Even in exploring the West Coast sound, the series does not limit itself to the icons. Not only are there a number of clips by such luminaries as the Gerry Mulligan Quartet and the Dave Brubeck Quartet, there are also performances by those perhaps lesser known to the public, such as Teddy Edwards (who gets three performances on Disc 2) and Jimmy Giuffre (performing with Jim Hall on Disc 3).
Most of the clips are in black and white. In fact, Discs 2 and 3 each have only one color performance. Yet perhaps because of the limitations of black and white, the camera operators seem to focus more on a performer's technique. The viewer gets more close-ups of the style of guitarists Hall and Montgomery and the sax and piano players than tend to occur in the color clips. In fact, some of the color clips seem more interested in soft focus fades and transitions than simply letting the viewer see the artist at work.
Another feeling flows from the black and white clips. The live performances are full of '50s-style sets, seemingly omnipresent white shirts with skinny black ties and an abundance of black horn rimmed glasses. After a while, you begin to feel as if you're part of one of Hugh Hefner's late 1950s Playboy's Penthouse TV shows. Yet that is one luxury the DVDs provide. The only intros are rare ones by the musicians and there is no post-performance talk. This is music for music's sake.
This doesn't mean the series is without flaws. Some are beyond MVD's control. For example, the sound limitations of the original means the DVDs come with only two-channel sound so those with home theater audio set-ups will see no benefit. The most glaring flaws, however, could easily have been avoided.
Undercutting the value of the series is a stunning lack of context. The discs and boxes contain no information about when or where the performances were recorded. This is dismaying for several reasons. There may be an intangible effect on the performance. Someone like Montgomery or even Mulligan may select different approaches or tunes depending on whether it is a club date or television appearance, the location of a club date, the make-up of the audience and any time limitations.
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