• 0 Pages
• Published by Rittor Music
• DVD

Product Description
Grammy-nominated jazz guitarist Mike Stern has been in the public eye (and ears) since he was a member of the Miles Davis Band in the early ’80s. His prolific performances and recordings have earned him recognition as one of the best and most popular contemporary guitarists today. This, his first instructional DVD, includes 4 live performances by Mike and his band at the 55 Bar in New York City, the historical club in which Mike has played for over 15 years, accompanied by many great musicians, including Jaco Pastorius. Additionally, in an exclusive interview with New York-based jazz guitarist Satoshi Inoue, Stern offers his own analysis and explanation of each tune. The songs – a blues, a standard, a ballad, and a funk tune – were carefully selected by Mike himself in order to demonstrate every aspect of his guitar performance and techniques. He also gives insight into his background, influences and practice routines, and provides a thorough review of his gear configurations. Everything you need to know about this versatile guitar master! Includes lesson sheets. 1 hour, 6 minutes.

Mike Stern: Featuring Live Performances at the 55 Bar in New York City

Amazon.com essential video
This pop-cultural phenomenon has been performed on stage for more than 50 million patrons in 26 countries for almost 18 years, churning more than $2 billion in ticket sales. Now that Cats has finally made it to the small screen, attention must be paid not just by fans of this critic-proof show, but also by those entertainment mavens who have somehow avoided Cats until now. The video version has been restaged but, alas, not really reconceived for its new medium.

The video cast, assembled from London, Amsterdam, and New York productions, is competent. Ken Page as Old Deuteronomy, Jacob Brent as Mr. Mistoffelees, and Elaine Paige–the original London Grizabella, the Glamour Cat well past her prime–are a great deal more than that. Paige has toned down her theatrical belting of her big number, “Memory,” and allowed the faded ruin of her character’s soul to prevail in close-up. For all the “covers” of her signature song, Paige’s version remains definitive. The video is, by definition, more intimate, not always a good thing: costumes are even more Halloweeny in garish close-up, the cats less cuddly without that all-important interaction, the stage’s appropriately midnight lighting transmuted to a Las Vegas neon. And the chorus of cats in production numbers is even clunkier and more amorphous in two- and three-shots.

The one complete newcomer to the cast is the 90-year-old icon among English actors John Mills, a delight as Gus the Theatrical Cat. Sir John and his character show the youngsters how it’s done in close-up, largely behind the eyes, abetted by a heart-tugging delivery of his one song. Yet virtually all of the songs are lip-synched, further robbing the video Cats of its onstage seeming spontaneity. It’s clearer than ever that Lloyd Webber’s music is mostly twaddle, with the important exception of “Memory,” which instantly and rightly became one of the genuine theater standards not dependent on context, in the vein of Stephen Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns.” On the plus side, most of the Cats characters and lyrics, from T.S. Eliot’s 14-poem Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, are far better defined and understood from the video version. –Robert Windeler

Great Performances {Cats}

Description
From the vaults of the Country Music Hall Of Fame and Museum, this collection features nearly two decades of Merle Haggard performances in his prime not seen since their original broadcast. Now, for the first time on DVD, experience the hits through a chronology of vintage live performances such as “Branded Man” (Country Music Holiday,1968), “Mama Tried” (Billy Walker’s Country Carnival, 1968) and “Okie From Muskogee” (The Porter Wagoner Show, 1970).

When Merle Haggard left prison in 1960, he went on to achieve 38 #1 hits (to date) and establish himself as one of the greats in country music. But getting out of prison didn’t quite mean leaving his rebel ways behind. His songwriting depicted the truths of a rough-and-tumble life which he fused with a musical style derived from hardcore country, jazz, blues and folk to create a sound no one had ever heard, with lyrics many could relate to. From the walls of San Quentin to his free-spirited life as an irreverent and unique voice outside the Nashville establishment to his induction in the Country Music Hall of Fame, Merle Haggard has never left a doubt that he is country’s original outlaw.

Program listing:
Branded Man Country Music Holiday (1968)
The Bottle Let Me Down Country Music Holiday (1968)
Swinging Doors Country Music Holiday (1968)
Mama Tried Billy Walker’s Country Carnival (1968)
I Started Loving You Again Billy Walker’s Country Carnival (1968)
I Take A Lot Of Pride In What I Am Billy Walker’s Country Carnival (1968)
The Fightin’ Side Of Me The Porter Wagoner Show (1970)
Okie From Muskogee The Porter Wagoner Show (1970)
Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man) CMA Awards (1972)
Workin’ Man Blues Pop! Goes The Country (1974)
Movin’ On Pop! Goes The Country (1975)
The Roots Of My Raising The Porter Wagoner Show (1977)
Ramblin’ Fever Pop! Goes The Country (1977)
That’s The Way Love Goes CMA Awards (1983)
San Antonio Rose Johnny Cash Christmas Special (1983)

Extras:
Merle Haggard Interview (1981)
Merle Haggard’s Hall Of Fame Induction (1994)

Legendary Performances

Product Description
This box set combines some of the most famous and beloved works of the Romantic period, which – with all their lyrical emotion, colorful richness of sound and their stunning virtuosity – were, and always will be essential to the history of music. A completely new way of experiencing and enjoying music, this series of audio-visual concert guides offers extensive documentation and a complete performance of each of these masterpieces.

Romantic Masterpieces: Performances and Documentaries