Tis the season to check out new stuff, and you probably are making your wish list for your parents as we speak, so how about digging some of this action...
1. Miles Davis and Bob Dorough "Merry X-Mas (To Whom It May Concern)" While not a particular uplifting song (check the lyrics below), it's brilliant. That tenor solo - wow! Bob Dorough the singer was the guy who did "Schoolhouse Rock." This is my favorite of all time, for any holiday. lol It truly needs nothing else, but the snapshots of garbage floating in Greece and other depressing clips don't detract from the cut. In fact, with repeated viewing they will grow on you somehow.
Blue Xmas
Merry Christmas
I hope you have a white one, but for me it's blue
Blue Christmas, that's the way you see it when you're feeling blue
Blue Xmas, when you're blue at Christmastime
you see right through,
All the waste, all the sham, all the haste
and plain old bad taste
Sidewalk Santy Clauses are much, much, much too thin
They're wearing fancy rented costumes, false beards and big fat phony grins
And nearly everybody's standing round holding out their empty hand or tin cup
Gimme gimme gimme gimme, gimme gimme gimme
Fill my stocking up
All the way up
It's a time when the greedy give a dime to the needy
Blue Christmas, all the paper, tinsel and the fal-de-ral
Blue Xmas, people trading gifts that matter not at all
What I call
Fal-de-ral
Bitter gall.......Fal-de-ral
Lots of hungry, homeless children in your own backyards
While you're very, very busy addressing
Twenty zillion Christmas cards
Now, Yuletide is the season to receive and oh, to give and ahh, to share
But all you December do-gooders rush around and rant and rave and loudly blare
Merry Christmas
I hope yours is a bright one, but for me it bleeds
2. The Ramsey Lewis Trio "Merry Christmas Baby." The tempo is slow enough to warm you up without a fire. This whole album is amazing, and will put you in the spirit.
3. Ella Fitgerald "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". Nobody can swing a classic like Ella. She's the quintessential (nod to Mr. Levy) jazz singer.
4. Duke Ellington "Sugar Rum Cherry" from the Nutcracker Suite. You'll recognize it as a jazzed up version of The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies.
5. Ray Charles and Betty Carter "Baby, It's Cold Outside" It's THE love song for the season, how can you go wrong with that? Listen to the way Betty Carter shapes her notes and phrases. I don't think I've ever heard anyone but maybe Billie Holliday do it with that kind of mastery. I'm going to try to capture some of that when I play a melody, you should too.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
