Yay! Finally the thread is here.

>Track 1
Tune is Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker. There is a neat, fast version of this on Don Byron's Bug Music from the mid 90's that I really like. That album is a tribute to the music of Raymond Scott Quintette, the John Kirby Sextet and Duke Ellington so would this then be the Ellington original?

I first thought that this would be something more modern than Ellington, but maybe it is - it is at least the best guess I have for what this is.

>Track 2
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. Sounds like a pretty straightforward jazz take on this. A lot of American Christmas songs lend themselves pretty well to jazz treatments, I think.

Pretty enjoyable contemporary bop feel - I'd rather listen to this than your average Christmas music. Pretty modern stylings, I think. This century recording, I'd guess, but no idea who's playing here.

>Track 3
So this is Blue Xmas, Bob Dorough on vocals with the Miles Davis Sextet from the early 1960's. One of the few Christmas related jazz-recordings I recognize.

Of course Miles would be too cool for Christmas. I'm getting old enough to enjoy sappy Christmas songs and just relax, but I still like this cynical jab.

>Track 4
Santa Claus is Coming to Town in piano trio form. It's pretty neat how the piano player switches being playing it pretty straight and inserting these little vague, abstract moments. It's an easy listen, but not too sugary sweet thanks to the pianist keeping us on our toes a little bit.

>Track 5
Winter Wonderland with sleigh bells and everything. More traditional feel to this one - from the 50's maybe?
Its nice, but not really a stand out track for me - this is the kind of stuff you'd expect when you have jazz musicians record a Christmas album just to have a seasonal album to sell.

This track also reminded me that Clifford Brown's solo on Cherokee on Study in Brown really feels to me like it could nicely segue into Sleigh Ride.

>Track 6
I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas - sounds like a pretty early recording from the late 40's naybe. Really nice bebop stylings for a recording this old - these must be some big name players. Did Charlie Parker record Christmas music? Really nice one.

>Track 7
I'm not even sure what this song is and the version wasn't very interesting to me. I have very little to say about this.

>Track 8
The Christmas Song - the violin has a slightly gypsy jazz-ish feel, Stephane Grappelli style to my ears. I can't think of who would play like this, though. If I said before that I'm old enough to enjoy sappy Christmas songs, this still feels too safe and boring to me. Inoffensive backgroung jazz.

>Track 9
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow in some restrained big band version. Sure, Christmas is the season for easy listening music.

>Track 10
Feels like pretty modern organ trio sound, guessing maybe Peter Bernstein and Larry Goldings are involved or someone like that?

Tune is Greensleeves or I guess What Child is This? since it's Christmas. Reminds me of the Coltrane version a lot at the beginning even though instrumentation is very different. Has that static modal two chord vamp part to it, too.

When the song comes to the organ solo, it doesn't actually sound as modern at all as I first thought - sounds like this is an authentic 60's jam. Is this Jimmy Smith?

Funny thing, there was a Larry Young track on an earlier week that I first thought was a more modern recording until it came to the solo. Nice hammond track in any case, I dig it.

>>61183411
Sorry the thread is late. Today has been crazy. I haven't even finished writing out my thought yet.

>>61183473
no worries, just glad to see it up before it's bedtime for me :)

Like Jazzpossu, I have been eagerly awaiting this all evening...

>Track 1
This is the Nutcracker Suite isn't it? The horns sound so seedy though, I love it. Not much more to say about it, the whole piece worked well and I liked the way they picked up bits of the original tune as backing for the solo.

>Track 2
The drums are doing some cool stuff during that intro, and keep a low rumble through the rest. I like the solo - the jump to something slightly more avant-garde after such a smooth melody was unexpected. Liking the piano accompaniment too, especially the way it led into the solo at the end of the intro, and then the shift in between the two solos too. Lots of pedal work and reverberation - reminds me a bit of McCoy Tyner. This track was great - might be my favourite of the lot actually.

>Track 3
Don't recognise this voice. Or this song actually. Sounds like it's from a musical. I'm actually a massive cynic but if I listen to a Christmas song I want it to be comfy and fun (or by Tom Waits) so I haven't really got time for this. I suppose the piece is quite well written but it doesn't do anything for me as a whole - not really my style to be fair.

>>61183592
>Track 4
I like how playful the pianist is with the melody here. A lot of chemistry with the other musicians too. I actually don't have much to say about this but I do like it.

>Track 5
I have a soft spot for the crooners at this time of year and this is one of my favourite Christmas songs. It kinda hurts to hear it rushed through like this. Aside from that, it's played competently, but nothing special. Trumpet just seems like it's noodling around aimlessly. Bit of a novelty overall really. The bells are dope though.

>Track 6
An older one then? Another of my absolute favourite Christmas songs. Is this Charlie Parker? It's not quite as adventurous as he usually is but I imagine he didn't do stuff like this often so might not have been as familiar with the chords since they're not just another rehash of I Got Rhythm. I really like the solo anyway - a good impromptu interpretation of the piece. Gives a bit of an insight into the process (wheras most of Bird's solos you only hear after he's had years to work on them). The jingle bells fragment was a cool touch too - reminds me a bit of Dexter Gordon and just as seamless. If it is Bird then of the two most likely trumpet candidates I'd say this sounds most like Miles, as it's obviously not Diz. If so it's one of his better solos from this period - I feel like he dances around a bit much usually but (presumably also due to not being familiar with the tune) there's less of that here.

No idea if I'm right about either of those, but in any case I liked this, even if I imagine the musicians involved were probably only doing it out of obligation. It's interesting how (regardless of genre) putting limitations on musicians sometimes forces them to come up with their best (or at least most interesting and revealing) work.

>>61183612
>Track 7
I recognise the tune but I don't know it. Solid piece, but not very adventurous. The tone on the bass is nice, but that's about the only comment I have... I don't think I have the critical faculties to say much about piano trios to be honest...

>Track 8
Violin? That's new. And it's soaring. Sounds pretty new from the recording quality. I'd like to know who this is so I can listen to more. The piano solo does a good job of keeping the same wide open feeling. All round good track. So far this has sounded the most Christmas-y. If this week's tracks aren't from Christmas albums I'm gonna have to make my own playlist of them...

>Track 9
I'm not even a hundred percent certain what it is, but it sounds like another somewhat deconstructed version of Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Oh right, it's Let it Snow - I wasn't expecting that. Sounds a lot like Basie now - tight horns and chill piano solos. In fact this one is so laid back I could even believe it was Ahmad Jamal or something. My favourite solo is the trumpet though (or is it a flugel horn or trombone or something? Sounds a bit deeper...). Drags the rest of the band behind it like Rudolph.

>Track 10
I like the way the drum beat drags on this. What is this? Greensleeves? Is that considered a Christmas song in the US? Because this is the first I've heard of it. Guitar solo was nice, and I've not heard an organist shred like this before. Everyone seems really comfortable with each other. Three minutes in and I'm not sure how this is going to drag on another six though...

... so I just zoned out and let him keep going. It was pretty fun actually, and the solo was so over the top to begin with that it didn't matter that it lasted forever. Reminds me of ELP...

I was just thinking I might have to start the thread if you didn't soon.

Yay blindfold is up!

>Track 1 (tied for my favourite)
I know this one really well. Bit of Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from Duke Ellington’s wonderful interpretation of Tscacovsky’s The Nutcracker. I really like that whole suite and the melody is so recognisable so I knew this straight away.
Some of Duke’s best men on this record and it is cool to hear them play this music. I happen to love that late 50s/early 60s era of the band so a lot of my favourite players of his are on this.
Sam Woodyard’s drum intro is particularly cool. Really sets the mood of the piece, which is couched much more in the style of Duke Ellington than the original. This might also be because the horn players duke had had such a distinctive sound. The likes of Willie Cook, Johnny Hodges and Ray Nance’s tone are just very associated with the Ellington sound in my head.
The Sax solo from Harry Carney is great. Baritone really suits this approach to the piece and there’s really nice development/progression to the solo. It’s not just a bunch of really nice melodic ideas over changes, it feels like it’s going somewhere and there’s a nice arc to what he’s playing.
For the most part, festive music isn’t really done all that seriously but this suite is actually really fantastic and it’d be nice if all Christmas music sounded this cool. Really solid pick but I fear the playlist probably peaks here.

>Track 2
I don’t recognise the melody on this one. It does feel vaguely Christmassy though but the trumpet player (who I’m presuming is the leader) sounds like a real bebop player from the solo so I doubt it’s an original. The solo had some nice runs and interesting melodies, those big interval jumps he pulled off were really cool. I don’t recognise the style of playing so I’ve no clue who it is but he has chops.
The pianist did a good job too. His comping was interesting and was followed by a pretty solid solo.

>>61183838
>Track 3
I know this singer. He was on Miles Davis’ Sorcerer and his was the worst track on the album. I just do not like his voice at all. It’s very distinctive, I’ll give him that but it just makes me feel uncomfortable to listen to.
I feel very biased though because I keep thinking about him in the context of him ruining a great Davis record so I won’t even bother trying to talk about the track because I’m finding it difficult to give it a fair chance.

>Track 4
Welp the track is Santa Claus is coming to town. They’re playing just close enough to the tune so that it doesn’t feel too abstracted but they’re being fairly original with the melody too. The piano solo just completely abandons the song for the most part. The changes are being much more carefully followed by the bass player during the solo. It was a little too short I felt and I don’t feel like the pianist really took much time to develop the solo. I guess we’ll let that slide though because to be fair, most of these tracks are probably throw away songs done because they wanted to include it in live sets near Christmas.

>Track 5
The song is Winter wonderland done up in bop style. The trumpet solo was good, stuck nicely to the changes and mood of the track without sounding stilted but the track didn’t really strike me as anything but nice. This is in fairness, how a Christmas standard ought to be done. I wish the sleigh bells were a little more audible in the rest of the track though. There were little pauses in the head where they were being put in as a sort of call and response thing but they weren’t loud enough for the effect to work.

>>61183875
There's always one of those ones where I write way too much.

>Track 6 (tied for my favourite)
Is that Charlie Parker? It has to be. It sounds like him and the recording sounds too old for it to be an imitator this good at sounding like him. Lel, this is actually a really fucking creative take on White Christmas. Parker’s lyricism and really creative melodic ideas are on point as usual and he’s actually taking the song really seriously as a soloing vehicle and it works pretty damn well. The solo at the opening had all these really cool phrases and melodies. I gotta say, the quote from jingle bells caught me by surprise but I keep coming back to this track and I’ve decided it was a really cool thing to do.
That’s probably Max Roach dicking around on the drums back there too, he keeps interjecting with the snare and kick drum every so often with...polyrhythms? I’m not really sure it’s really fair to say that’s what it is because it just feels like he’s trying to throw people out of time. Sometimes I find his playing annoying and sometimes it works really well. In this instance I’m going to say it works because everyone else is handling it quite well.
That’s not Diz or Miles on trumpet as far as I can tell and I’m not really familiar with any of the other trumpet players he’d have worked with in the 40s and 50s but whoever he has on this date has chops. His tone in particular is nice and bright and blended nicely when he playing out with Charlie. Parker’s harmonies and embellishments sounded really cool too.

>>61183919
>Track 7
Ugh, the melody on this is so familiar. The piano playing felt a bit Bill Evansy and I started thinking through some of the Evans songs I know in 3/4 to see if I could recognise it. Then I started thinking that it sounded a little like some Joe Hisashi piece from one of the studio Ghibli films but I couldn’t place it there either.
Come to think of it, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear this is a Bill Evans trio. The piano is certainly in that style and the bassist reminds me of Scot LeFaro and the sort of other bassists Bill liked to work with. Especially in the solo and with the approach to rhythm.

>Track 8
Ooh some violin. Very pretty and nostalgic sounding too. Again, I can’t place the song but it’s ringing a lot of bells. I certainly can’t place the soloist. I don’t actually know any violin players from this late in jazz. Not unless you count Don “Sugarcane” Harris who played electric violin on a lot of Frank Zappa’s jazz stuff. I would be very surprised if it was him.
His soloing style is very cool. He plays it in a sort of bop way that I’ve only really heard done on bowed bass but he keeps a bit too close to the melody of the song. It’s quite soulful though and it’s nice to just hear him playing the melody with a lot of feeling.

>>61183968
Track 9
A big band take on Let it Snow. Really nicely arranged too, the horn section is really solid but they’re used very tastefully and lay out for a lot of the song which gives some nice breathing space and room for messing around with dynamics. The piano player gets a lot of soloing time where it’s just him in a trio setting and it sounds lovely.
This is the one I thought I heard Louis Armstrong on last week. Upon listening again, I don’t think it’s actually him on trumpet. The trumpet player is pleasantly influenced by him though. It was the tone that caught my attention but the Armstrong rhythmic phrasing and a little of his melodic sensibility is there too. The recording quality is a bit too good for it to be one of his mid period big bands and if this was late period, he’s playing an awfully backseat roll in this recording.
Track 10
I’m thinking this is an original because I don’t recognise it at all. I wasn’t really crazy about the two chord vamp thing they kept doing. I found it a bit repetitive and while the soloing was nice, I didn’t like when that part came in every few measures.
The organ player sometimes felt like he was playing a lot without really doing much of interest. It was just really note dense and I sometimes when it felt like he was going to change style a bit and focus more on lyricism and melodic playing, he went back into those fast runs. I had to keep coming back to this one because it lost my attention a lot.

>>61183455
Some pretty good guesses here

>>61183968
Didn't occur to me that it could be Bill Evans, but I totally see what you mean about the bass player.

Glad there's a few things we all seem to agree on. I've really enjoyed this week - the theme is less restrictive than I expected. Was expecting more vocals but this way is better.


While we're waiting for more people to post, can I go ahead and use this thread for recs? I've been listening a lot to Miles' Prestige contract albums and really liking that style. Any more laid back hard-bop I should try out? I've enjoyed Cool Strutting and I know I definitely want to check out more with Art Farmer and Sonny Clark, but is there anything else I should look into?

I managed to finish up my thoughts but unfortunately I won't be able to post in the thread much today. I will try to keep it bumped though.

1. Everybody knows this one from the Nutcracker. I really like the way the drums set it up and then the horns come in unexpectedly. It’s a very good orchestration in that it feels very jazzy but still is very recognizable as the piece it is. Also the combinations of different horns and mutes keeps it interesting with changing textures. The different textures and mutes reminds me of Mingus but I’m sure this isn’t Mingus so I would guess it was Ellington. 4 stars for this.

2. Wow this is very cool. It’s kind of a modern post-bop version of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas but at a bebop tempo. It’s almost kind of like Cherokee how the melody is kind of slow but the chord changes are very fast. Awesome soloing and I love the piano comping. The trumpet solo is top notch.What are the chances that Alex Sipiagin recorded a Christmas album. The piano solo is great too. This was great. 4.5 stars.

3. This was very strange. The singing seemed out of tune and the lyrics seem sarcastic or something? It’s kind of a cool arrangement I guess. I don’t know what kind of rating to give this one.

4. This one took a while to start up but then it’s obviously Santa Claus is Coming to Town. It goes off into some interesting melodic territory during the piano solo. Also I can hear singing so maybe this is Keith Jarrett. It doesn’t seem like him to record a Christmas song though. I liked the piano solo but it felt kind of short. The ending kind of leaves you hanging though. 3.5 stars.

>>61184355
5. A nice little swinging version of Winter Wonderland. I think I recognize the trumpet player as Chet Baker? I wonder if he did a whole Christmas album because I can imagine that his singing on some Christmas tunes would be nice. This was pretty nice but nothing outstanding. 3 stars.

6. Sounds like a very early beboppy version of White Christmas. I’m like 90% sure that this is Charlie Parker from some of those signature licks he throws in there. Very cool. Who would have guessed Bird ever recorded a Christmas song. I just wish you could hear the drums better. 4.5 stars.

7. The song is It Came Upon a Midnight Clear. It doesn’t sound like they’re really taking much liberty with the song. It kind of reminds me of the Vince Guaraldi album actually. It’s nice and would be fine for background music but doesn’t really hold up to strong critical listening. 2 stars.

8. So this started out with a different song that I can’t remember the name to but then it goes into the Christmas song with violin playing lead. That’s something else we haven’t heard a lot of in these threads is jazz violin. It’s a nice relaxing version of the song and interesting to hear a violin playing the melody. The piano player is impressive with how he is able to hint at the melody but still play other interesting bits around it. 3.5 stars.

>>61184381
9. I don’t know what tune this is but I’m pretty sure it has to be the Basie band with the way it just kind of chugs along. Oh now I see that it’s let it snow let it snow. The way they change up the rhythm and harmonization of the melody is pretty cool. Also the contrast is nice between the full volume of the band and then when it switches to just the gentle piano tinkling. 3.5 stars.

10. Greensleeves. I like the kind of modal feeling of this and the changeup of the rhythm. The solos are both a lot of fun. I think it could be better if the drummer would go a little looser with the rhythms. The organ player really has some crazy chops. I’m pretty interested to hear who this one is. 3.5 stars.

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>>61184257
I was actually pleasantly surprised that there was only small quantities of cheese. I think I may have underestimated jtg's Christmas jazz knowledge. He seemed to actually have plenty of stuff to choose between.

Just because I've been listening to it a lot recently, I'm gonna say to try pic related(it's worth getting the more complete one, there's a couple of releases from his dates at the black hawk but it's all very good).

It's interesting hearing Miles in a sort of club setting where he's a lot more open to just trying out ideas to see how they work and generally just having a good time with the band.
Hank Mobley is pretty on fire for most of these too. His playing is pretty adventurous compared to other stuff I've heard him do but it's all still rooted in blues but he goes for some big interval jumps and improvs some pretty interesting melodic ideas that are still fairly bluesy but a lot more modern than I would have thought he'd play.
Also, just a reminder that there will always be another cool Grant Green, Hank Mobley, Ben Webster, Horace Silver, etc.
album you haven't tried yet.

>>61185275
It actually wasn't all that easy. I know enough Christmas stuff but the challenging part was trying to make it all different songs. Jazz artists like to do the same 3 Christmas songs over and over.

>>61185493
The Charlie Parker(I'm assuming it's him, unless we're all be wrong right?) one was pretty bitching. If it's part of a Christmas album, it could well get into my exclusive Christmas album rotation.

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oh shit didn't realize it was Monday. listening the tracks rn, didn't get my thoughts down the first time I listened

>>61184257
you might like the other two Sonny's, Stitt and Rollins. Also The Eddie Lockjaw Davis Cookbook and some of the other albums Davis did with Johnny Griffin, Tenor Scene or Lookin at Monk

>>61187598
Actually, while you're around, what do you think of Bob Dorough as a singer? I just don't get the appeal but I mean, he's made a career out of it and Miles liked him enough to record with him so he must have a decent following.
I imagine you're at least somewhat fond of him too if you put him in the playlist.

>>61188231
Actually I'm not a huge fan. You're right that the Bob Dorough feature at the end of Sorcerer is very out of place on the album. He's got a unique style but it's not always especially pleasing to listen to.

Here are the links for next week.

http://www8.zippyshare.com/v/AObfOrnT/file.html
https://mega.nz/#!A8wxTKBA!xmRXUNox_Tl0CYXJfmC1dSXZz222e2UC3WjSb3GD0pY

>>61188603
You can go ahead and post the tracklist for this week whenever.

>>61188603
Meh, can't win em all. He has such a unique style, I imagine he's the sort of person who is really rewarding and fun to listen to if you like his voice. He's certainly not what I wanted to hear at the end of Sorcerer though, that's for sure. I'm not sure what Miles was thinking, tagging him on the back of the album like that.
If nothing else, it's not fair to Dorough to have been shoehorned onto an album he didn't belong on.

1. Sugar Rum Cherry by Duke Ellington
from The Nutcracker Suite (1960)
Duke Ellington – piano
Willie Cook, Fats Ford, Ray Nance, Clark Terry – trumpet
Lawrence Brown, Booty Wood, Britt Woodman - trombone
Juan Tizol - valve trombone
Jimmy Hamilton - clarinet, tenor saxophone
Johnny Hodges - alto saxophone
Russell Procope - alto saxophone, clarinet
Paul Gonsalves - tenor saxophone
Harry Carney - baritone saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet
Aaron Bell - bass
Sam Woodyard - drums

2. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Sean Jones
from Jazz Yule Love II (2006)
Sean Jones- Trumpet
Orrin Evans- Piano
Kenny Davis- Bass
E.J. Strickland- Drums

3. Blue Xmas by Bob Dorough and the Miles Davis Sextet
from Facets (1962)
Bob Dorough- vocal
Miles Davis- trumpet
Frank Rehak- trombone
Wayne Shorter- tenor sax
Paul Chambers- bass
Jimmy Cobb- drums
Willie Bobo- bongos
Gil Evans- arranger

4. Santa Claus is Coming to Town by Paul Bley
from My Standard (1986)
Paul Bley- Piano
Jesper Lundgaard- Bass
Billy Hart- Drums

5. Winter Wonderland by Chet Baker
from Chet Baker featuring Russ Freeman (1953)
Chet Baker- Trumpet
Russ Freeman- Piano
Joe Mondragon- Bass
Shelly Manne- Drums

6. White Christmas by Charlie Parker
Recorded 1948 live at The Royal Roost
Charlie Parker- Alto Sax
Kenny Dorham- Trumpet
Al Haig- Piano
Tommy Potter- Bass
Max Roach- Drums

7. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear by Eddie Higgins
from Christmas Songs II (2008)
Eddie Higgins- Piano
George Mraz- Bass
Ben Riley- Drums

8. The Christmas Song by Michal Urbaniak
from Some Other Blues(1994)
Michal Urbaniak- Violin
Dave Kikoski- Piano
Peter Washington- Bass
Kenny Washington- Drums

9. Let It Snow by The Count Basie Orchestra
from A Very Swingin’ Basie Christmas (2015)
I’m not going to type out the whole band here but it was Ellis Marsalis on piano.

10. Greensleves by Jimmy Smith
from Christmas Cookin’ (1964)
Jimmy Smith- Hammond Organ
Kenny Burrell- Guitar
Billy Hart- Drums

bump

since when is greensleeves a christmas song?

>>61190266
When it has lyrics it's called what child is this and those lyrics are Christmas related.

>>61191913
I'll bump. It would be nice to get some new blood in these threads.

God dammit. I realized I typed up my opinions on the last tracks, but didn't bring the file with me when I came home.

Fug :DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

Oh well. Guess I will just have to start posting in these threads next week