Jazz Mix arrived yesterday and I have since seen well over half of the 8 hours of footage. Here is a short review for those who have contemplated picking it up.
First, lets start with the basics. Jazz Mix is filmed with a 3, sometimes 4 camera mix. The transitions are very subtle, and really focus on the artists. Most of the shots revolve around the often crowded, small stages found in some of New York's best Jazz Clubs. The basic set up is a camera center stage, one left, and one right, sometimes with one in the rear of the state depending on group and if there was physically room for a camera man. The transitions generally focus on different shots of the artists in action and tend to be a bit circular in terms of rotation from one camera to the next. The shots tend to be fast paced with the focus not lying on any one artist of the group for very long which keeps interest up throughout the performance, as some of the pieces would definitely be considered very experimental modern jazz, more on this later. The sets for each performance are very small, and crowded, traditional of many of the most popular jazz clubs, regardless of location. The center stage shot really puts you in the club. These shots really make you feel as if you are sitting 5th row and are actually seeing this live. It has a very nice appeal for fans of seeing music this way, especially fans of truly what could be some of the most experimental-istic jazz occurring currently in the United States.
PQ
The picture quality of all of the performances is over all excellent. All of the scenes were shot by the same crew with the same equipment. I really enjoy this as it does give the 2 disc set some uniformity. I was very impressed with the PQ throughout every recording. Each introduction to the performance features short clips of the local neighborhood around the area of the venue are very impressive. They provide a local and cultural depiction that is a beautiful way to introduce you to not only the club, but the artists performing there. I was very happy with the colors, lighting, and and appearance of each of the locations.
AQ
Arguably the most important facet of this release. The audio has an engrossing effect for me personally. It pulls you right into the performance in such a fashion that it truly checks your coat at the door, hands you a dry martini, pulls a chair out for you, and lets you join the show. The recording was obviously very important to this release and it clearly shows. Many of the recordings feature solely studio grade condenser recording microphones (Neumann, AKG, Audio Technica, among other trusted names), and in fact at point, sound so good, it is obvious many of these clubs were transformed into location studios for this project. I have zero complaints about the mix itself, or any acoustical issues I found troubling. At heart I wonder if in fact these recordings may sound better than it actually sounded being there live.
Simply great audio.
The Music Itself
All of the artists featured are fantastic musicians, and deserve to be on this release. Each group is extremely different though, and clearly has varying roots in terms of their style. Their are many styles of modern jazz that are all displayed on this release, each group very unique from the previous. The first group on disc 1 (Val inc, Marvin Swewell, and Jowee Omicil) I found to be among the most experimental jazz performance on the set. It features a trio, an electric guitarist, a flute, and a DJ whom used an array of modern DJ equipment (including a turntable and various synth controls such as the Khaos Pad by Korg) to form the percussion, ambiences, and effects which was like nothing I have seen before, or heard before. The percussion was all triggered via a trigger pad as also done by the DJ. It is very unique, and I have yet to decide if I truly enjoyed the performance, as it may be slightly 'too' experimental for my own personal jazz taste.
There are many more traditional jazz groups as well though, so I can easily say that there is at least a few groups that everyone will appreciate despite their own personal favorite jazz flavor. I would tend to believe though, that one generally would not be a fan of the entirety of all the performances. Over all, I found each group to be well worth watching and experiencing.
Overall
This is a wonderful introspective into modern performance art, as music for the current jazz fan. At it's price tag, currently of $31.99, it was a bit of an expensive blind buy, but being in an occupation where I work with microphones and recording technology, I may appreciate this more than the average consumer. That said, I believe it to be well worth the money, but would also agree it is not something I will watch on a daily basis.. I imagine it will find a home in my collection and find use for me being something I put on after a long day, strong drink in hand, nestled in my favorite chair, ready to relax.
If anyone has specific questions regarding this or my review, please feel free to post or PM!
Hope this helps some of you out there.
Cheers!
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Jazz Mix Vol. 1 - NYC 2/2/10
I think you will be a fan 
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