Paris is obviously one of the Yellowjackets' favorite cities when it comes to performing live. First, they recorded the CD portion of their live CD/DVD Twenty Five in 2005 (the DVD portion was recorded in Italy). Then, in March 2008, they filmed their live DVD The Paris Concert at The New Morning (a well-known Paris jazz club). It isn't hard to understand why the Yellowjackets think highly of Paris from a jazz standpoint; France has some of the world's most knowledgeable and enthusiastic jazz fans, and given the hellbent-for-improvisation outlook that the Yellowjackets have had since 1990's Greenhouse, it makes perfect sense for them to record in one of the world's more jazz-friendly cities. The Paris Concert finds the Yellowjackets' 2008 lineup (Russell Ferrante on electric keyboards and acoustic piano, Bob Mintzer on tenor sax and EWI, Jimmy Haslip on electric bass, and Marcus Baylor on drums) in fine form during a 98-minute fusion/post-bop set that favors Mintzer-era material from the '90s and 2000s. Mintzer, who joined the Yellowjackets with Greenhouse, has been given much of the credit for the band's movement in a more improvisatory direction--and he really soars on inspired performances of Dewey, Healing Waters, Prayer for Peace, and other songs the Yellowjackets have unveiled since his arrival. Mintzer is as exciting on EWI as he is on tenor, and similarly, Ferrante is as memorable on acoustic piano as he is on electric keyboards. The Paris Concert underscores the fact that while Mintzer's influence hasn't caused the Yellowjackets to give up fusion, lose their appreciation of Weather Report, or abandon electric instruments, it has definitely helped make acoustic instruments and post-bop considerations much more prominent in their work. Fans of Mintzer-era Yellowjackets will find The Paris Concert to be a consistently rewarding document of their March 2008 appearance at The New Morning. ~ Alex Henderson, Rovi

1		Aha
2		Capetown
3		Bop Boy
4		Prayer For Peace
5		Cross Current
6		Dewey
7		With These Hands
8		Freedomland
9		Even Song
10		Downtown
11		Healing Waters
12		Evening News
13		Bonus Material

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