3 Mo' Divas

3 Mo' Divas Blu-ray offers solid video and audio in this enjoyable Blu-ray release
Marion J Caffey's '3 Mo' Divas'.

For more about 3 Mo' Divas and the 3 Mo' Divas Blu-ray release, see the 3 Mo' Divas Blu-ray Review

Starring: Laurice Lanier, Nova Y. Payton, Jamet Pittman
Directors: Bill Cosel, Marion J. Caffey

» See full cast & crew

3 Mo' Divas Blu-ray Review

"To sound like one well-oiled machine, working together. There's brilliance in that.”

Reviewed by Casey Broadwater, June 21, 2009

From Maria Callas and her sublime operatic arias, to Brittney Spears' over-inflated bubblegum pop, the term diva has proved one of musical culture's most enduring and malleable tropes. It can be a highbrow compliment, a low-blow accusation, or for those women who apply the word to themselves, a snobbish assertion of self-worth. While it was once a designation for female opera singers who showcased unique vocal ability, it's been broadened to encompass talent's frequent and obnoxious companion, ego. Divas are all about attitude now, about demurring their nipple- slip wardrobe malfunctions at award shows, and insisting on brand new toilet seats and 24-carat gold faucets in their plush hotel rooms. Thankfully, 3 Mo' Divas harkens back to the good old days of diva-hood, when prima donnas could actually sing. Don't get me wrong, these three songstresses toss out their fare share of sass during 3 Mo' Divas brief, 58 minute run time, but it never overshadows the real stars of the show, their well-trained and audience-wowing voices.

3 Mo' Divas show us how it's done.

Created by Marion J. Caffey—producer of the previous hit Three Mo' Tenors—Three Mo' Divas is a "musical celebration of class, sass, and style," featuring ten musical genres and 17 tunes taken from over 200 years of songwriting. The diversity of the offerings is the big draw here, as the three divas cover everything from Quando m'en vó (from Pucinni's La Boheme) to Let the Good Times Roll. The crazy thing is, they have the vocal chops to pull off every stylistic switcheroo that's thrown at them. It can't be easy to go from high opera to Defying Gravity, but the ladies handle everything from jazz, blues, show tunes, and gospel with equal aplomb.

The three performers are all classically trained, and it shows. Mezzo-soprano Laurice Lanier is the group's anchor, and in God Bless the Child she shows off a syrupy, molasses-thick voice that can go from a low moan to a tiger growl in no time flat. Soprano Nova Y. Payton slides through a slow and sexed-up version of Summertime, while the bass slinks in through an open window and a saxophone wails somewhere in the easy livin' city below. And fellow soprano Jamet Pittman tickles the ivories and puts her vocal chords to work during Everything Must Change. Each diva's solos delight, but the show is at its best when they join forces. I'm Every Woman is the night's big crowd-pleaser, starting with a sultry hush before a disco ball drops and the funk comes alive, sending audience members dancing through the aisles. Then, in the next moment, the three divas belt out a rendition of His Eye is on the Sparrow that puts to shame anything I ever heard in church as a kid.

I'm going to be honest though. The music in 3 Mo' Divas really isn't my thing—at all. That said, even I was impressed by the dynamic vocal prowess on display. If you like this kind of music—these kinds of music, I should say—then you'll probably be doubly awed by the three divas' genre-bending performances. The show is fairly sparse in terms of set design, lighting, and costuming, but this definitely allows the vocals to take the forefront. Just be aware that this is purely a concert, and not some decadent Baz Luhrmann-esque spectacle.

3 Mo' Divas Blu-ray, Video Quality

 

There's not much going on visually during 3 Mo' Divas, but this 1080i, AVC-encoded transfer presents a faithful—and sharp—representation of the concert. The areas surrounding the stage are dark, so it's fortunate that black levels are as deep as they are, or else the screen would be constantly covered with a grayish haze. Colors too are strong and well saturated, from the divas' cherry-red dresses to the purple lighting that backs the band. My only complaint is that, when the audience is being filmed, the white balance takes on an extremely yellow cast, and the digital video displays some expected, but significant noise. This isn't a transfer issue, however, and simply relates to differences in lighting between the crowd and the stage.

3 Mo' Divas Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 

3 Mo' Divas sports a good-but-not-great Dolby Digital 5.1 mix that lacks a true sense of balance because of the way it spreads the music out equally across the channels. I tried sitting close to my left rear speaker, then the front right, and the response was basically the same. While this isn't a huge issue—it would have been far worse and gimmicky to spread the vocals across the channels—I would have actually preferred a more front-heavy vocal mix that left the rear channels to handle ambient crowd noise and the performance center's natural reverb. Clarity isn't an issue, however, and the track handles the dynamic range of the divas' voices—from the lowest bellow to the highest shout—with sufficient response. The music is also handled well, though the bass could certainly use some boost. One strange issue I noticed though was that the volume sometimes seemed to dip toward the end of certain vocal phrasings. This could be attributable, however, to some of the women's overlapping voices, or perhaps the way their microphones were arranged.

3 Mo' Divas Blu-ray, Special Features and Extras

 

8 Mo' Songs (1080i, 28:37)

It seems that PBS cut these songs, which were performed on tour, to fit the program's one-hour running time.

1.Del mio dolce ardor
2. Lo son l'umile ancella
3. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
4. Moody's Mood for Love
5. Solitude
6. Strange Fruit/Lament
7. Downhearted Blue
8. Mon coeur s'ouvre a tà voix

The disc also includes a text-only, "Meet the Divas" biography section.

3 Mo' Divas Blu-ray, Overall Score and Recommendation

 

While the songs aren't my style, I have to give 3 Mo' Divas some credit for putting on an impressive show filled with all manner of vocal gymnastics, and fans of blues, jazz, and opera will likely flip for this release. For a one-hour program, however, it seems to me that the $29.99 SRP is a little high. Even the three women seem to acknowledge this when they sing,"You better bring a big bank roll, 'cause baby mo' divas in town."

PBS has announced that they will bring the concert '3 Mo' Divas' to Blu-ray on May 12th, day-and-date with the DVD release. The concert, which was filmed at Denver Center Theater Company in Denver, CO last July, will be broadcast in March. No technical specs or ...