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Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis, Season One, Vol. One. DVD + CD. Chicago, IL: LRS Media, 2006. 090001. $24.98.
Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis, Season One, Vol. Two. DVD + CD. Chicago, IL: LRS Media, 2006. 090003. $24.98.
Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis, Showcase. DVD + CD. Chicago, IL: LRS Media, 2006. 968701. $19.98.
The production of Legends of Jazz was trumpeted with great fanfare when it was announced. And when the completed product was ready to air on PBS, the media publicity machine was churned out to full crank with articles in all major media (jazz journals, major metropolitan newspapers). The end result is now with us. Under consideration are the first two volumes of the first season, eight episodes of the full run of thirteen plus a showcase collection that contains "highlight performances." Each package comes with a DVD of four individual episodes as well as an accompanying CD that excerpts the musical performances of those episodes. Was the hype worth it? On the basis of these DVDs, the answer is a regrettable no. The end result is unambitious, unadventurous, underwhelming, and, frankly, dull.
Each episode has a theme (alto saxes, Latin jazz, singers, etc.) and a...