Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Danish Radio Big Band: Jazzin' Around Christmas

3

Danish Radio Big Band: Jazzin' Around Christmas

By

Sign in to view read count
Danish Radio Big Band: Jazzin' Around Christmas
Despite the fact that Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and Dave Brubeck all successfully recorded Yuletide songs, jazz still enjoys a problematic relationship with the so-called festive season.

The trouble no doubt is that Christmas is so quintessentially square or unhip. What self-respecting hipster would dream of walking in a winter wonderland or taking a ride on a sleigh drawn by Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer?

Nonetheless, the Danish Radio Big Band have fearlessly come up with that rare item, a Christmas jazz album.

Dennis Mackrel conducts. His credentials are immaculate: drummer with the Count Basie band from 1983 until the Count's death the following year; and with later incarnations fronted by Thad Jones and Frank Foster. Since then he's played with the American Jazz Orchestra, the Carla Bley Big Band, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Buck Clayton's Swing Band and the Dizzy Gillespie All Star Big Band.

Under his baton: an impressive and varied array of guest vocalists, including Ola Onabulé, who describes himself as a "British Nigerian soul funkateer"; Curtis Stigers, a latter day Sinatra from Boise, Idaho; and Miriam Mandipira, from Zimbabwe.

Danish vocalist Sinne Eeg teams up with Mads la Cour (flugelhorn) to dust off "Jingle Bells," perhaps the best known (and corniest) of all Christmas songs.

Another Dane, Mads Mathias is responsible for the only original on the album, "Chop Chop (The Xmas Tree)," which holds its own well among all the good old good (sic) ones.

Sweden's Mimi Terris teams up with guitarist Per Gade in a valiant bid to breathe new life into "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" (which it's not of course; it's usually dismal and grey).

The DRBB save their best till last: a lovely, lyrical, if somewhat spacey version of "When You Wish Upon A Star," played by Danish trumpet star Palle Mikkelborg, best known for his extended composition "Aura," dedicated to Miles Davis. It comes as a great relief after all the vocals with their schlocky lyrics.

Track Listing

I’ll Be Home For Christmas; Jingle Bells; Deck The Halls; It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas; It Came Upon The Midnight Clear; Chop Chop (The Xmas Tree); It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year; I Pray On Christmas; Snowfall; This Christmas; When You Wish Upon A Star.

Personnel

Bobo Moreno, Sinne Eeg, Ola Onabulé, Curtis Stigers; Lisa Nilsson; Mads Mathias; Mimi Terris, Miriam Mandipira, Caecilie Norby, Niels HP: vocals; Palle Mikkelborg, Erik Eilertsen, Jens Gotholdt, Thomas Kjaergaard, Mads la Cour, Gerard Presencer: trumpets; Vincent Nilsson, Steen Nicolaj Hansen, Kevin Christensen, André Jensen; Jakob Munck Mortensen: trombones; Nikolaj Schultz, Peter Fuglsang, Hans Ulrik, Karl-Martin Almqvist, Anders Gaardmand: saxophones; Henrik Gunde: piano; Per Gade: guitar; Kaspar Vadsholt: bass; Søren Frost: drums.

Album information

Title: Jazzin' Around Christmas | Year Released: 2016 | Record Label: Storyville Records

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

What Was Happening
Bobby Wellins Quartet
Laugh Ash
Ches Smith
A New Beat
Ulysses Owens, Jr. and Generation Y

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.