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Variations
The French television series Variations focuses on bringing together electronic-acoustic collaborations that are dives into the unknown by composing new music inspired by important and influential artists. The show sets the tone with “a timeless recipe where duos from different musical worlds—between electronic and scholarly music" work to create and collaborate around a common repertoire. Electronic and classical artists select a major composer or musician—like Bach, Debussy, Arvo Part, Hildegarde von Bingen, even James Brown—and they explore, rearrange, deconstruct, and experiment with the music to make it their own.
Legends in Concert
The Legends in Concert series presents performances of musical icons like Benny Goodman, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Ringo Starr and the All Star Band, and The Temptations. The live footage collected in this series captures the raw energy and emotion of the music as it evolves across the musician's evolution as a performer. Each episode focuses on a specific musical artist's greatest hits and moments, including rare footage. Composed in the form of an anthology, the documentaries reflects the career of the featured musician.
Solos - The Jazz Sessions
SOLOS: The Jazz Sessions is a television music profile and performance series produced in Canada by Original Spin Media. Each episode features musical performances, interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage with contemporary jazz musicians from a variety of styles such as Andrew Hill, Bill Frisell, Greg Osby, John Abercrombie, and Lee Konitz. As guitarist Bill Frisell puts it, "...When you perform solo, it just goes out into space, and you have to come up with ideas right away to follow it up. I learned to allow silence when playing by myself. There's really something special about one person sitting and playing guitar."
African Music
The musicians in this genre range in style from the traditional music of Mali, to Afrobeat, to the spirituality of Gnawa Music, mixed with eclectic influences of funk, jazz, flamenco, blues, and rock. These performances represent legacies of African musical artistry and innovation, with artists hailing from Mali, Morocco, Egypt, and Brooklyn.
Contemporary Jazz
Contemporary jazz is characterized by its intricate harmonies, innovative arrangements, and virtuosic musicianship that pushes the boundaries of musical expression. Encompassing a wide range of styles, from fusion and world music to more traditional jazz, the genre creates mesmerizing sounds and unique rhythms. Artists in this genre include American jazz guitarist John Abercrombie; Vincent Peirani, who reimagines the contemporary jazz concert as a Suite, or a "chamber rock music orchestra”; Hervé Samb, a virtuoso Senegalese jazz guitarist, composer and producer; and more.
Electronic
Featured on the French television show Variations, Chloé and Vassilena Serafimova, Gold Panda and Anoushka Shankar, Robert Hood and Femi Kuti, Vitalic and Emel, and Max Cooper and Uèle Lamore all focus on reimagining the work of other influential music artists in their own way. These experimental performances explore the nooks and crannies of sound and song, creating something entirely new in the process.
Jazz
These recordings of live concerts cover some of the biggest legends in the genre: Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Chick Corea, Bill Evans, Ahmad Jamal, Thelonius Monk, Andrew Hill, Roy Ayers, Dexter Gordon, McCoy Tyner, and more. These titles feature performances at some of the most important jazz clubs and festivals, as well as recordings from television series like Jazz Shots From the East Coast, SOLOS—The Jazz Sessions, and Jazz Legends.
Middle Eastern Music
Artists from Lebanon, Iran, Algeria, Morocco, France, and Palestine bring together a multitude of genres with instruments ranging from the acoustic guitar to the oud. Bachar Mar-Khalifé’s style is a jazz fused with Lebanese music and electronic. The Titi Robin Trio, composed of Titi Robin on guitar, oud, and bouzouk; Habib Meftah on percussion; and Chris Jennings on double bass, create an indefinable music of a multitude of genres and influences. OUM, a Moroccan singer-songwriter, combines hassani, jazz, gospel, soul, afrobeat and Sufi music influences in her songs. Souad Massi's music features the acoustic guitar with stylistic influences from rock and roll, as well as the oud, and sings in Classical Arabic, Algerian Arabic, French, English, and in the Kabyle Berber language.
Reggae
The documentary Jamdown is a fascinating dive into the world of reggae. Filmed in 1980 in the streets of Kingston (“Jamdown” is the slang nickname for Jamaica), this radical testimony erases all traces of commentary in favor of a naturalistic exploration of the place. The film features local Jamaican reggae artists like Dennis Brown and Toots & The Maytals, whose live music performances are also featured here.
Swing
These documentaries and recordings of live concerts present some of the biggest names in jazz and swing: Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole. Documentaries provide new insight into the careers of these musicians, while the Legends in Concert series are composed as anthologies that feature both classic songs and rare performances.
