Jazz on a Summer's Day Blu-ray

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

directed by Bert Stern
USA 1959

Filmed at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island and directed by world-renowned photographer Bert Stern, Jazz on a Summer's Day features intimate performances by an all-star line-up of musical legends including Louis Armstrong, Thelonious Monk, Gerry Mulligan, Anita O'Day, Chuck Berry, Dinah Washington, and closes with a beautiful rendition of The Lord's Prayer by Mahalia Jackson at midnight to usher in Sunday morning.

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In 1958 fashion photographer Bert Stern set out to make a film (his first) about the annual Jazz festival in Newport, Rhode Island. An attempt at a fictional film turned out to be an enduring classic music documentary. New Yorker Film have done an amazing job transferring the colors and the sound to DVD. This is presently the best jazz concert DVD available anywhere. Stern captured the essence of the title so adeptly with images of people enjoying the summer and intently or casually watching and listening to the performances which include Thelonious Monk, Anita O'Day, Sonny Stitt, Gerry Mulligan, George Shearing, Maybelle Smith, George Shearing, Dinah Washington, Chico Hamilton, Louis Armstrong, Chuck Berry and gospel singer Mahalia Jackson. For any Jazz enthusiasts this alone would be a reason to own...

Excerpt from B+N located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: August 1959 (Venice Film Festival)

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Comparison:

New Yorker - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		Bonus Captures:
Distribution	New Yorker - Region 1 - NTSC	Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:21:27	1:22:54.052
Video	Full Screen (Standard) - 1.33:1 Average Bitrate: 5.33 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 46,499,172,013 bytes Feature: 25,670,117,376 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 5.1)	DTS-HD Master Audio English 2022 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2022 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Commentary: DTS-HD Master Audio English 2018 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2018 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles	None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: New Yorker Films Aspect Ratio: Full Screen (Standard) - 1.33:1 Edition Details: America's Cup, Complete Festival Playlist, and more! • *A Summer's Day: Follow Bert Stern on an interactive journey behind the scenes of Jazz on a Summer's Day* DVD Release Date: November 14th, 2000 Keep Case Chapters: 12	Release Information: Studio: Kino 1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 46,499,172,013 bytes Feature: 25,670,117,376 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Audio commentary by music journalist Natalie Weiner "Bert Stern: Original Madman" (2011 documentary by Shannah Laumeister Stern) (1:28:32) • Archival interviews with director Bert Stern (2:43) • Bern Stern photo gallery of Louis Armstrong (3:17) • ContactSheets of Stern Photos (4:13) • Trailer (1:18) • Booklet essay by Nate Chinen, author of "Playing Changes: Jazz for the New Century" Blu-ray Release Date: February 9th, 2021 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 11

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (January 2021): Kino have transferred Bert Stern's Jazz on a Summer's Day to Blu-ray. Well, the New Yorker DVD came out over 20-years ago and it was probably their most fan-coveted disc selling for ridiculous prices in third party auctions after it went out-of-print. This new 1080P is from a "4K restoration by IndieCollect". The National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress supported the restoration, created in consultation with Shannah Laumeister-Stern. It's on a dual-layered disc with a bitrate approaching 7 times that of the old DVD. You can see how colors embolden, contrast, detail, film textures rise and it's really a massive upgrade and very pleasing HD presentation!

NOTE: We have added 48 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (24-bit) in the original English language, although there is hardly any dialogue - much more singing. This documentary is all about the music and the visuals - we get Train and the River by Jimmy Giuffre, Blue Monk performed by Thelonious Monk plus constant brilliant performances by Anita O'Day, Sonny Stitt, Gerry Mulligan, George Shearing, Maybelle Smith, George Shearing, Dinah Washington, Chico Hamilton, Chuck Berry, Louis Armstrong (multiple numbers - Up a Lazy River, Rockin' Chair, Tiger Rag, When The Saints Go Marching In) and three by gospel singer Mahalia Jackson finishing with The Lord's Prayer. It sounds fabulous in the lossless. Kino offer optional English subtitles (lyrics too) on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray includes a new audio commentary by music journalist Natalie Weiner. She's great - letting the musical numbers play without interruption (hence it is in lossless DTS-HD Master, too) and brings up points about this being the 5th Newport Jazz Festival, how Miles Davis, Ray Charles are not part of the documentary, Anita O'Day's drug addiction and legal issues but how her performance here resurrected her career. Natalie claims from Anita O'Day's autobiography, High Times Hard Times, that she claimed to be 'high' during the performance in Jazz on a Summer's Day. There was 130,000 feet of raw footage to make this documentary. Very cool details like that - I really enjoyed it. A huge inclusion on the Kino Blu-ray is Shannah Laumeister Stern's 2011 "Bert Stern: Original Madman" documentary described as 'the definitive voyage into the life and work of one of America's most influential photographers. Photographing the world's most alluring women in fashion and Hollywood for the past 50 years -- Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn among them -- minted Stern as a celebrity in his own right.' It runs longer than the feature at almost 1.5 hours. It's in 1080i with lossless audio and is very interesting - a great addition to this Kino Blu-ray. There is also a short archival interview with director Bert Stern, a video gallery showing Bern Stern's photos of Louis Armstrong, Contact Sheets of Stern Photos and a trailer. The package has a liner notes booklet essay by Nate Chinen, author of "Playing Changes: Jazz for the New Century".

Jazz on a Summer's Day was named to the National Film Registry in 1999. Bert Stern's documentary is the stuff of legend. You only need to watch it once to identify its greatness. It has a perfect blend of the visuals - many could be iconic photography stills - the beauty of Newport, Rhode Island in 1959 - the water - the America Cup trails sailing shots... and some incredible jazz. It's a masterpiece and will be a staple to my Sunday morning rituals for many years - as the DVD was till I wore it out. This Blu-ray has our highest recommendation!