WOW! Studio quality performances in a live, club setting is a throwback to the jazz so many of us grew up with this set of performances is by far, my regular go-to personal jazz when it's time to spend time with true jazz classics with true jazz masters. How fortunate for me to land a set of Red Hot & Kool and it's a testament to the jazz performances which are fading into the past as the pandemic has sidelined live performances for some time but these will definitely get you there ... not to mention that so many of these master are no longer here with us but these recorded live performances with stage presence is ... priceless!
I highly recommend this 5-star collection to all who yearn for the nostalgic days when live performances were the standard for jazz enjoyment. A note to the creators, curators of this collection - I would recommend a name change ... from Red Hot & Kool to Red Hot Kool & WOW!
Buy the complete set and enjoy it. — C.P. Brown
My Red Hot & Cool video set is the best collection of top jazz performances I've ever seen. It's like watching a complete international jazz festival on my man-cave TV. Stay Red, Hot & Cool! — Lee T.
Here are a few thoughts for you. Please feel free to mix and match or make changes as you see fit. Obviously, you can tell I am a big fan of the Red, Hot & Cool series.
As a collector of jazz DVD concerts, I was most thrilled when I discovered the Red, Hot & Cool series. Each volume highlights some of the all-time great jazz artists shot live in a riveting and energetic setting".
The Red, Hot & Cool Series is an excellent way for young people today to see live performances by some of the great jazz artists who are no longer with us".
-"Just getting to see Nancy Wilson sing some of her timeless jazz classics is priceless! And add to that outstanding performances by some of the most loved and well-known jazz artists. All of this makes for wonderful hours of entertainment you will want to watch over and over. — Wes
The Red Hot and Blue DVD live jazz series is terrific. It includes so many great jazz artists presented by the dynamic Nancy Wilson, who also sings at her best. The eight one-hour discs are perfect for a wonderful evening of jazz and are tightly edited so it's just great music in a well-produced, high fidelity production. I have heard many of these artists at festivals around the U.S. and the world and enjoyed watching them again in the intimacy of a hotel ballroom setting. — Joe Sullivan
The eight-volume Red, Hot & Cool DVD Set of live jazz shows from 1989 and 1990, was recorded at LA's historic Biltmore Hotel, hosted by the great songstress Nancy Wilson, and featured 24 different jazz luminaries including Ahmad Jamal, Freddie Hubbard, Jimmy McGriff, Dianne Schuur, Patrice Rushen, Joe Williams, Lee Ritenour, Les McCann, George Duke, and Stanley Clarke, to cite just a few.
Each DVD is introduced eloquently by the stunning and beautifully attired Nancy Wilson, who happily shares her musical talent with the audience, but who is so gracious and generous to step aside and allow the other giants to do their thang musically. The energy, excitement, enthusiasm, and love in the room are so evident with the live audiences, who are there to be witnesses to the great offerings of the absolutely superb musicians who graced the bandstand.
This DVD set is an anthology of superb performances of post-bop jazz musicians of the highest caliber. The creative interplay, improvisational prowess, and strong declarations of musical freedom and authority are constantly displayed.
If they are not enough to wet your jazz appetite, then check out the stellar performances of Joe Sample, Najee, David Benoit, Hubert Laws, Free Flight, Wilton Felder, Gerald Albright, Phil Upchurch, Lou Rawls, McCoy Tyner, Ronnie Laws, Bobby Lyle, Stanley Turrentine, Yataka Yokokura and Bill Henderson.
Space does not allow me to name the "killer" sidemen who shared the bandstand with the leaders just mentioned. Red, Hot & Cool is a virtual Who's Who of Jazz Stars and you get a chance to see them live in living color in the beautiful Grand Ave Bar of the Biltmore, a wonderful, acoustically ideal space for the packed crowds to see and hear great music. In short, for the serious jazz lover, connoisseur, or jazz musician, you need to have this DVD set that will entertain you and keep you smiling and grooving for hours; more importantly, the quality of the music and production is so good that you can be mesmerized and made to believe that you are a part of the audience.
Red, Hot & Cool, the Sunday afternoon jazz sets with a live audience in the Los Angeles Biltmore that got recorded and televised in 1989 and 1990 showcased hostess Nancy Wilson and some 24 other great jazz artists.
The good news is that we can still enjoy those incredible musicians, hear and see them "Live at the Biltmore," because executive producer Bobby Dockery has captured those performances and has made them available in an 8-volume DVD set or individually. These jazz sets are professionally produced with outstanding aural and visual representations of the artists and their music.
Each DVD is introduced eloquently by the stunning and beautifully attired Nancy Wilson, who happily shares her musical talent with the audience, but who is so gracious and generous to step aside and allow the other giants to do their thang musically. The energy, excitement, enthusiasm, and love in the room are so evident with the live audiences, who are there to be witnesses to the great offerings of the absolutely superb musicians who graced the bandstand.
If you wish to relive the joy of live jazz in a spectacular indoor setting with these outstanding musicians, then you need to get Red, Hot & Cool.
The 8-volume Red, Hot & Cool DVD Set of live jazz shows recorded in 1989 and 1990 at the Los Angeles historic Biltmore Hotel features the performances of 24 of the greatest artists of the modern jazz era and needs to be in every music library.
This DVD set is an anthology of superb performances of post-bop jazz musicians of the highest caliber. The creative interplay, improvisational prowess, and strong declarations of musical freedom and authority are constantly displayed.
The music provides a wide swath of expressive content: soulful-meditative-spiritual-bluesy-funky-high energy inspiring-sweet-sexy-humorous-delightful-hip in both vocal and instrumental variety. If you enjoy high-quality live performance, then you will enjoy Red, Hot & Cool.
For the many young students who are learning to play jazz in elementary and secondary school bands, as well as university jazz students, and for all the teachers who provide instruction about jazz performance at all levels, the 8volume Red, Hot & Cool DVD Set of live jazz shows would be a wonderful addition to your personal and school libraries to view and learn from superb jazz artists. — Dr. Ted McDaniel