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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: Rhino / Wea
Salesrank: 49842
Released: November 16, 2004 |
| Our Price: $10.00 |
| Used Price: $7.98 |
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
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| Features:
Color DVD Live NTSC | |
Editorial Review:
Featuring a very rare 1963 performance of Ray Charles in Sao Paulo, Brazil, recorded one day before his 33rd birthday, the concert material showcased on this disc is a remarkable find. Beyond its historical significance, the video provides enormous pleasure: we get to see and hear Ray, the Genius (O-Genio means "The Genius" in Portuguese), at his absolute best, exactly as it was shown then, complete with Brazilian commercials.
Description of Ray Charles - O Genio - Live in Brazil 1963:
O Genio: Live in Brazil 1963 is a fairly astonishing document, and an invaluable addition to the catalog of one the great artists of the 20th Century. Here's Ray Charles, "O Genio" ("The Genius" in Portuguese), 32 years old and in his absolute prime, a few years after he essentially "invented" soul music with his classic Atlantic Records recordings and just a year after he'd transformed popular music again with Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. The DVD finds Charles and his orchestra performing two full sets in Sao Paulo; both are in black and white and contain many of the same songs (although for some reason the sound and visual quality of the first set is far superior to that of the second). And what songs they are. When a guy opens his set with one of his biggest hits, "What'd I Say," you know you're in for something special. And Charles doesn't disappoint, drawing on the all aspects of his repertoire, including some C&W (only Ray Charles could turn the hokey "You Are My Sunshine" into a funky, swinging affair), blues ("In the Evening (When the Sun Goes Down)"), and jazz ("Birth of a Band" and Bobby Timmons's classic "Moanin'," both instrumentals, are among the highlights), in addition to "Hit the Road Jack," Hallelujah I Love Her So," and other Charles standards. The band includes saxophonist David "Fathead" Newman and Margie Hendrix, perhaps the greatest Raelette of all, but the star of this show is Ray Charles, and O Genio: Live in Brazil 1963 is a wonderful opportunity to experience the master at work. --Sam Graham
Ray Charles - O Genio - Live in Brazil 1963 Reviews:
Ray is the best. 
2008-06-02 - This video is wonderful. It shows a young Ray Charles doing what he does best, making good music. I recommend purchasing this dvd.
JTinPhoenix
2007-12-17 - I had the the good fortune to see Ray Charles live in Memphis, TN. in 1963 when I was 18. I stll rate that show as one of the greatest experiences in my life. What a wonderful thing to play this DVD and relive that time 45 years later. Of course the DVD can't compare to seeing Ray live in concert when he was at his peak but it's still a real nice stand in.
THE ONE AND ONLY RAY AT HIS BEST
2007-11-27 - A FRIEND BOUGHT THIS DVD FOR ME KNOWING HOW MUCH I LOVE RAY...AND ITS PROBALLY THE BEST DVD I NOW OWN...FROM THE VERY START TEH BAND IS COOKING ON WHAT I SAY AND THEY KEEP ON ROCKING UNTIL THEY GET TO A SLOW BLUES WHERE IT SIMPLY OOOZES OF FEELING !!
BY THE TIME THEY GET TO SOME BE BOP ARRANGEMENTS WHICH JUST HAPPEN TO FEATURE RAY ON HORN YOU ARE TOTALLY OVERTAKEN BY THE FACT THAT THIS WAS A TRUE GENIUS AT WORK !!
NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN....WHAT A PLEASURE IT IS FOR US TO HAVE HIS WORK TO SEE....THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH STARS TO RATE THIS ONE....BUT I'LL SAY AT LEAST 10 STARS AND A HUGE THUMBS UP !!!!!!!!!
BIG JOE M
RAY CHARLES IN BRAZIL
2007-08-07 - Finally I got to see some of the faces that made the music I've been cherishing since 1959. Raelettes of course, I had seen the girls before live but the real killer for me was to finally see the man who played that beautiful, soulful muted trumpet sound behind some of Ray's really deep blues tunes like, 'But On the Other Hand Baby.'
Watch and listen as "In the Evening' comes to life behind his 'call response' to Ray.
His name is Phillip Guilbeau and I wish I could find this man to say thank you. I read once that Ray loved that sound so much he made sure to feature him. Not sure where this man is now but we owe him much.
Leroy "Hog" Cooper was there too and Hank and "Fathead." A great find. I can only pray there is more footage somewhere. Get this and see what a great band sounds like. We may never hear the like again because nobody plays many of those instruments. We are glutted with guitars but where are the reeds and brass??? Sigh.
Fantastic Performance, but.... 
2007-07-05 - Overall, as the other reviewers have stated, this is an AMAZING performance by Ray Charles in his prime. This is a great dvd to own, but, and it's a big reservation for me, is that the record company chose to use such an abysmally low bitrate on the ac3 audio. 192kbps. I mean come on people! This deserves lpcm audio!! At the VERY LEAST 448Kb's ac3. I know the audio quality of the original masters wasn't as good as what's available today, but they could have at LEAST put a decent bitrate on the audio. Such a performance cries out for good audio. It's such a pity, otherwise I would have given it 5 stars, but the low bitrate audio is a big let down from what would have otherwise been a perfect dvd for me.
