Jazz Legends - Art Blakey/Mike Mainieri from Seventh Avenue South Storyville Films/26076 Format: DVD-V Originally broadcast: 1982 DVD released: 2008 by Joseph Taylor josepht@soundstage.com Musical Performance Recording Quality Image Quality Overall Enjoyment

In the early '80s, jazz pianist and historian Ben Sidran produced a series of six laserdiscs for Pioneer called The Jazz Life. Naxos has released two of the series on DVD, one featuring a half-hour set each by Johnny Griffin and Richie Cole, and this one, which features two performances from 1982 at New York’s Seventh Avenue South. Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers open the DVD with a set that includes tunes from the band’s then-current songbook, including "Mx’ B, C" and "Fuller Love" by Bobby Watson. Watson had recently left Blakey’s employ, and his replacement was Branford Marsalis, whose brother Wynton was the band’s musical director. Blakey’s band at this point was another in the series of extraordinary groups he led, and they deliver a rousing show.

Vibraphonist Mike Mainieri is perhaps best known for his work with the fusion group Steps Ahead. His set on this DVD features an impressive lineup, including bass great Eddie Gomez and drummer Omar Hakim. Hakim would later play for Weather Report, and Mainieri’s work here is sometimes reminiscent of that band, although he leaves more room for improvisation. Bob Mintzer and Warren Bernhardt round out the band and contribute strong solos to a jazz-fusion set that holds up well more than 25 years later.

Director Stanley Dorfman tends to film the musicians close up, and the video print looks a little foggy. The two-channel sound is more energetic than the 5.1 mix, but the latter is a bit more spacious.

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