The blues and jazz are inextricably linked. In other words, without the blues, there would be no such thing as jazz, so it is not surprising to find that there are always a large number of blues artists on the bill at the annual Montreux Jazz Festival. In 2004, legendary rock guitarist Carlos Santana presented a lineup of his favorite blues guitarists at that year's Montreux festival and that is what is presented here on this Blu-ray release of Blues at Montreux from Eagle Rock Entertainment.
The disc is made up of three separate sets from the 2004 festival, and Carlos Santana drops in to jam with each one of the artists at the end of each of their sets. Each artist is a blues legend in his own right, although, admittedly, some names might be unfamiliar to those less versed in the world of blues music.
Louisiana-born bluesman Bobby Parker starts off his set of eleven songs, appropriately enough, with the tune "Straight Up No Chaser," which should be familiar to any Thelonious Monk fan under the slightly varied name "Straight, No Chaser." Carlos Santana joins him for the numbers "Mellow Down Easy" and "Watch Your Step."
Highlights of Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown's set include the opening instrumental "Bits and Pieces" the stop-and-go strut of "I'm Beginning to see the Light" and the Cajun fiddle number "Sunrise Cajun Style."
It is Muddy Water's pupil Buddy Guy who is the real highlight of the disc, however. Guy opens with a quiet, yet spirited acoustic trio of songs, "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl," "Louise McGhee" and "Done Got Old," that hearken back to the days of Mississippi Delta blues before launching into his rollicking electric set that kicks off with the popular Muddy Waters number, "Hoochie Coochie Man." There's also a cool rendition of "Fever" and a couple of jams with Carlos Santana.
The Picture
Blues at Montreux 2004 was originally captured in high definition and arrives on Blu-ray in an AVC/MPEG-4 1080i/60 transfer with a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Detail is strong in close-ups and background shots, flesh tones are natural and blacks are deep though not exactly inky. Video noise is thankfully subdued and motion artifacts are at a minimum. All of these things add up to Blues at Montreux being one of the better looking releases in the quickly increasing catalogue of concert discs release from Eagle Rock available on Blu-ray.
The Sound
As one might expect from a concert disc made up from three different sets, the sound is a mixed bag on this release. Each set is provided with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, LPCM 2.0 and Dolby Digital 5.1 options. The strongest sounding set on the disc is the Buddy Guy performance, which has the best balance overall, smoothest sounding high frequencies, and most extended low frequencies. Both "Gatemouth" Brown and Bobby Parker mixes sound rather thin and also a bit cluttered, with poor instrumental separation. In all cases, the LPCM 2.0 mixes provide the most balanced options with the best sounding midrange. The DTS-HD Master Audio mixes only offer some mild ambience in the surroud channels, but do not do well to balance the mixes' intrumentations.
The Extras
One would think that with the number of blues legends around here and Carlos Santana to boot that there might at least be a stray jam session sitting around that they could throw on this disc, but think again. There are no extras whatsoever offered up on this barebones release.
Final Thoughts
Blues at Montreux comes with one of the stronger video transfers from Eagle Rock that I have had the pleasure to watch and the disc is worth having for the Buddy Guy set alone. Bobby Parker and "Gatemouth" Brown are pleasant additions as well and should be welcome attractions for any blues lover.
Product Details
Performers: Buddy Guy, Bobby Parker, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Carlos Santana
Directors: Thierry Amsallem
Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
Video Resolution: 1080i/60
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audio/Languages: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; LPCM 2.0; Dolby Digital 5.1
