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What Would
Santa Say?
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Christmas in Hamburg - Happy Holidays from Nagel-Heyer
By C. Michael Bailey
When asked what I consider the best jazz ensemble seasonal recording, I typically respond with Wynton Marsalis' A Crescent City Christmas Card (Sony 45287). It is a superb tome to the holidays, with arrangements of pure genius and grace. Marsalis definitely rises above his stifling reverence to Armstrong, Ellington, and Monk, producing a totally satisfying Christmas offering. Having said that, Marsalis remains too serious about what he is doing, thereby producing highly crafted music that grimaces rather than grins. In contrast, the Nagel-Heyer releases of Christmas music that have recently crossed my desk beam like Satchmo's Smiling Soul.
Christmas Jazz (Nagel-Heyer 1008) and Christmas Jazz, Volume 2 (Nagel-Heyer 1012) are compilations assembled from previous Nagel-Heyer, Sackville, and Arbors releases. The brand of jazz is decidedly traditional, befitting the philosophy and mission statement of Nagel-Heyer. These collections provide the listener with either a well-integrated Christmas collection or an superb introduction to the individual recordings, which for the latter's benefit are listed below.
- Mark Shane's X-Mas All-stars, What Would Santa Say? (Nagel-Heyer 055)
- The Sackville All-stars, A Sackville All-star Christmas (Sackville 3038)
- Jim Galloway and Jay McShann, Jim and Jay's Christmas (Sackville 3054)
- Charlie Bertini and Friends, Christmas Cookies (Arbors 19122)
- Charlie Bertini and Friends, Christmas Cookies- Fresh Batch (Arbors 19201)
- Jan Harrington, Christmas in New Orleans (Nagel-Heyer 1004)
- Chris Murrell and Bobby Irving, III, Full Circle (Nagel-Heyer 1004)
The pieces in these collections meld well, in spite of their different sources. The Mark Shane pieces are perhaps the best realized, as evidenced by the brilliant reprise of the Louis Prima classic title tune. But the Jim Galloway/Jay McShann collaboration is the most honestly funky, organic, as one can hear in "Merry Christmas Baby" and "White Christmas". The most contemporary sound is from Jan Harrington, who's contemporary gospel take is infectious (and is readily abundant on the 2000 release, Jan Harrington's Gospel Christmas [Nagel-Heyer 1013]).
This is a mighty good set of traditional jazz that happens to be of traditional seasonal music. If my arm were twisted to recommend a single recording from which these collections are derived, I would suggest What Would Santa Say? But, they all are very fine. A great Christmas kiss from Hamburg.
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