DVD Review: Anita O’Day - The Life Of A Jazz Singer: Anita O’Day, Robbie Cavolina;Ian McCrudden: Movies & TV
DVD Review: Anita O’Day - The Life Of A Jazz Singer: Anita O’Day, Robbie Cavolina;Ian McCrudden: Movies & TVASIN=B001W3P50O&
Product Description
Anita O’Day was one of the greatest American Jazz singers and this critically acclaimed award-winning documentary tells her astonishing story - a journey of survival, and above all the enduarance of her talent, told in a number of frank interviews with her and with those who knew her. Her career was long and eventful, spanning seven decades; her last album recorded when she was 84.
Anita O’Day only ever wanted to be a singer and the film showcases performances that date back to the 50’s with such artists as Gene Krupa, Roy Eldridge, Stan Kenton, Louis Armestrong and Hoagy Carmichael. She is shown teaching Billy Taylor how to be a jazz vocalist. Bert Stern comments on Anita performing "Sweet Georgia Brown" for his film JAZZ ON A SUMMER’S DAY while George Wein, legendary impresario, states it was the greatest rendition of the song ever made.
She speaks candidly, always candidly, with Dick Cavett, Bryant Gumble and David Frost, and in interviews on 60 Minutes and CBS This Morning. Anita was a woman who lived her life the she wanted without every looking back and was a musical genius and pioneer who broke race barriers. She talks openly about how she had to overcome great adversities, including a 20-year addiction to heroin and alcohol. The film shows Anita on tour in Europe well into her eighties and making her final recording shortly before her death, the death of an icon.
2 Discs:
Disc 1 : The Movie with Director s audio commentary and French, Spanish and Japanese. We might add Italian subtitles. 16:9 formatting for widescreen and 4:3 televisions.
Disc 2: Bonus Disc with 45 minutes of the uninterrupted musical performances from the film and 45 Minutes of outtake interviews of Anita.
32 page full color booklet including:
Essay by Jim Gavin.
Essay by Will Friedwald
Selected chapter from Anita s autobiography, High Times Hard Times.
16 pages reproduced from Anita s personal scrapbooks.
Under-appreciated jazz vocalist!,
By Leo Jay (Jersey City, USA) -
For a film documentary profile, there’s no substitute for substantial footage of the subject him/herself providing their own reflections on his/her life and career. It’s great that this documentary captures so much of Anita’s own charmingly candid recollections of the ups and downs in her under-appreciated career. An interesting look of the life of a great, great jazz singer.
No stylist quite like Ms O’Day,
By Ian Muldoon (Coffs Harbour, NSW Australia) -
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)
Ms O’Day preferred the title “stylist” as opposed to “singer” which I find an interesting distinction. I gather she made the distinction in acknowledgement that she had little vocal range, an ordinary tone, and a strange timbre.
My first significant encounter with her music was post Gene Krupa with the release in 1956 of ANITA by Norman Granz and the best version of HONEYSUCKLE ROSE with its sole bass opening and quartet of trombones closing the final chorus. The whole album though, was and remains, one of her best, and one of the best of any JAZZ singer. And that’s where her reputation so superbly lies - as one of the very best JAZZ vocalists ever, and an individual woman who was a great survivor in a very difficult business - that she was embraced by the jazz community including afro american musicians, she got through the heroin journey, she overcame the “canary” prejudice of “girl” singer by her musical brilliance in being accepted rather as another musical INSTRUMENT instead of the “front” for a band.
This documentary - one of the best (musical ones) I’ve scene which was featured in the 2008 Sydney Film Festival - also reveals her character. Moral strength, modesty, honesty, understanding and self awareness and I guess, joy of music, of living, are her distinguishing characteristics.
PLenty of good music in the film as well!!
review of amazon,
By A. Nemeth (Bethlehem, PA) -
I love anita o day and I am sure this will be great, but I preordered this item, and today is the first day one can buy it online and they dropped the price a few dollars already… I order things on amazon alot but this pissed me off, they made it seem, preorder this item and save a few dollars and I was intending to buy it anyway, but why drop the price already? I should have got a better deal for preordering.
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