Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Yellowjackets: Peace Round

Yellowjackets: Peace Round

By Jim Santella
October 18, 2003
View read count

Their first Christmas album in a career that has spanned over 25 years allows the Yellowjackets to share the holiday spirit with a world in which more holiday time-outs seem to be the best medicine for what ails our society. This time of the year, things do slow down a little. Never enough, of course; but it's just what is needed in order to afford us the time to be ourselves. If it weren't for the holiday season, there'd be very little generosity to pass around. The Yellowjackets are donating $1 from the sale of each CD to the Los Angeles area Union Station Foundation, which has provided shelter, meals and supportive housing to the homeless since 1973.

Bob Mintzer airs the melody of the album's title track, an 8-measure round with solemn overtones. Christmas is a time for peaceful scenes, which the Yellowjackets supply one after another. Jimmy Haslip takes the feature on "O Little Town of Bethlehem" with a powerful foundation that can last for millennia. Jean Baylor sings "The First Noel" without much elaboration; the holidays are a time for simplicity and a return to nature.

Why overdress a traditional carol such as that one? The Yellowjackets do each of the listed Christmas carols justice with a mellow passion for all things gentle. This isn't music for banging heads or for shouting from the rooftops. That's what the rest of the year is for.

Track Listing

Little Drummer Boy; Silent Night; Deck the Halls; Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas; Peace Round; The First Noel; God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen; Oh Little Town of Bethlehem; Winter Wonderland; In a Silent Night.

Personnel

Yellowjackets

band / ensemble / orchestra

Bob Mintzer- tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone; Russell Ferrante- keyboards; Jimmy Haslip- bass; Marcus Baylor- drums, Jean Baylor- vocal on "The First Noel."

Album information

Title: Peace Round | Year Released: 2003 | Record Label: Telarc Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Likewise
< Previous

Openground
Next >

Yellowjackets Concerts

Sep 6 Sat

Yellowjackets

Keystone Korner Baltimore
Baltimore, MD

Sep 6 Sat

Yellowjackets

Keystone Korner Baltimore
Baltimore, MD

Sep 7 Sun

Yellowjackets

Keystone Korner Baltimore
Baltimore, MD

Sep 7 Sun

Yellowjackets

Keystone Korner Baltimore
Baltimore, MD

Oct 9 Thu

Yellowjackets

New Orleans Jazz Market
New Orleans, LA

Oct 10 Fri

Yellowjackets

New Orleans Jazz Market
New Orleans, LA

Jan 23 Fri

Yellowjackets

Loeb Playhouse
West Lafayette, IN

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make 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.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves 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.