"Jingle Bells," as it should be heard

"Jingle Bells" has always struck me as being a tad too simple for a Christmas tune.  Nevertheless, there are at least two strong instrumental versions of it.

Paul Mauriat and his orchestra give "Jingle Bells" a gloss I haven't heard in any other rendition.  The orchestral flourishes at the beginning and end and the unobtrusive vocal backing during the chorus make it possibly the best easy listening version of the tune.

Joel Mabus recorded a lesser known version of "Jingle Bells" under the title, "The One Horse Open Sleigh."  His brisk arrangement for acoustic guitar says all it needs to say in one minute and 39 seconds.  It could also work in a Christmas-themed commercial for Motel 6; it's easy to imagine Tom Bodett's voice over the guitar.

Hearing "Jingle Bells" with the right instrumental presentation makes all the difference.  Otherwise, it just amounts to, "Gee, it's fun to travel by sleigh." I haven't heard either of these versions on the radio in years, but perhaps there's a place on the right noncommercial station for both of them.

"'Winter Wonderland?' A fine tune, but not a hymn..."

During my weekly religion class in third or fourth grade, our class went to church for a Christmas sing-along.  The priest said we were welcome to request any of the Christmas carols in the hymnal.  I remember feeling a bit annoyed when students started requesting tunes such as "Frosty The Snowman" and "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer."  There's nothing wrong with either of those tunes, but I thought, "They've been to Mass at this church before.  They should know that those aren't actually carols, and they aren't in the hymnal."

Each time this happened, the priest responded politely.

"That's a nice request, but I'm afraid it isn't in the hymnal," he said.  "That would be a good song you could sing with your family, though."

He handled that situation more gracefully than I probably would have.  Admittedly, "I said your requests have to be Christmas carols in the hymnal!  How much clearer could I be?!" wouldn't convey the proper Christmas spirit.

Stingray Music highlights XXXIII (Christmas edition)

Noteworthy Christmas selections heard Saturday:

Easy Listening

• God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen-Philip Aaberg (The carol's downcast melody is ideal for a solo piano arrangement.  Aaberg brings out its solemnity.)

Holiday Favorites

• Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas-Lou Rawls (No one sings this with more self-assurance than Rawls.)
• Song For A Winter's Night-Sarah McLachlan (McLachlan slows the tempo of this Gordon Lightfoot song down, making it her own.  Her heartfelt, intimate vocals serve the tune well.  Seek out Lightfoot's original version, as well.)
• Winter Wonderland-The Andrews Sisters (Appealing vocal harmonies that would have fit in on WEW.)

Holiday Hits

• Christmas Is-Lou Rawls (See my review in Holiday Favorites of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.") 

Jazz Masters

• Silent Night-Benny Green (Subtle, sublime piano.)

Jazz Now

• The Christmas Waltz-Grover Washington, Jr. (The tune is equally uplifting as a vocal number, a piano instrumental, or, in this case, a saxophone instrumental.)

Smooth Jazz

• Silent Night-Spyro Gyra (An appealing harmonica part.)

Turning down those pesky crescendos

Adjusting the volume for a long stretch of music is tricky sometimes.  Any piece with a lot of dynamic contrasts doesn't necessarily lend itself to one constant volume.  I drifted off to sleep this morning while listening to The Cambridge Singers And Orchestra, directed by John Rutter.  The volume was at an ideal level for several Christmas carols in a row.  Then, suddenly, "O Come, All Ye Faithful," the CD's closing carol, jolted me awake.  For a moment, I wasn't sure whether to turn it down or stand and salute no one in particular.  I turned it down.  I'm pretty sure I made the right choice.

SiriusXM highlights LVI

Saturday morning standouts:

'40s Junction

• (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons-Nat King Cole Trio (Cole's resonant vocals are just as moving 70 years later.)

'60s On 6

• Incense And Peppermints-Strawberry Alarm Clock (Lyrically, it doesn't make complete sense.  It's a catchy, well-structured, of-its-time oldie, however.)

The Coffee House

• The Middle (Acoustic)-Jimmy Eat World (I praised this tune in a previous post.  It's refreshing to hear that the lyrics about being yourself and following the path that's right for you work just as well acoustically.  That doesn't surprise me.)
• What Am I To You?-Norah Jones (It's difficult to imagine any other vocalist conveying the sultry, old soul quality as gracefully as Jones does here.)

The Groove

• Livin' It Up (Friday Night)-Bell & James (An ear-catching dance vibe from 1979; one of the better one-hit wonder songs of its kind.)

Holly

• A Christmas To Remember-Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton (This song has grown on me over the years.  Rogers and Parton blend well here.)
• The Christmas Waltz-Harry Connick, Jr. (The Lettermen, Beegie Adair, and She & Him recorded my favorite versions of "The Christmas Waltz," but the smooth vocals on this rendition deserve a listen.)

Soul Town

• Show Me The Way To Go-Barbara Acklin & Gene Chandler (A gem of a vocal pairing on a gem of a pleasant midtempo track from 1968; I'm surprised this wasn't a huge seller when it was released.)

1991: Practically just yesterday

In my November 23 post, "The new director for the past quarter-century," I wrote that I still think of my high school orchestra director's successor, Mr. J., as the new orchestra director even though he has been at the orchestra's helm since 1991.

I just read that Mr. J. is retiring at the end of the school year.  This startled me because, after all, he's the new director.  I mean, 1991...That was only 25 years ago.  Recent hits, such as Mariah Carey's "Emotions," Bonnie Raitt's "Something To Talk About," Seal's "Crazy," R.E.M.'s "Shiny Happy People," and Amy Grant's "Every Heartbeat" were on the charts when Mr. J. took over.  Calling them oldies is clearly premature.  Why, I was enjoying all of five of those songs just recently on the dual cassette tape deck in my dorm room.  As I listened, I read a broadcasting textbook that predicted compact discs would be a fast-growing format that radio stations would use more often.  This prediction was accurate, as I attended a meeting at KCOU where the hot topic was how to allot shelf space for all the CDs that were starting to surpass the number of vinyl releases.  After the meeting, I made sure to shake out the change from my desk drawers.  I had to make sure I had enough money for dinner Sunday.  I had to plan ahead because, after all, the dorms didn't serve dinner on Sundays, the credit union was closed then, and it was a college, so why would there have been an ATM nearby?  After dinner, I typed and printed a paper for my broadcasting class on my word processor. The evening news spotlighted some interesting national, international, and local events that I looked forward to reading more about in the next day's newspaper.  After watching the news, I went for a walk, making sure to pick up a zine that fellow students wrote; after all, how else could their free verse and editorials attract an audience?  Rumor had it that people might be able to reach others all over the world via computer, but of course, that was, um, way off in the future and, well...

...Admittedly, a smidgen of time has passed since 1991.  Congratulations, Mr. J., on building and maintaining such a successful high school orchestra program.  Here's hoping you have an enjoyable retirement.

KCOU playlist flashback: Jazz Odyssey--12/1/92

Here's the music I chose--and, in two cases, what listeners requested--for my 11 a.m.-1 p.m. shift on this day 24 years ago:

   1.  Black & Gold-Antonio Hart
(From "Don't You Know I Care," one of the strongest jazz albums I ever reviewed for KCOU; Hart shines on alto sax throughout, particularly on this blisteringly fast number.  Also recommended: "Jessica's Day" and "From Across The Ocean.")
   2.  Cruisin' For A Bluesin'-Maynard Ferguson
(Continues the mood established in "Black & Gold," in big-band style, with Ferguson's piercing trumpet leading the way.)
   3.  Swing High-Tommy Dorsey
(Reaching back to an earlier era and continuing the mood Ferguson laid down in "Cruisin'...")
   4.  Deep Jungle-Ben Pollack & his orchestra
   5.  Lost Weekend-Woody Herman
   6.  Elevation-Elliot Lawrence & his orchestra
(A progressive big band sound for 1949.)
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   7.  Maca (Apple)-Flora Purim
   8.  Gone With The Wind-Ella Fitzgerald (*)
   9.  Let's Call The Whole Thing Off-Billie Holiday
(Perhaps breaking up over a disagreement about how to pronounce "tomato" isn't the best idea.  Holiday brings this realization to light in her rendition of the much-covered Gershwin tune.)
 10.  Giant Steps-John Coltrane (*)
 11.  Now's The Time-Buddy Rich
(An enduring riff for every player; Rich's drums give the tune its kick.  If you've listened to any traditional jazz radio station anywhere close to regularly, you've almost certainly heard this tune.)
 12.  Bluesology-Modern Jazz Quartet
(From one great rhythm section to another...Given the coolness of the vibraphone part on this tune and other MJQ recordings, I should have played this group more often on "Jazz Odyssey.")
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 13.  A Dream Deferred-David Murray & Friends
 14.  Dr. Macumba-Earl Klugh
(One of Klugh's most impressive Spanish-style guitar melodies.  It's from one of his best albums, "Finger Paintings."  Other highlights from the album: "This Time" and his covers of James Taylor's "Long Ago And Far Away" and "Dance With Me" by Orleans.)
 15.  I Had The Craziest Dream-Joe Pass
 16.  Close Your Eyes-Russell Malone
 17.  Swinghouse-Gerry Mulligan Quartet
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 18.  Theme From "Route 66"-Nelson Riddle and his orchestra
 19.  Addictive Love-Maceo Parker
 20.  Inside Track-Out Of The Blue
(A 1986 track by a six-piece ensemble that should be better known.  This is a good big band-style showcase for a trumpeter and saxophonists.)
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 21.  Snowfall-The Manhattan Transfer
(What vocal ensemble would be better suited to conveying the wonder a lot of us feel during Winter's first snowfall?  Their spirited version of "Caroling, Caroling" is another highlight from "The Christmas Album.")
 22.  Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow-Marcus Roberts
("Let It Snow..." is more credible as a piano instrumental, in my opinion, than it is when sung.  Roberts stays faithful to the tune while putting some of his own personality into it.)
 23.  J.S. Bach: Cantata No. 156: Arioso-Ron Carter
 24.  John Patitucci: Concerto Movement #1: Westward Expansion
(An excellent merging of Classical and jazz styles, right from the introduction.  It's from one of Patitucci's most compelling albums, "Heart Of The Bass.")
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 25.  Summertime-Gary Burton & Friends
(Ending the show on an ironic note for December 1...)
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(*) indicates a listener's request.
--- indicates a station break between songs.