[Web master's note: Northern California film critic Derrick Bang — the eldest, youngest and only son of this site's primary jazz guru, Ric Bang — has surveyed the holiday jazz scene for more than a quarter century (!). Check out previous columns by clicking on the CHRISTMAS label below.]
Holiday albums appear earlier every year, so I was able to begin this annual survey in October ... and, for the next several weeks, it looked like 2024 would be a dismal year for new holiday jazz releases.
Happily, things improved as we slid into mid-November — thanks also to a few slightly older international albums that came to my attention — and you’ll find plenty to enjoy here (along with a few ... not so much).
Onward!
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It’s Christmas Again, the most recent of their three albums, was released just a little over a year ago. The arrangements are inventive, and solos are just as dynamic as the unison horn work. A strong sense of fun radiates from this album, which is immediately evident in a rollicking, up-tempo handling of “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” powered by Cameron Escovedo’s drumming, and highlighted by John Marshall’s tenor sax solo.
“Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” is equally vibrant, with an intro by the full band segueing to lovely unison horns delivering the familiar melody. Jay Orig’s sassy piano solo is complemented by Dave Lobenstein’s walking bass; Baron Lewis then delivers a sparkling trumpet solo, after which the full unit returns for a thundering finale. “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” emerges as a delicious cha-cha, with solos on trombone (Joey Devassy), alto sax (Chris Donohue) and trumpet (Damien Pacheco), backed by Orig’s delicate piano filigrees. You’ll also hear a cheeky bit of horseracing’s “First Call.”
Sweet unison horns are backed by a percussive, toe-tapping vamp in “Little Drummer Boy,” with fanfares introducing tasty solos on alto sax (Jim Miceli) and tenor sax (Alejandro Aviles).
My favorite track, though, is the 5/4 arrangement (!) of “Christmas Time Is Here.” Escovedo and Lobenstein lay down a swinging beat behind the unison horns that carry the theme, with improv shading supplied by Donohoe’s alto sax and Marshall’s tenor sax. (I played this track three times, before listening to the rest of the album.)
The party concludes with a leisurely, wistful reading of “Auld Lang Syne,” with unison horns backed by Escovedo’s strong beat; the arrangement has a definite “end of the evening vibe,” augmented by brief solos on tenor sax (Marshall) and trombone (Joey Devassy).
My sole lament is that the album favors horn solos; I wish Orig had cut loose on piano a few more times. Hold that thought for the next time!
He returns this year with It’s Christmas, which I deem a step backwards. Although Braun and co-arranger Philippe Saisse deliver some clever medleys and twists on familiar chestnuts, only one track truly swings: the album-opener “Deck Those Halls,” a feisty 4/4 arrangement powered by rollicking percussion and highlighted by sassy solos on trumpet and valve trombone.
A few other tracks qualify as enjoyable smooth jazz, notably the reverential “The Coventry Torch Song” — a mash-up of “The Coventry Carol” and “Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella” — which finds Braun’s horns sounding particularly sweet; and the mildly saucy “God Rest Ye Merry, Gents,” which features the five unison horns of the “Pinot Noir Brass,” which become increasingly powerful over the course of a couple key changes.
Thanks to the magic of overdubbing, Braun frequently supports himself on trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone and keyboards. Indeed, the aforementioned “Coventry Torch Song” appears to involve an impressive wall of brass, although the many Brauns are accompanied by only one other player: John Dickson on French horn.
On a some less satisfying notes...
Despite four different drummers involved with seven of these 10 tracks, they’re indistinctly interchangeable, mostly repetitive and monotonous. A string section adds nothing positive to “The Christmas Song,” “It’s Christmas” and “Christmas Eve Waltz”; the latter two are Braun originals, and definitely aren’t jazz. The same can be said of “Do You Hear the Angels” — an ambitious blend of “Joy to the World,” “Angels We Have Heard on High,” “Do You Hear What I Hear” and “O Come All Ye Faithful” — which emerges less like jazz, and more like a music class exercise.
Aside from wearing multiple hats as singer, multi-instrumentalist and arranger, Braun also produced this album. Perhaps he should delegate more, next time around?
He shares the session with Steve Rudolph, piano; John Shannon, guitar; Tony DePaolis, bass; and Reid Hoyson, drums. The arrangements are leisurely and thoughtful, a familiar melody often heard only briefly at the head and tail of a given track, often backed by soft percussive vamps.
The opening medley, “Christmas Time Is Here”/“A Child Is Born,” sets the album’s lyrical tone. Meurkens smoothly shifts from harmonica to vibes, trading the melody with Shannon’s deft guitar work; the transition from one song to the second is so seamless, that one might imagine they were designed to be performed together. The melody of the Welsh hymn “All Through the Night” is barely recognized as that track begins, but then Shannon’s guitar makes it more obvious; the subsequent interplay is gorgeous.
Meurkens likes to surprise listeners with unexpected shifts into mid-tempo swing time; that’s the case with “Silver Bells” and a medley of “Greensleeves”/“Little Waltz” where — again — the transition from one tune to the other is so subtle, that it’s difficult to nail down when it occurs. DePaolis also delivers a sparkling bass solo in that medley.
Rudolph’s thoughtful piano solo introduces a lengthy handling of “The Christmas Song,” which trades the melody between harmonica and guitar, then grants lengthy solos to both instruments before a gentle fade.
The final track, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” is a duet by Rudolph and Meurkens. A sweet piano intro segues to gentle comping, as Meurkens’ harmonica takes the melody of this poignant World War II-era classic: a lovely conclusion to an accomplished and thoroughly enjoyable hour of music.
Vega’s All Is Merry and Bright is “quiet jazz”: lyrical, contemplative and just right for the conclusion of a long evening. Almost all of these songs are solemn hymns and church spirituals; you won’t find the likes of Frosty or Rudolph here.
Vega is supported by bassist Clovis Nicolas and drummer Pete Van Nostrand, although three of these 11 tracks feature the pianist as a soloist. That’s true of Vega’s soft, sweet, album-opening handling of “Once in Royal David’s City”; his solo arrangement of “O Little Town of Bethlehem” is equally lovely.
In the trio configuration, Vega’s arrangements favor his piano against quiet bass and drum work, as with “O Come O Come Emmanuel,” with Nicolas’ bass maintaining a tasty vamp against Vega’s gentle handling of the melody; this segues to a lyrical keyboard bridge that offers a hint of what he sounds like, when he truly cuts loose.
Nicolas gets a solo during “Greensleeves,” which opens and closes with all three musicians vamping in and around the familiar melody. “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” opens with reverential solo piano, with Vega’s right hand wandering in and out of the melody, against a shimmering left hand.
“Auld Lang Syne” is the most ambitious track, at more than 6 minutes; the trio introduces the song’s quietly melancholic atmosphere, and then wanders into a series of improvisational bridges, which ultimately find their way back to the melody.
“Deck the Halls” is the atmospheric outlier: a lively arrangement boasting peppy keyboard work against cool walking bass, with Vega highlighting the melody via cute “call and response” touches. The album concludes with an appropriately solemn reading of “Silent Night” that opens with gentle solo piano; Nicolas’ quite bass and Van Nostrand’s brushed drums enter so quietly, that they’re scarcely noticed at first. It’s an exquisite conclusion to a gorgeous album.
All that aside, the second disc’s final five tunes are Christmas songs, done in a quieter style. Brown favors slow arrangements and ensemble work, starting with a peaceful reading of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” with the melody traded between lovely unison horns, Brown’s vibes and Eddie Mendenhall’s piano; the tune concludes with a brief quote from “Deck the Halls.”
Don Beck’s sweet solo trumpet opens a wistful reading of “Christmas Time Is Here,” backed by ensemble comping; the intensity builds slightly to a droll touch of Schroeder, thanks again to Mendenhall. Unison horns are backed by gentle percussion on “The Christmas Song,” an arrangement that the group has performed at concerts for 27 years.
A peppier handling of “Jingle Bells” is delivered in 7/4 time (!), backed by terrific swing percussion and highlighted by Erik Jekabson’s trumpet solo. The set concludes with a quiet, leisurely reading of “A Christmas Love Song,” a lesser-known holiday chestnut with the melody traded between vibes and unison horns, building to what Brown dubs a “Stan Kenton finish.”
I just wish this group would do a full Christmas album!
(Caveat emptor: Amazon offers only a single-disc version of this album, lacking the Christmas tunes; the double-disc version must be ordered from Summit Records.)
Fabian — whose many, many credentials include co-leading the Lionel Hampton Big Band — is joined by longtime trio members Jason Marsalis, drums; and Matt King, acoustic piano and melodica. Fabian is generous, frequently content to provide “comp color” behind King’s keyboard work; Marsalis is an inventive and powerful drummer. These guys are tight.
The album gets off to a great start with a feisty handling of “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” with King’s melodica trading the melody with Fabian, both of them backed by a finger-snapping “Killer Joe” percussion vibe. Marsalis’ drumming is front and center on an equally swinging “Carol of the Drums,” which actually is “The Little Drummer Boy” delivered with a funky, New Orleans twist.
The trio’s up-tempo run at “Feliz Navidad” is highlighted by King’s terrific acoustic solo, although the loud, oft-repeated two-measure vamp wears a bit thin in the middle. No matter; the ferocious take on “Deck the Halls,” the album’s highlight, is a double-time force of nature with the melody traded between piano and drums, backed by Fabian’s furious walking bass.
Marsalis’ softly mysterious drums introduce a sweet arrangement of “Auld Lang Syne,” with Fabian taking the melody against King’s gentle piano comping; sparkling bass and piano solos bring the tune home.
That would have been a great note on which to conclude the album, but Fabian instead chose to end with a sweet, mid-tempo handling of “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” highlighted by lovely improve work on both piano and bass.
You can’t go wrong with this one.
Felten’s group is a tight unit, equally adept a solos and unison passages: five trumpets, three trombones, five reeds and a rhythm section of piano, bass and drums.
The album opens with Strayhorn’s peppy arrangement of “Jingle Bells,” highlighted by Michael Bowie’s walking bass, unison horns and solos on trumpet, sax and trombone. Pianist Tony Nalker delivers a cute solo intro to “O Christmas Tree,” which blossoms into a mid-tempo swinger that boasts Joshua Kauffman’s vibrant trumpet solo. The rhythm section lays down a cool percussive vamp for a toe-tapping, cha-cha arrangement of “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” which features Antonio Orta’s vigorous congas, and includes a few bars of “Jingle Bells.”
The album’s highlight, of course, is the nine-movement Nutcracker Jazz Suite, which kicks off as Bowie’s walking bass and Harold Summey’s cool drumming help turn the “Overture” into a sassy swinger. The subsequent movements tend to alternate lively boppers with quieter arrangements; a delicate handling of “Toot Toot Tootie Toot” — featuring another of Mulligan’s tasty clarinet solos — is matched by an equally quiet and mysterious “Chinoiserie,” with its melody traded by two solo horns.
Summey sets a terrific beat for the up-tempo, almost discordant “Peanut Brittle Brigade”: definitely the most challenging movement, because it verges on weird, but the band handles it well. It concludes with Nalker’s lovely keyboard solo, and a lengthy, inventive sax solo. Unison horns climbing the scale kick off an exciting handling of “Entr’acte,” and the screaming horns are equally powerful during “Volga Vouty.”
“Arabesque Cookie,” the final movement, opens slowly, with a bass vamp and eerie unison horns; the tempo increases with finger-snapping percussion backing a lengthy sax solo, and ultimately fades to a quiet conclusion on solo bass.
The album concludes, rather oddly, with a studio quartet performance of Sam “Buck” Ram’s alternate 1942 version of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas (Tho’ Just in Memory),” which has nothing in common — except for the title — with the famous version Bing Crosby recorded the following year. It’s an anticlimactic curiosity, following the energetic Blues Alley performance.
Italian jazz pianist Massimo Faraò is a force of nature, having recorded more than 200 albums during a career that first caught fire in the 1990s. Since then, he has performed all over the world — he’s beloved in Japan — and has made a cottage industry of holiday jazz albums.
2020’s White Christmas is a solo piano album, and — although it’s lovely — isn’t jazz. The other three are combo efforts, alongside female vocalists. All three albums follow the classic head-solo-head structure, with the vocalist singing an initial verse or two, then yielding the stage to one or more improv solos by combo members, after which the singer brings the song home. Faraò gets considerable mileage out of improv solos that favor single-note melodies with occasional chords, much like Vince Guaraldi.
Pascale is appropriately wistful in both “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and “The Christmas Song,” drawing a melancholy tone from both sets of lyrics. The latter is just a duet with Faraò, and she almost speaks the words — rather than singing them — against his gentle keyboard.
Pascale’s phrasing is particularly nice in a cheerful arrangement of “Let It Snow,” and she’s mildly animated during a playful handling of “What Child Is This.” Faraò’s keyboard improv on the latter deconstructs the melody just a bit.
The album’s soothing atmosphere gets a boost during a peppy reading of “Jingle Bells,” with Leotta’s vibrant walking bass balanced by Martin’s energetic drumming; Pascale feels equally at home with the faster tempo. All four then race through an even brisker arrangement of “Caroling, Caroling.”
Pascale’s handling of “Blue Christmas” is slow and contemplative, pausing while the trio delivers a lovely bridge; she then brings the song — and the album — to a lovely conclusion.
Many of the arrangements feature double-time percussion behind Zannoni’s “single time” crooning, which is totally cool.
A fast-shuffle arrangement of “Jingle Bells” opens the album, with Zannoni backed by Barbon’s cool walking bass; Palladin takes a lovely guitar solo during the interlude. Facchinetti supplies a droll, tick-tock beat that makes “White Christmas” a joyous finger-snapper; Zannoni almost speaks the lyrics, and she pauses to allow improv bridges from Faraò and Palladin.
Zannoni supplies a soulful tone to a delightful original composition titled “My Christmas Night”; she’s backed by gently comping piano and guitar. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” — normally performed in standard time — gets a clever 6/8 arrangement fueled by Facchinetti’s cool drumming; Zannoni’s leisurely vocal is backed by soothing piano and bass. A strong bossa nova beat introduces “Feliz Navidad,” which Zannoni sings in Spanish; Palladin’s guitar solo boasts an equally strong beat.
Zannoni’s playful vocal perfectly suits a peppy, up-tempo arrangement of the Hawaiian-themed “Mele Kalikimaka.” Palladin and Faraò once again supply energetic improv solos, and everybody has a great time bringing the tune to its finale.
The album concludes with a mid-tempo arrangement of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” which gets emotional heft from another of Zannoni’s poignant deliveries. Palladin’s guitar improv is particularly lush, and Faraò’s sparkling keyboard work helps close the tune with appropriate solemnity.
In every case, the arrangements, instrumental backing and bridge solos are a treat; Bellavia’s trumpet work sparkles, and Faraò’s improv bridges are a lyrical treat. But Zannoni’s re-entry after the solo(s), each time, is a letdown.
A leisurely, mildly mysterious percussion vamp backs a moody handling of “Let It Snow,” highlighted by peppy drumming and a vibrant trumpet bridge; “This Time of Year” is a bluesy, New Orleans-style ballad with some great work by Faraò during the bridge. The instrumentalists are achingly fine during a slow, solemn reading of “A Child Is Born,” while Barbon’s sleek walking bass powers an energetic run at “Winter Wonderland.”
The album’s most ambitious track is an 8-minute arrangement of “The Christmas Song,” which bounces back and forth between standard and swing time; Bellavia is granted a lengthy trumpet solo against more feisty walking bass, after which Faraò takes an equally long piano solo. When Zannoni returns for the final verse, she’s dangerously close to sounding like she’s getting into it ... but it’s the only time she shows any life.
Each of these seven tracks runs long, allowing plenty of room for improv solos that range from playful to aggressively idiosyncratic. The combo’s approach slides from avant-garde to “free” jazz, and listeners will be hard-pressed to detect the core melodies in several tracks. That said, the theme is clever; the songs emanate from diverse countries and cultures.
Jack, on drums, is joined by longtime colleagues Jerry Sabatini, trumpet; Eric Hofbauer, guitar and “effects”; and Tony Leva, double bass.
Jack’s funky percussion opens a lively reading of James Brown’s 1968 hit, “Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto.” Sabatini’s sassy muted trumpet and Hofbauer’s guitar have fun passing the melody back and forth, until the aforementioned “effects” bring the tune to a rather weird conclusion.
Alfonso Esparza Oteo’s “Las Mañanitas” has been a traditional Mexican birthday song for generations; the only other time I recall hearing it on a holiday disc, was Herb Alpert’s soulful rendition on the Tijuana Brass’ Christmas Album, way back in 1968. Hofbauer opens here with some gorgeous solo guitar, after which Jack’s double-time percussion kicks the tune into a rockin’ celebratory anthem, with Sabatini and Hofbauer once again trading the melody in between lyrical solos.
Sabatini’s woeful solo horn opens “Ocho Kandelikas,” a Sephardic Hanukkah tune that quickly blossoms into a playful tango. And I’m pretty sure this is the only time I’ll hear a jazz cover of “Marley and Marley,” from 1992’s The Muppet Christmas Carol. Jack’s feisty march cadence anchors a playful arrangement that finds the melody taken by Hofbauer’s guitar, while Sabatini’s horn supplies wailing “ghost effects.”
Alas, the quartet murders Guaraldi’s “Skating,” from A Charlie Brown Christmas. Sabatini’s horn deconstructs the tune’s opening cascade, followed by fleeting bits of its swing elements; numerous solos heighten the overall cacophony, which turns into unpalatable noise. That’s also the case with the album-opener, a mercifully abbreviated handling of Gracham Moncur III’s “New Africa” — the original runs more than 17 minutes — which frankly defies description, with relentless warbling guitar effects fighting for attention alongside Sabatini’s equally dissonant horn work.
Folks who prefer melodic, straight-ahead jazz are advised to steer well clear of this album.
The album-opening “Big City Christmas” is an 8-minute explosion of music that begins with a fast 4/4 handling of “O Tannenbaum,” with vibrant solos on trumpet (Paul Mazzio) and baritone sax (Willie Matheis). The tune slides into Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker Overture,” with unison horns and Hicks’ piano backed by strings; Tim Gilson’s cool walking bass, unison horns and Hicks’ vibes power a swinging “Holly and the Ivy,” with a tenor sax solo by David Evans. The festivities turn into a sock hop, thanks to Dan Faehnle’s guitar work on “Away in a Manger,” which segues into an up-tempo swing time run at “Jolly Old St. Nicholas.” Bits of other holiday tunes drift into the everybody-in-the-pool finale, after which you’ll be tempted to applaud.
A similarly lengthy handling of “Bop King Wenceslas” is an equal kick; Gilson and drummer Todd Strait lay down a great beat, as unison horns take the melody, backed by Mike Horsfall’s smooth vibes comping. Energetic solos come from Faehnle, Mazzio (flugelhorn), David Evans (bass clarinet) and Tim Jensen (flute).
Hicks’ deceptively gentle solo piano opens “Wassail Beat Suite,” which quickly accelerates into a peppy 4/4 finger-snapper; the unison horns deliberately hit the tune’s phrasing just behind the beat. Horsfall and Giancarlo Viviano (high trumpet) take sparkling solos, after which the tempo slows as the combo riffs on the melody; Mazzio takes another fiery solo, and then the style shifts to boogie woogie (!), powered by Hicks’ ferocious piano chops. Matheis’ baritone sax brings back a straight-ahead handling of the core melody; the tune concludes with dwindling percussion ... after which we hear the distinct sound of exhausted exhalation (no surprise).
The double-time fury of “I Saw Three Ships Come Swingin In” is highlighted by solos on tenor sax (David Evans), trumpet (Mazzio), Faehnle (guitar) and Hicks, along with cheeky nods to “Anchors Aweigh” and other familiar seafaring tunes. The album concludes with the aptly named “We Wish You a Merry Christmas Cha Cha,” a toe-tapper boasting robust solos on trumpet (Mazzio), flute and piccolo (Jensen), trombone (Lars Campbell) and just about everybody else. As the tune fades into silence, somebody hits a gong: a cheeky climax to a thoroughly entertaining package.
The UK’s Jazz at the Movies Quintet, headlined by pianist Chris Ingham and vocalist Joanna Eden, has put plenty of swing into popular movie tunes since 2012. Their repertoire during live gigs ranges from John Barry’s Bond title themes to hits such as “Alfie,” “Pure Imagination,” “The Man That Got Away” and “To Sir with Love.” Each December, however, the group shifts gears for its annual “Swinging Christmas” production, and puts its signature jazz spin on holiday tunes.
The studio album blends seasonal chestnuts with an equal number of songs that won’t be as familiar to listeners on this side of the pond. Eden supplies an appropriately jaunty vocal on “Cool Yule,” which features a sassy improv sax and piano bridge. Double handles the vocal on a lively “We Need a Little Christmas,” backed by a droll oom-pah beat and Crooks’ cute sax bridge.
Pettitt’s walking bass highlights an uncharacteristically leisurely run at “Jingle Bell Rock,” and his feisty solo opens a cheeky swing arrangement of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”
Eden shines during Greg Lake and Peter Sinfield’s “I Believe in Father Christmas,” although Crooks’ sparkling clarinet solo slightly mutes the wistful tune’s focus on the loss of innocence and childhood belief. Chris Rea’s “Driving Home for Christmas,” a droll tune about being stuck in traffic during the holiday season, is a mid-tempo shuffle with some spirited piano and sax improv.
The album also includes two Eden originals. Ingham’s gentle piano backs her vocal on the somewhat woeful “Listen to the Quiet,” while a strong two-beat anchors a totally fun “So Many Santas” — not to be confused with the Jamie Cullum tune of the same title — that’s clearly designed for call-and-response audience participation.
Eden’s naughty-little-girl delivery on “Santa Baby” is hilarious, as are her updated lyrics, and their reference to — among other things — belly button diamonds, Botox and “Santa Donald Trump” (!). Ingham’s quiet, solo keyboard introduction to “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is deceptive, when this ballad suddenly shifts to a fast 4/4 highlighted by Eden’s sparkling vocal and Crooks’ peppy sax bridge.
Eden is appropriately solemn during Joni Mitchell’s “River,” backed solely by Ingham’s soothing keyboard touches. Gentle bass and piano similarly shadow Eden’s wistful handling of “Christmas Time Is Here, and she sounds equally heartfelt on an uncharacteristically slow arrangement of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” backed by quiet piano, bass and drums: a lovely track that concludes the album.
Deutsch is a firecracker pianist with serious chops, best showcased on his trio’s covers of “Linus and Lucy” and “Skating.” But that’s getting ahead of things; the album (appropriately) opens with a Guaraldi-esque arrangement of “O Tannenbaum,” beginning with quiet solo piano and then building to a gentle trio number that grants Schaub a lovely bass solo. “My Little Drum” is next, again sounding like Guaraldi, until Deutsch strays into fresh territory with a vibrant keyboard bridge that offers hints of the familiar melody. “Christmas Time Is Here” opens with shimmering bass and keyboard, after which Deutsch introduces the melody with rolled keyboard arpeggios; Schaub’s walking bass backs a tasty keyboard bridge, and then the melody returns via the rolled arpeggios.
A peppy “Linus and Lucy” opens in familiar melodic territory, but Deutsch’s first bridge totally rocks; the second swing bridge is similarly cool, and then the trio wraps it up for a total running time of 3:03 (the precise length of the Guaraldi trio’s version on their album ... coincidence?). “Skating” opens with a solid waltz beat, and Deutsch’s keyboard cascades sparkle; the lengthy keyboard bridge improv is backed by feisty walking bass, as the tempo increases ... then everybody brings the tune home.
Unfortunately, this album subsequently goes off the rails.
A bizarre 45 seconds of keyboard noodling opens a needlessly long handling of “Christmas Is Coming” (mislabeled on the CD jacket). After introducing the melody, Deutsch and Schaub wander through a long, increasingly tedious bridge that shoots into the outer stratosphere. A mélange of “The Wassail Song” and “The Christmas Song” is even worse. It begins as Deutsch vocalizes the first tune in overly melodramatic fashion, after which he slides into “Christmas Song” with exaggerated pauses. The sidemen enter, with Schaub’s bass handling a bridge against Deutsch’s irritating, Keith Jarrett-style moaning and mumbling.
Film critic Roger Ebert famously noted that “No good movie is too long, and no bad movie is short enough.” The same can be said of jazz improv solos (the culprits usually playing keyboards, sax or drums); the good ones can run forever and turn exciting, but the bad ones quickly become aggravating. And at just a few second shy of 9 minutes, The Commercialists’ handling of this medley is beyond self-indulgent.
But Deutsch isn’t finished. He also talks/sings/mumbles his way through “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” which is an eyebrow lift. The backing bass and drum work are fine; it’s a shame this isn’t an instrumental.
The album concludes with a “surprise” bonus track, as Deutsch leads the venue patrons through a group sing-along of “Hark, the Herald Angels Sings,” the way Charlie Brown Christmas concluded. I’m sure this was a sweet touch in person ... but it doesn’t quite work as an album finale.
And that wraps things up for now. Onward to 2025!
Thanks again for your annual Xmas roundup! And thank you for steering me towards lots of great holiday jazz over the years.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for your holiday Jazz roundup! Spot On.
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