It might only contain 60 minutes worth of live music, but In Concert-Ohne Filter, the new live DVD from jazz-fusion veterans Yellowjackets, sure is a masterful and fun performace. Filmed at the Ohne Filter studios in Baden-Baden Germany in July of 1994, this set shows the Yellowjackets at the top of their game, these seven songs filled with daring solos spots and lush melodic pop/jazz arrangements. Russell Ferrante (keyboards), Jimmy Haslip (bass), Bob Mintzer (sax), and drummer Will Kennedy, all virtuosos, make up the band here (Marcus Baylor currently mans the drum kit for the band), and they certainly impress at every junction here. Check out Haslip's slippery, Jaco-ish solo on the sneaky opener "Man Facing North", or Mintzer's raging sax explorations on "One Music", for prime examples of the jazz chops of these players. Sure, you get plenty of catchy pop melodies throughout, but live Yellowjackets are all about locking into a groove and stretching out with extended solos. The band touches on some Weather Report flavored Latin jazz on "Invisible People", complete with lovely piano from Ferrante and some truly inspired sax melodies courtesy of Mintzer, and "Dewey (For Miles)" is predictably a funky jam paying homage to Miles Davis, with Mintzer's wind synth doing a great trumpet impression. However, the best pieces are saved for later in the set, with the playful "Jacket Town" (Haslip really runs wild on this one) and complex jazz scorcher "Run For Your Life" providing plenty of musical fireworks.
While the Yellowjackets often get overlooked as one of the better fusion bands of the last two decades (probably due to their somewhat safe studio recordings) live they are a different beast altogether. Check this hot DVD out and find out why.
Track Listing
1) Man Facing North
2) One Music
3) Invisible People
4) Dewey (For Miles)
5) My Old School
6) Jacket Town
7) Run For Your Life
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
