DVD of the Month - "Quincy Jones: The 75th Birthday Celebration"

DVD of the Month
Quincy Jones: "The 75th Birthday Celebration - Live at Montreux 2008" (Eagle Vision/ST2) 2009

Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, Live, NTSC
172 minutes
Firstly, I must tell you: I was there! And I felt deeply moved. It's a joy to remember all those thrilling moments on this 2-DVD set, although it doesn't sounds nor looks better than the "Live at Montreux 2006" DVD, also available through Eagle/ST2.
Anyway, when an artist of the stature of Quincy Jones celebrates his 75th birthday you can be sure it's going to be quite a party.

The show took place on July 14th 2008 at the legendary Montreux Jazz Festival, an event with which Quincy Jones has a long and rich history, and the cream of musical talent turned up to serenade "Q" on this very special occasion. The main concert lasted over two and a half hours and the musicians then spilled out into the bars and cafes of Montreux with the music still going strong as the sun was coming up the next morning! Backing on all tracks provided by the Montreux In The House Band: Greg Phillinganes (keyboards), David Delhomme (keyboards), Paul Jackson Jr. (guitar), Nathan East (bass), John Robinson (drums) & Paulinho da Costa (percussion, heard very very low in the final mix) plus the Swiss Army Big Band conducted by Pepe Lienhard.

The highlight is the performance of the fabulous a cappela group Naturally 7 (amazing renditions of "Billie Jean" and "Wall of Sound"). There are also outstanding appearances by Herbie Hancock, Patti Austin, Al Jarreau, James Moody (a lovely duet with Patti on his classic "Moody's Mood"), Chaka Khan and Curtis Stigers. Not so memorable are the songs delivered by Nana Mouskouri, Petula Clark and Freda Payne, none of them in top form. Quincy attended the concert seated in the audience and only jumped to the stage for the finale, when "Stuff Like That" (co-written by Quincy, Eric Gale, Steve Gadd, Richard Tee) ended in a big mess, with three drummers (among them Billy Cobham) performing at the same time!

This 2-DVD set also includes the bonus feature “Thank Q” with behind-the-scenes footage and images from a party at Claude Nobs' marvelous house in Montreux Hills.

Quincy Jones, the acclaimed arranger, composer, producer, and bandleader, has left his signature mark in the realms of jazz, pop,soul, gospel, R&B, classical, world, and blues. He has nurtured a countless array of talents, including the late Michael Jackson, whom he helped develop from a talented kid into an international superstar. 2008 was an exceptionally special year for Jones, as he was named an Ambassador at the Grammys, and served as Artistic Advisor for the Olympic Games in Beijing, China. It seems only fitting that he would enjoy such a riveting performance to honor him in his 75th year.

Eagle Rock Entertainment is an international media production and distribution company operating across audiovisual entertainment programming. Eagle Rock Entertainment works directly alongside talent to produce the highest quality programming output covering film,general entertainment and musical performance. Eagle Rock Entertainment has offices based in London, New York, Germany, France & Toronto.

Tracklist
Disc 1:
1.) Introduction by Claude Nobs
2.) The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly – Herbie Hancock, Patti Austin & Stevie Woods
3.) Let The Good Times Roll – Rahsaan Patterson & James Moody
4.) Makin’ Whoopee – Patti Austin
5.) Moody’s Mood – James Moody & Patti Austin
6.) The Television Song – James Moody & John Robinson
7.) Honeysuckle Rose – Freda Payne & Joe Sample
8.) Shiny Stockings – Freda Payne & Joe Sample
9.) I’m Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town / In The Heat Of The Night – Mick Hucknall
10.) If I Ever Lose This Heaven – Ledisi
11.) Midnight Sun – Al Jarreau & Larry Williams
12.) One Mint Julep – Petula Clark
13.) Goin’ To Chicago Blues – Petula Clark & Paolo Nutini
14.) My Ship / Summertime – Franco Ambrosetti
15.) Smoke Gets In Your Eyes – Nana Mouskouri & James Morrison
16.) Almost Like Being In Love – Nana Mouskouri & James Morrison
17.) Miss Celie’s Blues (Sister) – Chaka Khan, Patti Austin & Greg Phillinganes
18.) What’s Going On – Ledisi, James Morrison, Rahsaan Patterson, Tobias Preisig, Patrice Rushen & Toots Thielemans
19.) Eyes Of Love (Carol’s Theme) / Bluesette – Toots Thielemans

Disc 2:
1.) Walking In Space – Chaka Khan & Lee Ritenour
2.) Strawberry Letter 23 – Paolo Nutini & Lee Ritenour
3.) How Do You Keep The Music Playing – Patti Austin
4.) The Dude – Al Jarreau
5.) Billie Jean – Naturally 7
6.) Wall Of Sound – Naturally 7
7.) Mama Aifambeni – Angelique Kidjo
8.) State Of Independence – Angelique Kidjo & Larry Williams
9.) Everything Must Change – Curtis Stigers
10.) Cool Joe, Mean Joe (Killer Joe) – Herbie Hancock
11.) Ai No Corrida – Patti Austin, Gabi Goldberg, Dorothea Lorene, Stevie Woods, Kent Stetler & Billy Cobham
12.) Stuff Like That – Monty Alexander, Patti Austin, Petula Clark,Billy Cobham, Herbie Hancock, Chaka Khan, Angelique Kidjo, Beverley Knight, Nils Landgren, Ledisi, James Moody, James Morrison, Nana Mouskouri, Naturally 7, Rahsaan Patterson, Freda Payne, Patrice Rushen,Joe Sample, Curtis Stigers & Larry Williams