Review of Jazz Channel Presents Earl Klugh, The

Introduction

Earl Wilbert Klugh Jr. Is one of the leading Jazz guitarists today. Although he works mainly in the Contemporary or “Smooth” Jazz genre, he and his material isn’t subject to the blandness that is often common within the genre. He is an exceptionally talented musician – both technically proficient and possessed of a subtlety and lightness that is quite rare.

One of “The Jazz Channel Presents ...” series, this DVD contains 73 minutes of Earl’s best known material played live in front of a small audience at Black Entertainment Television’s Studio II in Washington.

Video

As with all “The Jazz Channel Presents ...” DVDs the material is originally from a US cable TV channel (BET) show and is filmed on digital video. Thus, the 4:3 image is of a high quality and gives us no cause for complaint.

The venue is the BET studio in Washington and has been arranged in a Jazz Club format, with the audience seated at tables. While the performance is exuberant, the setting and lighting is quite restrained and a bit dull.

Audio

As with all “The Jazz Channel Presents ...” series DVDs, this has a dts 5.1 track to complement the expected DD 5.1 and DD 2.0. There is little to choose between the dts and DD 5.1 tracks but the dts just has the edge being clearer and more dynamic. The DD 2.0 OK but sounds a little weak in comparison to the other two.

I am going to be slightly heretical here so stop reading if you are a digital fanatic. The multi-channel mixes are really good – crisp and clear. You can hear every percussive effect, every bass thud, and every note that Earl plays come through faithfully. But, I’ve heard better. You see, Earl Klugh works almost exclusively with a nylon stringed acoustic guitar (a bit unusual in jazz circles) and, as such, all his music has a warm and sweet sound. And, for my money, the ambience – the vibe – of his music is best captured on vinyl. Over the years I have listened to Earl on cassette, CD and now DVD, but I always return to my vinyl LPs for the real Klugh sound. The dts DVD is certainly the best digital version of his music but even it doesn’t evoke that balmy summer evening warmth that Klugh’s music should have and which comes across so well on vinyl.

Features

The only extra on the disk is an interview with Earl. Although Earl comes across as quite a shy person, he speaks passionately about his music and his influences. This is certainly very interesting for a fan. And that is probably the biggest problem with this DVD. Every Earl Klugh fan should buy it and will enjoy it immensely. But it makes no concessions to the unconverted. A biography and a discography with some album excerpts would be very welcome as an introduction to a fine artist. Also, black marks for not giving any information about the band members. The saxophone player was especially talented and I would like to know more about him.

Conclusion

If you’ve come this far, you’ll know that I like Earl Klugh and that I like this DVD. Earl is a quiet (almost introverted) performer and you get no chat during the concert – only music. But, that’s all you need. It’s great.

Earl Klugh’s music is both light and airy, and warm and rich. It also possesses a passion and a power that is sometimes unexpected. It’ll soothe you and invigorate you at the same time. Here, Earl plays some of his best known pieces and he plays them very well. He is accompanied by a talented band and it is obvious that these musicians have worked with him for some time. The interplay between Earl and the band is enjoyable and generally the performance is faultless.

Highlights are the lilting “Tropical Legs” and the lovely “Living Inside Your Love” but everything’s good.

An absolute must for fans. Also, because it is very melodic, it should be enjoyed by any music lover even if they traditionally don’t like Jazz.