I'm a fan/sucker for "you've never heard" and similar wordings in comp titles. And here we are with 18 smooth, upbeat, jazzy tracks you've never heard... or may have heard...
All tracks are instrumental sans "Last Christmas" by Till Brönner, but only briefly. Of all the cover versions of Wham's big hit, it's one of the better ones. It toys on a bossa-nova rhythm, and it works. Fourplay's "Angels We Have Heard on High" is probably the best jazz-funkiest rendition I've ever heard. Another big highlight is Dirk K's "Have Yourself a Merry Christmas." Who is Dirk K? I have no idea. Check out those monster guitar licks.
Don't forget to get wow'd by Marco Marzola's "O Christmas Tree." Listen to those drum breaks. Oscar Peterson's "Christmas Waltz" slows things down for a bit, but his piano runs makes up for it and then some. And please note the third track (Don Patterson's "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer") is a needle drop, and not that clean either. It's passable but thought to let you know. I couldn't resist not adding it to the mix. As usual, they're all good. Enjoy!
Look great -- thank you!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome MrDave!
DeleteThis may be one of the best Christmas albums I've heard in years! Thank you!
ReplyDelete