Montreux

This concert film captures R&B legend Curtis Mayfield's appearance at the 1987 Montreux Jazz Festival. The set list consists of a dozen songs including such classics as "Pusher Man," "Freddie's Dead," "People Get Ready," "When Seasons Change," and "It's Alright."
Perhaps because he didn't cross over to the pop audience as heavily as Motown's stars, it may be that the scope of Curtis Mayfield's talents and contributions have yet to be fully recognized.

In addition to its impressive musicianship, Brigham Young University Synthesis stands apart from most other college big bands due to its diverse and inventive arrangements. On this set, live from the 1996 Montreux Jazz Festival, the 20-piece orchestra (directed by Ray Smith) performs a program ranging from "Sing, Sing, Sing" (which has Smith featured on clarinet), to pieces by Miles Davis ("All Blues"), Sammy Nestico, Bob Mintzer, Pat Metheny, and Dizzy Gillespie. Even with all of the changes in styles, the band and its soloists adapt themselves quite well. Among the individual stars of this easily recommended big-band set are tenor saxophonist Mike Vance, trumpeter Brent Durland, and guitarist Joshua Payne.

One of many Pablo albums taken from the 1977 Montreux Jazz Festival, this outing teams pianist Oscar Peterson, bassist Niels Pedersen, and drummer Bobby Durham with tenorman Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and trumpeters Clark Terry and Dizzy Gillespie. The talented (and very competitive) players really dig into the opening uptempo blues ("Ali and Frazier") and they continue cooking on "If I Were a Bell," "Bye Bye Blues," "Things Ain't What They Used to Be," and "Just in Time." As often happens in this type of situation, the musicians mutually inspire each other. This is one of Dizzy Gillespie's better sessions of the '70s; in fact, there are no losers during these battles.

From a musical family, she sang from her teenage years, leaving school at the age of fifteen, to work as a window dresser by day and singer at night. Bell was introduced to Leslie Harvey, by his older brother Alex, after getting up on stage to sing with the latter. Leslie Harvey was, at that time, a guitarist with the Kinning Park Ramblers. Bell joined the group as one of the vocalists. After the band split up, Bell moved to the Mecca Band at the Sauchiehall Street Locarno, and later to the Dennistoun Palais Band.