It would fall under education fair use if shown at an accredited school.

Outside of that it may not be worth the risk, as the educational fair use exemption does not apply to commercial programs (I'm not a lawyer, but this is my understanding of what my lawyers have told me on the issue).

Too bad this is not just enforced by the Feds, as they have just about stopped all enforcement of medical supplier mishaps (like filling oxygen tubes with nitrogen so people died, no action necessary), medical lab problems (quality standards don't matter as nobody cares), federally funded organ transplant programs (one fifth don't fulfill regulations for patient death rates or surgeon competence), environmental laws (only enforced by lawsuit), etc., etc.

Perhaps they are focused on looking for Al Qaeda in Iraq, now that the guy who kept AQ out is behind bars.

Ken -
Getting the right to record any tracks should be pretty easy and pretty cheap, as long as you are not using the original artists or their tracks.
Try checking out publishing rights, limited usage from ASCAP.
Not that long ago I produced a video for Prudential with about 30 to 40 HUGE songs (the whole point of the video) using a "copy" group.
The royalties were minimal.
Check it out - do NOT steal under any circumstance (even if you have to give up the concept) - they will definitely nail your ass to the wall, and without a warning.
v

Ken,
If it's for ed use, not for profit, and you're using it to illustrate a point such as "In this riff by Coltrane, we hear XXXX" and it's a commentary on the point itself, you're likely good on the Fair Use front. If it's a riff that comes from Coltrane that you're using for the sake of using it, and no expression of educating someone on Coltrane, you're likely in hot water.
Recording the work on its own by yourself, means you own the master, you only have to pay mechanicals which in this case would be exceptionally minimal, and if the recordings are as old as you bring up...they're also negotiable.
It's not stealing if you perform the work yourself and pay a compulsory on it, and as mentioned earlier, the compulsory is completely negotiable. The *MAX* you'd have to pay is less than a buck a DVD. Compulsories are controlled by law, post 1974.

Thanks very much - it's good to know what some of the issues are.... yes the DVDs are for-profit, so that may be an issue re possibly not being protected by Fair Use... well it's good to know too, re mechnicals/compulsories ... thanks for the tips on that ....

looks like I'll just have to use other examples then, which is okay ... to avoid possible liabilities.... that's one good thing about jazz, eg I suppose I'll just come up w/improv riffs on my own... should be a fun project... thx for the tips!

ken

Even if you're recording the work yourself as soon as it's synced to vision, sorry you have to negotiate, compulsories only cover audio recordings.
Been down this path for a client with APRA and ACC, even though it's just vision of the client sitting at a piano playing and singing all bets are off. Of course this is in Australia but I suspect it's the same everywhere.

Bob.

thanks everyone ... and I'll provide comp copies of the dvd of course, to all who answered, if you'd like... I'll remember to contact you all .. should be a fun product to make... though it's hard to capture the same energy as I did back when I was playing in nightclubs all over L.A, in the home basement video studio ... :p

thx again all,

ken