For Immediate Release

THIRD SERIES OF AWARD-WINNING
JAZZ ICONS DVDS TO BE RELEASED!

NEW SERIES OF JAZZ ICONS DVDS FEATURES VINTAGE UNSEEN CONCERTS FEATURING SONNY ROLLINS, OSCAR PETERSON, LIONEL HAMPTON, NINA SIMONE, BILL EVANS, CANNONBALL ADDERLEY, RAHSAAN ROLAND KIRK

“Jazz Icons® is doing for jazz what the Criterion Collection has done for classic and important films.” – Jazz Times

“The sound quality is first rate, and the performances are extraordinary.” – Newsweek  

“I can't say enough about the presentation of these DVDs. Not only have the producers gotten the best possible picture and sound from the original films and videotapes, but they've packaged them with taste and tender loving care. The accompanying booklets are well worth reading; each one is filled with great photos and eloquent liner notes.                  – Leonard Maltin

The eagerly anticipated release of the third series of Jazz Icons® DVDs has arrived. Reelin' In The Years Productions and Naxos of America, Inc. are proud to announce the September 30, 2008 release of the next seven titles in the illustrious DVD series featuring performances by Sonny Rollins, Oscar Peterson, Lionel Hampton, Nina Simone, Bill Evans, Cannonball Adderley, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk.

Filmed in Europe between 1958 and 1975, this third set of Jazz Icons® DVDs features concerts by seven of the most influential jazz artists of the 20th century captured in their prime and accompanied by some of the most legendary sidemen of the day. Previously forgotten or lost in the vaults of TV studios throughout Europe (in some cases for nearly 50 years!), they are now being made available for the first time.

The running time for the DVDs range from 60 to 100 minutes. All seven Jazz Icons® titles will be sold separately and as a deluxe boxed set with a bonus eighth disc featuring additional rare, never-before-seen, performances.

Each of the new Jazz Icons® DVDs features one or more concerts filmed live in television studios and concert halls throughout Europe between 1958 and 1975, one of the most creative periods in jazz history. All seven DVDs feature performances that have never been officially released, and in many cases, the material is newly discovered and was never broadcast. In addition, every performance in the Jazz Icons® DVD series has been transferred and re-mastered from the best-quality original masters yielding excellent sound and video.

Among the wealth of highlights in the third series of Jazz Icons® DVDs:

• Two incredible Sonny Rollins concerts from 1965 and 1968 (his classic period) featuring 87 minutes of music. Both concerts feature stellar European and American side-musicians including pianist Kenny Drew and bass legend Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen. Rollins, one of the most important saxophonists in jazz, shines throughout.

• Two historic Cannonball Adderley concerts from 1963 totaling 100 minutes and recorded two days apart in Switzerland and Germany. Both shows feature the classic three-horn frontline of Cannonball, his brother Nat Adderley and the legendary Yusef Lateef, as well as pre-Weather Report pianist Joe Zawinul. This DVD is the definitive reminder that Cannonball Adderley was one of the most outstanding and highly respected alto saxophonists in the history of jazz.

• Two incredible Nina Simone concerts from 1965 and 1968 that showcase the multifaceted diva in all of her glory. Simone shines as a jazz vocalist extraordinaire on “Tomorrow Is My Turn,” as a definitive folk interpreter on Bob Dylan’s “The Ballad Of Hollis Brown” and as a passionate civil rights activist on both “Four Women” and her classic “Mississippi Goddam.” This DVD is a must for Simone fans!

• Three never-before-seen Oscar Peterson shows from 1963, 1964 and 1965 featuring the late pianist in his prime on three terrific nights. Joining Peterson are bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen (the classic Oscar Peterson Trio) as well as trumpet and flugelhorn legend Clark Terry, who also sings, and trumpet great Roy Eldridge. Although Oscar Peterson passed away in December of 2007, his performances on this DVD demonstrate why his music will live on forever.

• A one hour Lionel Hampton big band concert filmed in 1958. Hampton’s big band storms through a mixture of high energy jazz and jump blues numbers that delight the Belgian crowd. Hampton himself plays vibes, drums and piano and throughout every minute of this concert shows why he is still considered one of the greatest players, band leaders and entertainers of all time.

• An incredible 100-minute Bill Evans DVD featuring five separate performances filmed between 1964 and 1975. Spanning an eleven-year period, Evans is featured with four different rhythm sections including the stunning duo of bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen and drummer Alan Dawson. Bill Evans is widely considered one of the greatest Jazz pianists of all time and this DVD provides ample proof throughout every note of his playing.

• Three exceptional concerts by Rahsaan Roland Kirk; two performed in 1963 in Belgium and Holland and one from 1967 in Norway. All three shows present Kirk playing his entire instrumental arsenal of flutes, tenor sax, clarinet, siren, music box, whistles, manzello and stritch – often simultaneously! Kirk’s playing is full of unique fire and brilliance as he challenges and brings out the best from such top-notch sidemen as drummers Daniel Humair and Alex Riel (of Bill Evans Trio Fame) as well as bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (featured for the third time in this series.)

• The bonus disc that accompanies the boxed set is itself a treasure trove of great performances featuring two short Sonny Rollins sets plus and interview (both from 1959 and totaling 30 minutes), a four song Rahsaan Roland Kirk set from 1963 and a two song Nina Simone performance with an interview from 1965 featuring another amazing version of her classic “Mississippi Goddam.”

Each DVD also includes a 24-page booklet with insightful and informative essays by noted jazz historians as well as previously unseen photos and memorabilia.

The release of the seven new releases in the third series brings the total number of DVDs in the Jazz Icons® series to 23 different titles. Including the two bonus discs in the boxed set, the Jazz Icons® DVD series now features over 30 hours of classic performances.

The first series of Jazz Icons® DVDs featuring classic vintage concerts by Thelonious Monk, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones, Count Basie, Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, Buddy Rich, and Chet Baker, was released in September 2006 to universal critical acclaim, including feature stories in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times, as well as reviews in The New York Times and USA Today (including their holiday gift guide.)

The second series of Jazz Icons® DVDs was released in September 2007 and featured classic vintage concerts by John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Dave Brubeck, Sarah Vaughan, Wes Montgomery, Duke Ellington and Dexter Gordon as well as a bonus disc included with the boxset. As with the first series, each title again received universal critical acclaim including reviews in Newsweek, The New York Times and NPR Morning Edition. CBS Sunday Morning named the Jazz Icons® Series Two boxed set as the archival DVD release of the year describing the DVDs as “astonishing” and “an incredible gift.”

Reelin' In The Years Productions LLC is the world’s largest music footage library. Including the first sixteen DVDs in the Jazz Icons® series, Reelin' In The Years Productions has produced over 40 DVDs including the four volume The American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1969 DVD series, released to universal critical acclaim, commercial success and numerous industry awards. Volume One was nominated for a GRAMMY® award in the category of "Best Long Form Music Video". 2006 saw the release of the certified-platinum The Temptations - Get Ready, The Definitive Performances 1965 – 1972 and the certified-gold Marvin Gaye - The Real Thing In Performance 1964 – 1981, the first official DVD anthologies of classic archival television performances by Motown artists. For further information, please visit www.reelinintheyears.com.

Since 1987, Naxos of America, Inc. the world’s leading Classical Musical label has redefined how classical music is presented and marketed. The innovative strategy of recording exciting new Grammy nominated and Grammy winning repertoire with exceptional talent has enabled the label to develop one of the largest and fastest growing catalogues of unduplicated repertoire available anywhere-currently 5,500 active titles-with state-of-the-art sound and the consumer-friendly prices. Naxos of America, Inc. is owned by the North American Classical Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Naxos Global Distribution. For more information: www.naxos.com.

www.jazzicons.com

# # #

For press information/materials, product requests, and interviews contact:
Michael Bloom Media Relations; 323.258.6342 / MusicPR@earthlink.net