More Swinging ... Jingle Bells!

Yesterday, we posted the hippest, swingest Xmas Tune, and today, we follow-up with the old chestnut, Jingle Bells, equally drenched in the Cool Yule spirit of finger-snappin', toe-tappin' Bebop.



Duke Ellington kept his orchestra together for decades (no small feat), and his sax section was comparable to Murderer's Row, of the powerful New York Yankees - simply the best, anytime, anyplace.

If you have never heard this, strap yourself in, for you are likely to jump out of your shoes.

Duke Ellington Orchestra - Jingle Bells



As a "Bonus Bonus", check out how hip a small trio can be;

Gene Krupa Trio - Jingle Bells


Merry Jazzmas!

The Hippest, Swingest Christmas Tune ... Evah!

Oh, do we have a treat for you this evening.

Finally found a the Christmas tune we have been searching for (well, at least a 'Free" version of it), and it is one, even on the most downbeat jazz radio stations, doesn't always make the playlists.

It is the hippest, swingest Christmas tune - Evah!



We have to thank that showman-of-showmen, Louis Prima, for being, well, Louis Prima

Click through, wait a few moments for it to buffer, and, when it starts playing, don't be surprised if your fingers are snapping, and toes'a tapppin'

Louis Prima - What Will Santa Say (When He Finds Everybody Swingin')

Bonus Bonus

Here's another from Louis ...

Louis Prima - Shake Hands with Santa Claus

Have Yourself a Satchmo Christmas!

With our schedule thrown out-of-whack, for the past month+, we got off to a late start (yesterday), indulging you in some of the best Christmas Jazz out on the World Wide Web.




So, today, we give you a tripleheader of some gems.


In the world of music, there's only been two human beings that can take any song, any genre, and make it their own. You, undoubtedly, no matter who did the original, how many stars covered it, always go back to this person's rendition.

Ray Charles, certainly, is one such artist.

The other is today's feature, Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, swingin', as only he can, on some Christmas spirit.

Enjoy!

'Zat You, Santa Claus?

Christmas In New Orleans

Christmas Night In Harlem - Louis Armstrong (1955).wmv

'Tis The Season ... White Christmas

Thanks to the wall-to-wall snowfall this weekend, it will be a White Christmas, for a whole bunch of folks, from North Carolina, to New Hampshire.



And, we did our part, shoveling, just about 12-inches of it yesterday.

And, they did something other than shoveling, down in the the Nation's capital, where there was a "Twitter Snowball Fight", complete with firearms (shoot, when we were kids, people just got out of their cars, empty-handed, and chased you a block, or two)

So, between the on-going recovery from that, and a somewhat jammin' day otherwise, on the Homefront, we will kick off getting into the season's spirit, on this first, official day of Winter.

I believe we posted this last year, but that doesn't matter ... It's The Bird, and a kick-ass tune

Charlie Parker -White Christmas

Jingle Bells!

Merry Christmas! ... Glaedelig Jul! ...Vrolijk kerstfeest ...Boas Festas! ...Hauskaa Joulua! ...Joyeux Noel! ...Frohe Weihnachten! ...

Natale allegro! ...Christmas Alegre! ...Feliz Navidad ...God Jul! ...Joyeux Noel! ...Maligayang Pasko!

Throw another log on the fire, and eggnog for everybody!

And, strap yourselves in, for the most merriest, rollickin', foot-tappin', finger-snappin', sugar-shackin', beboppin' rendition of Jingle Bells you'll ever hear!

It's a gas, the best way to kick-start your Christmas morning!

Crank it up!

Merry Xmas!

Duke Ellington Orchestra - Jingle Bells

Christmas Time is Here

Perhaps, some of you, may have first become aware, and hip, to Vince Guaraldi via his hit tune "Cast Your Fate To The Wind", born out of his work on "Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus".

However, numerous generations are warmed by the music from all the Charlie Brown specials, completely unaware of Guaraldi.

From the Vince Guaraldi website;

The most prestigious task, however, was yet to come. Even before Duke Ellington played San Francisco's Grace Cathedral, that venerable institution's Reverend Charles Gompertz selected Guaraldi to write a modern jazz setting for the choral Eucharist. The composer labored18 months with his trio and a 68-voice choir, and the result is an impressive blend of Latin influences, waltz tempos, and traditional jazz "supper music". It was performed live on May 21, 1965, and the album became another popular and critical hit. Clearly, if Vince Guaraldi could write music for God, he could pen tunes for Charlie Brown.

The jazz pianist's association with Charles Schulz's creations actually had begun the year before, when Guaraldi was hired to score the first Peanuts television special, adocumentary called"A Boy Named Charlie Brown " (not to be confused with the big- screen feature of the same title). The show brought together four remarkable talents: Schulz, writer/producer/director Lee Mendelson, artist Bill Melendez and Guaraldi.

Guaraldi's smooth trio compositions -- piano, bass and drums -- perfectly balanced Charlie Brown's kid-sized universe. Sprightly, puckish, and just as swiftly somber and poignant, these gentle jazz riffs established musical trademarks which, to this day, still prompt smiles of recognition.

They reflected the whimsical personality of a man affectionately known as a "pixie", an image Guaraldi did not discourage. He'd wear funny hats, wild mustaches, and display hairstyles from buzzed crewcuts to rock-star shags.

Unfortunately, with an irony that seemed appropriate for a documentary about Charlie Brown, Mendelson never was able to sell the show, which remains unseen to this day by the general public. Fortunately, the unaired program became an expensive calling-card that attracted a sponsor (Coca-Cola) intrigued by the notion of a Peanuts Christmas TV special. Thus, when "A Charlie Brown Christmas" debuted in December 1965, it did more than reunite Schulz, Mendelson, Melendez and Guaraldi, all of whom quickly turned the Peanuts franchise into a television institution. That first special also shot Guaraldi to greater fame, and he became irreplaceably welded to all subsequent Peanuts shows. Many of his earliest Peanuts tunes -- "Linus and Lucy", "Red Baron" and "Great Pumpkin Waltz", among others -- became signature themes that turned up in later specials.

And, Wikipedia;

While searching for just the right music to accompany a planned Peanuts television documentary, Lee Mendelson (the producer of the special) heard a single version of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" by Vince Guaraldi's trio on the radio while traveling in a taxicab on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. Mendelson contacted Ralph J. Gleason, jazz columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle and was put in touch with Guaraldi. He proposed that Guaraldi score the upcoming Peanuts Christmas special and Guaraldi enthusiastically took the job, performing a version of what became "Linus and Lucy" over the phone two weeks later. The soundtrack was recorded by the Vince Guaraldi Trio, whose other members were bassist Fred Marshall (who later married Bev Bivens of the folk-rock group We Five) and drummer Jerry Granelli. Guaraldi went on to compose scores for sixteen Peanuts television specials, plus the feature film A Boy Named Charlie Brown as well as the unaired television program of the same name.

Here's a little something familiar, to warm you up ...

A Charlie Brown Christmas - Christmas Time is Here Song




Bonus Bonus

NORAD Tracks Santa 2008

We Free Kings

Ah yes ... Today's Christmas Tune is a killer!

Rahsaan Roland Kirk ... Need we say more?

Kirk takes the traditional "We Three Kings of Orient Are" and, well, "Rahsaanifies" it, as only he could.

From Verve;

According to an old-time myth, only a blind man can truly understand the meaning of the blues. On the deeply passionate CD, “We Free Kings”, Roland Kirk transforms this myth to reality. On the title track, Kirk has converted the traditional Christmas carol into a melancholy contemporary gospel performance.

Kick back, and let your Christmas Freak out!

We Free Kings by Roland Kirk Quartet

We Free Kings - Roland Kirk Qu...

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Yes, time for another Christmas Tune.

After this weekend, with all the snow, we're not all that merry, at the moment, and definitely could use rest.

So, we have another classic today.

It's the old warhorse, 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman' but there's noting restful about it, as we give you the Jazz version, by the great Jimmy Smith, one of the Kings of the Hammond B-3 Organ (as you would have to include in that set of royalty, Groove Holmes, Brother Jack McDuff, and Jimmy McGriff).

Crank it up to kick start your Christmas Spirit!

Jimmy Smith - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - ...

White Christmas

Happy 1st Day of Winter!

And, another Snow Alert today!

Actually, it hasn't stopped snowing, here in Boston, since Friday.

We've had a light, sometimes very light, snowfall ongoing, adding another 1-inch+ to the pile, and this will segue, or give way, to the storm coming up the coast, and dumping another half-a-foot on us, before, possibly, turning to rain (followed by extremely frigid air, so everything will freeze to hardness of cement - wonderful).

Since this is about it, as to any snow for the big Christmas Day, we will give you this absolute treat today.

For many of you, it's possible you have never heard this standard holiday classic, 'White Christmas' quite this way.

It's a gem ... Kick back and enjoy!

Charlie Parker -White Christmas