Bring on the night - vivi la notte

They don't get much better than this. This is one of those films that after viewing, you want to thank the producers for capturing and preserving the events for all of us to repeatedly enjoy.

I came to this project knowing little of Sting and his music and being more familiar with the work of the Saxophonist, Brandford Marsalis, of the renown New Orleans Marsalis music family. I later learned that Sting was receiving much of the same criticisms Mr. Marsalis and his fellow musicians were receiving for joining in on this project of merged rock/jazz/blues/funk idioms. However, as we all know, the critics travel at a slower speed than the artists and often require time to catch up. One need only reflect on Gershwin's 'Porgy and Bess,' 'Charlie Parker with Strings,' or any other project that breaks from traditional established patterns.

Twenty years later, this is still some of the best music made. It rocks in the full sense of the word. This group of personnel were only together for a relatively short period of time, but fortunately, we have this event and period captured on video. When the pianist in this film, Kenny Kirkland, past away at such a young age in 1998, I was reminded of the great work of all the musicians in this film.

Overall it's very interesting to follow the start of Sting's "new" music career after The Police. I think a lot of fans might have been disappointed, since the music he started playing after leaving The Police was completely different from what he used to do. However, I think this movie really shows what a incredible and talented musician Sting is. "Bring on the night" is a film that all fans of Sting & The Police MUST see. It's interesting to hear Sting talking about some of his experiences considering music. Yes, he seems a little arrogant in person - almost depressed. But his stage prescens is one of a kind. His voice sounds better and more clean than when he was in The Police and it's fun to see him play other instruments than bass guitar, like piano and electric guitar. Not many people know that he also plays the saxophone, oboe, banjo and several other instruments and is in fact very scilled in playing them.

When this first came out 20 years ago I wasn't convinced Sting was as good as some (and he) would have us believe. After watching it, however, I had no doubts that this guy was a musical genius. Arrogant at times, but more often confident, he gambled his future on going solo, departing from perhaps the best rock group of its or any other time, the Police, and then rolled the dice again by allowing a film crew to capture the evolution of his new band from its inception. Shot on location primarily in and around Paris, the documentary-music-concert is full of revealing footage, showing the master at work as he directs his accomplished charges down a new path. The video is also filled, thanks to the wonderfully adroit editing of director Michael Apted, with light and spontaneous moments, banter and jockeying, as the musicians get to know themselves both as professionals and as people. In addition, candid and sometimes unpredictable interviews with Sting, the players, the band's manager, photographer, and others are strategically spliced into the body of the work. Fortunately free of the tantrums or heated exchanges so common in today's reality TV, this is nonetheless as authentic a portrait of music life behind the scenes as exists anywhere. The triumphant culmination is the concert where Sting unveils the band as well as his new material to an enthusiastic French audience. There are some surprises along the way, a questionable shot or two, but overall this is a real treat and one of its kind.

Good documentary featuring Sting and his new band doing a lot of rehearsing in a grand old domicile. We are treated not only to the final touches of putting together a new set of songs, but a peek into the more relaxed moments together and a rousing concert finale. An eye opening look into the inner workings of a jazz band and the mind of a talented entertainer.

This is not a revealing doco. It's a celebration of the artist, Sting. On this tour he manages to round up some fine Jazz musicians and slot them right into his creative process. A few insightful moments are delivered but in the end it has nothing new to offer but a free peak into the workings of another creative mind in progress.