TRYING TO GET GOOD - the Jazz Odyssey of Jack Sheldon

This fine documentary came out while the late Jack Sheldon was still among the living, but its existence only came to my attention after Sheldon's recent passing. Due to what are called life's little exigencies, I was never aware of Jack's contributions to The Merv Griffin Show back in the day, and I've never watched Schoolhouse Rock, to which Sheldon contributed voice work. So I only "discovered" Jack in the late 1980s (I'm thinking 1987?) when his LP for Concord Jazz, "Hollywood Heroes," arrived at WHUS-FM Radio at University of Connecticut, where I'd recently started doing a Jazz show. Jack's vocal on "I Thought About You" wowed me no end. I subsequently discovered in the LP library at that station a 1960 Capitol album called "Out!" This contained a song titled "The Atomic Bomb," which in a mere 2 1/2 minutes or so was one of the funniest damn things I've heard in my life!! That album has never been issued on CD (the whole LP only ran about 30 mins.!). A live version of "The Atomic Bomb" appeared on an album called "The Entertainers." That version is even wilder, but didn't quite recapture the charm of the original studio recording for me. This documentary features many interviews with fellow musicians and..."others," including Clint Eastwood (who attempts some scatting with Jack!), Billy Crystal, former Secretary of US Treasury and State James A. Baker (!!), and Dom DeLouise (with his favorite parrot!). And we get to behold the wonder of Chris Botti's hairstyling (must take an hour to get it "just so"!). Some of the musicians interviewed rate Jack as one of the (under-appreciated) greatest trumpeters of them all. Have you heard the original "The Shadow of Your Smile" lately, from soundtrack of the movie "The Sandpiper"?? That's Jack's trumpet work!! Jack Sheldon was, indeed, a true entertainer, in the tradition of Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Ray 'Floor Show' Nance, etc. ....... I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS DOCUMENTARY TO ALL MUSIC LOVERS!!

After working in the 1970's in Monterey California, in radio at a highly rated Top-40 station, doing mornings, for over 5 years, I got around the Monterey Pennisula alot..I discovered at a couple of Dinner Music resturants, this super trumpet player named Jack Sheldon, who hung out with Pebble Beach resident Merv Griffin. Everytime I saw this gentlemen play it was a gas, there is nobody or ever will be again like Jack. With his recent passing I was truly saddened. The dvd Trying To Get Good, is great, watch and listen with a good audio system and you'll love it. The dvd gives great background on Jack, and his lovely mother, that ran the Hollywood swim school. .His daughter is very California Cool herself..So get the dvd, play it, again with a good stereo system, sit back and enjoy, I wish it were twice as long. God Bless you Jack, you will be missed...The Kid. A 43 year radio Vet.. 01/24/2020

Yes, jazz trumpeter, singer, actor, and comedian Jack Sheldon is a national treasure, and this 85+ minute documentary goes a long way to showing why I think so. Sound and picture quality are excellent, there's a nice helping of Jack playing and singing with his big band of the 00s, and lots of folks say nice things about him, including legendary composer Johnny Mandel (who Jack helped win an Oscar for The Shadow of Your Smile with a gorgeous solo on a melody written with him in mind), Clint Eastwood, Billy Crystal, Bill Henderson, Merv Griffin, Ross Tompkins, and Dave Frishberg. The only thing missing was a more generous helping of Jack's crazy comedy -- he's one of the funniest men alive, and many of the guests talked ABOUT it, but the producers of the video apparently felt it was too blue to take a chance on. Or maybe they didn't have the video of it. Whatever the reason, we get to hear only hints of the greatness of his comedic mind. And that's why I'm giving this DVD four stars instead of five.

I've always loved Jack Sheldon's voice from the time that I was just a kid grooving to "Conjunction Junction" and I'm Just a Bill" on Schoolhouse Rock on Saturday mornings. Little did I know back then just how much more there was to Jack's music, and that I was only getting a very small idea of how tremendously talented this man is. This movie was a captivating look at Jack Sheldon's music as well as giving one a sense of what Jack Sheldon is like as a man. The interviews with his contemporaries and snippets of his performances, particularly when paired with Merv Griffin, are very funny and hugely entertaining. If you are a fan of Jack or just curious, I would highly recommend this film.

Much thanks to whoever is responsible for making this documentary available again after Jack Sheldon’s recent demise. My childhood consists of much laughter watching Mr. Sheldon on TV in Run, Buddy, Run and then on Merv. His musical accomplishments were also quite impressive if not legendary. This documentary is a fine tribute to a great man.

Great documentary on Jack Sheldon the trumpet player. Always like the sound of Sheldon's trumpet and had no idea what made the sound so great. Not only is the documentary good but you get an idea of how much work and dedication it takes to be one of the best. With quick electronic music on the computer, you can pump out music in a few hours but you can't get that soul without the life that goes into the music. This will make you want to go out an collect everything "Sheldon". That trumpet just touches you heart and soul.

Must have for the Jack Sheldon fan! Tells the story of how many people he touched and how his sound became so unique and beloved. Great opportunity to hear live performance clips of hard to find songs and you can steal a couple of his jokes too!

1.5 hours of how great Jack is and was on his horn. I was bored 20 minutes into this dvd. The first 20 minutes are the same as the rest of this dvd.