Yellowjackets - New Morning: The Paris Concert

A performance by the Yellowjackets - purveyors of progressive jazz for nearly three decades - is an experience that has as much to do with sight as it does with sound. Any given performance on any given night by this seasoned quartet brings with it a degree of spontaneity and expression - on an individual as well as collective level - that can be best appreciated by seeing these four highly skilled musicians in front of a live audience. New Morning: The Paris Concert is a new DVD that takes you up close and personal with the Yellowjackets - keyboardist Russell Ferrante, saxophonist Bob Mintzer, bassist Jimmy Haslip and drummer Marcus Baylor - on stage at the New Morning, one of the most celebrated clubs in Paris. The DVD captures 90 minutes of live music at the New Morning. The disc also features "Soundcheck Sketches," a brief but insightful segment narrated by Haslip, who introduces each band member and provides an overview of the Yellowjackets philosophy as a whole. New Morning: The Paris Concert is a snapshot of one of the finest jazz bands in the world doing what comes naturally in front of an energized crowd. A simple formula, perhaps, but one that has served the Yellowjackets well for the better part of three decades. "Anyone who sees this DVD is watching four people enjoying what they do for a living," says Haslip, "and also doing their best to deserve the gift of being able to stand in front of an audience and perform music that goes beyond words to an entirely different level of communication."