, this release has been provided with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, LPCM 2.0 and Dolby Digital 5.1 options. Being that a concert video release lives and dies on the quality of its sound even more so than its picture, I am happy to say that the Quincy Jones: 75th Birthday Celebration release has been given a strong audio presentation. The DTS-HD Master Audio mix has a good balance with deep, but not boomy, low frequencies and ample amounts of ambience in the surround channels. Instrumental separation is strong, vocals have strong presence and clarity and high frequencies are smooth. The LPCM mix provides much of the same qualities with slightly less depth to the soundstage, but with the same strong balance and separation.
The Extras
There is only one featurette provided on this release entitled ThankQ (1.78:1; 1080i/60), which gives a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the preparations for the show, artists offering their gratitude and congratulations to Quincy Jones, and the unveiling of a Quincy Jones statue in Montreux.
Final Thoughts
Quincy Jones: The 75th Birthday Celebration Live at Montreux 2008 is an amalgam of jazz, soul, r&b and pop. In essence, it summarizes the long carreer that Quincy Jones the man has had in the world of music. Thankfully, it is also the rare concert video release that comes with a strong video and audio presentation, making it equally pleasant to watch and listen to. It is easy for me to recommend this disc to any fan of good music.
Where to Buy (Amazon.com)
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