neveronfriday Posted December 8, 2004 Report Posted December 8, 2004 I have lots of Christmas CDs, most of them jazz or "jazzy" ones. There's only one which is way up there, heads above the rest (... without counting I would say I have about 40 X-mas CDs and many of the ones mentioned above): Bugge Wesseltoft. It's Snowing on My Piano. Act 1997 Tracks: 1.It's Snowing On My Piano 2.In Dulce Jubilo 3.Mitt Hjerte Alltid Vanker 4.Deilig Er Jorden 5.O Little Town Of Bethlehem 6.Du Groenne,Glitrende Tre 7.Det Kimer Naa Til Julefest 8.What Child Is This? (Greensleeves) 9.Kimer,I Klokker 10.Es Ist Ein Ros Entsprungen 11.Stille Nacht 12.Into Eternal Silence It's the most lyrical, soothing and wonderful CD I have in my collection., So much so that I even play it in the middle of the summer. I've given it away as a present at least 70 or 80 times since 1997 and have yet to meet a single person who wasn't taken by this recording. Absolutely wonderful, and highly recommended. It's a solo piano recording. Skip the title track and start with track 2 ... and enjoy. Marvelous sparse improvisation that I find stunning every time I hear this CD (which is really very often). Give this one a try. In my collection it is simply also one of the very best CDs I have. It's one of the very, very few I never get tired of. Not even remotely. Cheers! P.S.: This is not at all representative of what Wesseltoft usually plays ... electronic jazz which can and sometimes does border on dub music. Quote
David Ayers Posted December 8, 2004 Report Posted December 8, 2004 I don't like cheesy jazz christmas tunes! My favorite Christmas listening is Bach's Christmas Oratorio. And not the jazz version! Quote
Big Al Posted December 8, 2004 Report Posted December 8, 2004 Vince Guaraldi - Charlie Brown Christmas Kenny Burrell - Have a Soulful Little Christmas And I am not ashamed to say that I dig the Christmas albums by Percy Faith, Johnny Mathis, and Andy Williams. Quote
sjarrell Posted December 8, 2004 Report Posted December 8, 2004 I left out Ella's Swinging Christmas... Quote
Brandon Burke Posted December 8, 2004 Report Posted December 8, 2004 X-Mas tune or not, "Jingle Bells" absolutely rips on this... Quote
neveronfriday Posted December 8, 2004 Report Posted December 8, 2004 I don't like most of the album, but "Sleigh Ride" has kicked off the 24th of December in my house since the CD came out. The audio quality of the sample on amazon.com sucks ... that number played on a powerful stereo with good sound just smokes ... rocks ... shakes the walls ... Love it! Cheers! Quote
ghost of miles Posted December 9, 2004 Report Posted December 9, 2004 Ramsey Lewis, SOUND OF CHRISTMAS. The Kenny Burrell, which was just reissued last year, I think, is also quite good, as other posters mentioned. I also like his version of "A Child Is Born" that appears on his CTI record GOD BLESS THE CHILD. And yes, that Uptown CD is a worthy pickup. Quote
Chrome Posted December 9, 2004 Report Posted December 9, 2004 My favorite Xmas tune resides on this disc: Roosevelt Sykes: Dresser Drawers Got my baby a new dresser for Christmas And she let ramble all in her drawers And she let me feel all around in her drawers I might wrinkle her linens, but I looking for her Santa Clause... Have you heard Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller) do his version of that? One of my faves ... Also, I'm a sucker for "2000 Miles" by the Pretenders. Quote
Brownian Motion Posted December 10, 2004 Report Posted December 10, 2004 I just love Marcus Roberts' "Prayer For Peace"! I'll second this. Don't know if it's been mentioned, but Joe Pass' "Six String Santa" is both holiday music and good jazz. Quote
Alexander Posted December 10, 2004 Report Posted December 10, 2004 Greatest Christmas album EVER is... "I love those J-I-N-G-L-E bells..." This one's not bad either... ...especially "(It Must've Been Old) Santa Claus." "Happy Ho-Ho-Ho to you!" Quote
sheldonm Posted December 10, 2004 Report Posted December 10, 2004 (edited) Ellington's Nutcracker Suite. That's the best there is. Lou I just photographed a local jazz orchestra last weekend (Buselli Wallarab Jazz Orchestra) that did their rendition of Duke's classic; very nice! Mark Edited December 10, 2004 by sheldonm Quote
Brandon Burke Posted December 10, 2004 Report Posted December 10, 2004 I don't like cheesy jazz christmas tunes! My favorite Christmas listening is Bach's Christmas Oratorio. And not the jazz version! Christmas songs, in and of themselves, are standards just like Cole Porter, the Gershwins, etc. And I happen to like many of those themes/heads quite a bit, regardless of the season. The way I see it, whether or not a jazzy Christmas tune is cheesy is the responsibility of the perfrormer and not the tune itself. Quote
A Lark Ascending Posted December 11, 2004 Report Posted December 11, 2004 My favourites: Coope Boyes and Simson - 'A Garland of Carols' Coope Boyes and Simson - 'Fire & Sleet & Candlelight' ('Can We Have Christmas Now?' Sari & Mari Kaasinen) ************* Individually two tracks haunt me: 'Shepherds Arise' off the album 'The Mysteries' performed by various people in the Home Service/Albion Band. 'In the Bleak Midwinter' - an absolutely exquisite version of Holst's tune from Henry Lowther's Stillwaters disc, 'I.D.' One of my favourite discs with this lovely little carol tucked away at the end. Quote
ghost of miles Posted December 11, 2004 Report Posted December 11, 2004 Not music, per se, but did anybody mention Louis Armstrong's reading of "The Night Before Christmas" yet? Recorded about a year before Satchmo's death... we play it every Christmas Eve here at WFIU. Quote
brownie Posted December 12, 2004 Report Posted December 12, 2004 I don't care much for jazzy Christmas music and have no favorite. But sometime when the mood is right I'll play a 10-incher I found a few years ago: Urbie Green and his All-Stars A Cool Yuletide The All Stars were Joe Wilder, Green, Al Cohn, Al Epstein, Buddy Weed, Mundell Lowe, Milt (he still was Milton) Hinton and Jimmie Crawford. Arrangements are credited to Charlie Shirley who I had never heard of before (the notes indicate he wrote for various bands including Stan Kenton, Ray Antony, Sam Donahue, etc. The Xmas classics include 'Jingle Bells', 'White Christmas', 'Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer' among others. Fun, swinging and unpretentious album. The 1954 (?) session was recorded for the X label. Quote
paul secor Posted December 13, 2004 Report Posted December 13, 2004 My favorite Christmas recording is the Roches We Three Kings, but I wouldn't want to leave out: John Fahey's The New Possibility - Guitar Soli Christmas Album (Rhino CD) - minus one track due to time limitations, and John Fahey: Christmas Guitar (Rounder) - 1982 rerecordings of some of the same material - but well worth hearing, and John Fahey: Popular Songs of Christmas & New Year's (Rounder). New England Christmastide (North Star) - "Traditional carols and melodies performed on authentic instruments in the spirit of old New England" - their description. I'm not sure if there are any unauthentic instruments in this world, but this is very fine listening. Plus a couple of Rhino collections: Blue Yule - Holiday blues sides, including Eddie C. Campbell's "Santa's Messin' with the Kid", Texas Pete Mayes' "Christmas Holidays", and Poppa Hop Wilson's "Merry Christmas Darling". and Hipster's Holiday, with Babs Gonsales' "Be-Bop Santa Claus". Quote
Brandon Burke Posted December 13, 2004 Report Posted December 13, 2004 (edited) How about "It's Christmas Time" and "Happy New Year to You" from the Sun Ra Singles comp... Edited December 13, 2004 by Brandon Burke Quote
SEK Posted December 14, 2004 Report Posted December 14, 2004 I try to avoid Christmas music per se, but I do like "It Came upon a Midnight Clear" on Billy Harper's "Soul of An Angel". I also like Rahsaan Roland Kirk's "We Free Kings". Quote
John B Posted December 21, 2004 Report Posted December 21, 2004 My favorite Christmas music (although I won't be spinning it when the in-laws are in town) is a 7" record by a Boston punk band The Showcase Showdown called Merry Christmas, I F*cked Your Snowman / Ho Ho Ho Chi Minh. The cover art with Ho in a Santa cap is priceless. Quote
paul secor Posted December 23, 2004 Report Posted December 23, 2004 How could I have forgotten Robert Earl Keen's "Merry Christmas from the Family" on his Gringo Honeymoon CD? If you haven't heard it, get it and it will become a Christmas staple. Quote
chris olivarez Posted December 23, 2004 Report Posted December 23, 2004 I added two new ones to my collection this year. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. It has two versions of Jingle Bells and the hidden bonus track immediately became my favorite version of the tune. Also I bought one called "Christmas Gumbo" a brand new compilation featuring Sonny Landreth w/the Dixie Cups, Irma Thomas,Bo Dollis,the Subdudes,Aaron Neville and others. It's an absolute jewel. Others you can't go wrong with IMO are the Roomful Of Blues,Ella Fitzgerald and the Blind Boys of Alabama. The new Harry Connick cd "Harry For The Holidays" has some nice arrangements. Quote
Free For All Posted November 24, 2005 Report Posted November 24, 2005 (edited) Up for a couple new additions: Diana Krall's Christmas Songs I've been enjoying this one, and John Clayton's arrangements sound great. June Christy's This Time Of Year I wasn't even aware of this one until recently. Pete Rugolo arrangements and kind of a melancholy vibe to the whole thing which I happen to like. I get burned out on Christmas music by Dec. 25th, so I get started early. Any other new additions that are worthy of perusal? Edited November 24, 2005 by Free For All Quote
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