09/19/08
DECCA
DAVE HOLLAND SEXTET/Pass It On: Holland is one of the few cats that can make a jazz as art production and have it come off as anything but stodgy. The cat that played with Miles Davis and John Hartford in the same year has proved more than once he can play anything and his countless Grammy noms and wins prove that he’s valued by his peers since only real musos vote in the categories where he’s nominated. This set finds him wandering down his own back pages to replay fave older tracks in a new setting with a new sextet peopled with youngsters and youngbloods there to really kick it out with the master. Basically working with a band of leaders, everyone knows which end is up and this is another must have Holland set as he once again makes the bass the place. Any contemporary jazzbo that has wax in his ears only via headphones will want to hear the latest from the greatest.
(EmArcy/Dare2)
TWO FOR THE SHOW MEDIA
PETE RODRIGUEZ/El Alquimista (The Alchemist): A sidekick of both Bebo Valdez and Eddie Palmieri, this trumpet ace flexes his composing wings as well on this outing that has stuff that was in gestation for as long as 12 years. He knows his ax well but he gets extra points for knowing how to write and write compelling listening as well. Playing with the kind of tone and talent that lasting talents have under their belts, this is a fine set from a real comer that stays in your ears once he gets there. Hot stuff.
2782 (Conde Music)
DVD SUPPLEMENT
PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO
ALVIN & THE CHIPMUNKS/Classic Holiday Gift Set (Chipmunk Christmas; Alvin’s Thanksgiving Celebration; Trick or Treason): Now that the Peanuts gang has checked in for the holidays, it’s time for Alvin’s gang to follow suit, and so he does with this three disc set reprising his past holiday misadventures. Whether kicking it off with the classic bit of holiday mischief or fretting about bombing in a community play, the Chipmunks continue to trump their rivals, The Nutty Squirrels, with their own brand of nuttiness that harks back to a simpler time when the only crisis revolved around whether to give Dave rabies or not. A package that’s a quality time extravaganza, Alvin and the gang are timeless icons that didn’t really need buzz cuts to be relevant. Giddy fun for kids of all ages.
MY THREE SONS The First Season V. 1: After Drew Friedman gave us the secret life of Fred Mertz, can we ever look at Bub the same way again? We all had misgivings about Bub in the first place but now that we’re older, we get to give him another look and wonder why such a crusty old cat was playing nanny to three space age kids who’s pop was a rocket scientist (is this pure 50s or what?) that shot all his scenes for the whole season at once since he was a big star that condescended to doing TV for the money. Talk about roadside Americana that’s been vanishing! Low key enough to stand as a quintessential skewed family comedy on a par with Andy Griffith, these first 18 episodes of the show set the tone and pace even though a lot of changes would take place throughout the run of the show. Two generations from the America we know now, this is the iconography forward to the past types want to sell wholesale. Why not look into a non-”Happy Days” version of how it was when shows reflected their audiences. (Who we kidding, “The Hills” does that too.) Why was this one of the longest running family comedies in television history? A trip through this first volume will answer all your questions as well as get you hooked.
WARNER HOME VIDEO
RUN FATBOY RUN: A fish out of what love story in the hands of the new generation as David Schwimmer directs a script by Michael Ian Black and has Hank Azaria along for the ride. An inspirational comedy for schlubs everywhere, this chick pic follows the course of a dude who gets cold feet and dumps his babe at the last minute even though the have a kid between them. Years later, when he realized he made the greatest mistake of his life, he puts his fat ass into a marathon against her new knight in shining armor in an effort to prove he’s changed and should have her back. At least these guys know how to cater to the ladies in the audience. Certainly enough of a chick pic that you can leave it on the coffee table and slip out of the house unnoticed, chicks love this kind of stuff.
Volume 31/Number 324
September 19, 2008
MIDWEST RECORD
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CHRIS SPECTOR, Editor and Publisher
©2008 Midwest Record