/blindfold/

1. This has a nice old-timer sound. Definitely earlier than a lot of the stuff we normally have. I don’t recognize it as a christmas song though. But when the rest of the band comes in its obvious. It’s a pretty fun version.

2. Nice slow version of Greensleeves. The trumpet reminds me a little bit of Lee Morgan. This bass solo is pretty nice. And then it turns into Giant Steps. This was a pretty cool mashup. I liked all the players.

3. Santa Claus is Coming to Town. I think there was a version a lot like this one on last year’s christmas playlist. It sounds a lot like Bill Evans but I think that’s what I thought about last year and it ended up being Paul Bley. I think I liked the bass solo more than the piano solo here.

4. Some more nice trumpet playing. Other than that I guess I don’t have much to say about this one.

5. This one started out slow but then once it gets into it its great. This piano player is awesome and the drummer is doing some amazing stuff too.

I'm going to be busy for a few hours this morning so hopefully someone can bump the thread and I'll post my thoughts for the rest of the tracks later today.

>>69840521
>The trumpet reminds me a little bit of Lee Morgan
Interesting comparison.

great stuff, bump, will review later :)

Also I should maybe mention that a couple of the tracks are definitely stretches to call them Christmas themed, but are at least sort of "winter themed"

>Track 1
From the piano alone I'd be willing to guess that this is Basie - sounds like Ahmad Jamal playing stride. Was a neat arrangement of Jingle Bells. I can see it being a good fanfare piece to end a set with around Christmas time.

>Track 2
This is that song that isn't Greensleeves but is. I really like the way in the first two melody lines he ends with the "wrong" note - makes for a nice harmonic feel. I really love the melody to Greensleeves, so it's nice to hear the trumpet player keep that feel through his solo. Piano solos are a bit more generic sounding. The bass solo is my favourite after the trumpet - it had good structure to it and ramps up the intensity really well (at about 4:30) with that upwards moving pattern. Really could have done without this drum solo though - it sounds like he's flailing his limbs at random.

>Track 3
This is competent but ultimately uninspiring.

>>69843151
>Track 4
So I think this is Bud Powell on piano - although I do sometimes confuse his left hand style with Horace Silver's (is there any excuse for that? are they actually similar?). Less sure about the trumpet but not quite as lyrical as Clifford Brown so maybe Fats Navarro or someone like that? I really like the drum solo, has some dainty cymbal/cowbell(?) work in there so I'm thinking Art Blakey rather than Max Roach? Just like the last track, I don't think this has anything really special going for it, but it was a lot more exciting and enjoyable.

>Track 5
This is one of my favourite Christmas melodies. They didn't take this the way I would have preferred after that intro (slow and atmospheric), but I warmed to it. I liked the rhythmically loose feel through the solo and the way the harmony occasionally got a bit dark.

>Track 6
Well this bass sounds like shit, and those little bends in the opening are way too corny. Sax playing sounds a bit square through the head too, like his swing is forced. He solos like a retarded person talks, as if there's a deep breath and slightly too long spent thinking before each phrase. Between that and the bass tone I think it's fair to say this is not my favourite treatment of this tune.


That's all I've listened to so far - I'll do the rest later.

>>69840521
>it turns into Giant Steps
Just listened to this again and can't believe I missed this the first two times round...

>>69843186
>Track 4
>So I think this is Bud Powell on piano - although I do sometimes confuse his left hand style with Horace Silver's (is there any excuse for that? are they actually similar?)
Actually it's neither. It's definitely understandable to confuse the two though. They use similar voicings in the left hand- open 5ths and 7ths a lot- but there's something about Silver's rhythmic style in his left hand that is different, though I can't seem to articulate what at the moment.

>Track 6
>He solos like a retarded person talks, as if there's a deep breath and slightly too long spent thinking before each phrase.
Damn. Interesting that you'd say this because this is a well-known, widely respected player, but well-past his prime as is probably pretty obvious. Anyway I actually think the phrasing is the best thing about his playing here.

>>69843456
I read once that Silver said he got his left hand style in part from trying to emulate the brass chords that accompany soloists in big bands. I think that goes more for his later work than earlier on when he was more like Bud (glad you agree with me on this one btw), but I can sometimes identify him by that.

I wasn't necessarily dissing the phrasing as such, more the feel of his playing. I think it makes sense when you say he's past his prime, as he doesn't sound unconfident (like a newbie might), just a bit slow to react.

>>69843456
>open 5ths and 7ths
Also wondering what exactly does this mean? Are their left hands only playing the 5th & 7th of the chord?

>>69844363
Actually they're two different things. Open 5ths would be just root and the 5th. Open 7ths would be root and 7th. Powell does root 5th and 7th sometimes too, the idea being that they make the third clear in their right hand line.

Listened to the first five.
>Track 1
Jingle Bells. Alto sax quotes Charlie Parker's Ornithology at 1:04. I enjoyed hearing the division of labor among the horns. I haven't listened to much big band (short of some Count Basie and Co.), so this was pretty novel to me. I'm hesitant to call this a Count Basie tune, though, based on the high quality of the recording and the absence of Freddie Green in the rhythm section.

>Track 2
Greensleeves in D minor (not sure on that) at first, ends head on D#. Most of this is beyond my power level. The last few measures of trumpet reminds me of Miles Davis' Tune Up.

>Track 3
Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Something about the bass sticks out: range is wide, bends, frequently inserts quick runs in bassline and solo, received the only solo and was able to sing the solo simultaneously.

>Track 4
Winter Wonderland. Interesting approach to the head, killed most of the syncopation. Piano quoted Charlie Parker's Ornithology at around 1:30 (all I'm hearing is Charlie Parker today). Trumpet and piano sounded like they were having an argument with the drums, I guess you could call that "trading solos." Who done it? No clue.

>Track 5
God Bless Ye Merry Gents. Had to listen to this one twice. Melody was decomposed in the second and third times through; more rhythmic liberties were taken, last note of each line was sustained with light drum fills and (sometimes) bass arpeggios. Really enjoyed how much of this song was iterations of the melody, good balance between solo and melody in my opinion.

>>69845252
Cool, thanks.

I really need to get past the basic stumbling blocks in the way of playing jazz (notes on the neck, reading music, identifying chord tones) so that stuff like this can actually be useful to me...

>>69843226
>>69840521
I take Tune Up back, that is Giant Steps verbatim in Track 2.

>>69843186
>Track 7
This was a really nice sounding piece, but I don't recognise it. I suppose it's quite crystaline, so that fits the winter theme?

>Track 8
This alto player reminds me of Cannonball with his exhuberance, but I'm fairly sure it's not actually him. The pianist comps really well during the sax solo too, which reminds me of that album Adderley did with Bill Evans. Rhythm playing is a bit to static for this to be great, but the sax and piano are both enjoyable.

>Track 9
I liked the bass solo. Was a lot simpler than a Paul Chambers solo would have been, but it also took more advantage of the particular timbre of the bow for expressive purposes rather than trying to assert the bass as a bebop solo instrument the way Chambers did. Not that I'm criticising Paul, its just the only real comparison I can make... Anyway the bass solo was more than worth the price of admission but nothing else really struck me...

>Track 10
I've never heard this song before. I don't like the overdubbed vocals, the lyrics are awful, and this guy's voice has no soul, but the piano solo was pretty good considering.

5. This one started out slow but then once it gets into it its great. This piano player is awesome and the drummer is doing some amazing stuff too.

6. Sounds like kind of a generic version of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. It’s kind of Saturday Night Live sounding. Once it gets into the soloing it sounds like it’s probably some pretty well known older player. Not bad.

7. I don’t recognize this one. But it’s very nice. It’s pretty Bill Evans sounding. I really enjoyed this one even if I didn’t recognize what song it is.

8. This one started out pretty generic but the sax player reminds me a little bit of Cannonball Adderly. Not bad but not that memorable either.

9. Seems kind of generic. Nothing too much stands out here to me. It makes nice background christmas music

10. This was a surprise. I don’t know this song or what it has to do with Christmas but it kind of reminds me of the Bob Dorough song that was on last year’s Christmas playlist. It sounds kind of cheesy though.

File: louis armstrong christmas.jpg (20KB, 270x270px) Image search: [Google]

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bump

>>69847541
>>69847808
I was curious to see if anybody would know the last track and how it's related to Christmas

Alex Sipiagin playing at Smalls right now with David Binney.

Check out the live stream.

1. quite an extended piano intro before it goes into jingle bells. Could be any swing big band like Basie. The piano was fun to listen to even for the style.

2. This is from the Bing Crosby musical White Christmas. They've been showing it on the old movies channel quite a bit recently. But it's a cover by who knows who. I like the overdubbing, singing where the chorus usually does, but this style of singing always bores me.

3. This is What child is this. Took me a second to realize why greensleeves would be a Christmas song. Doesn't sound very Christmas-song-oriented though, more for actual jazz listeners. He straight up starts playing giant Steps at the end. The rhythm section sounds too quiet or something. Great playing from the trumpet and bass.

4. Santa Claus is coming to town. Sounds a bit like Oscar Peterson or something. I don't like how the piano changes the phrasing of the original but it's fine. the bass solo was the best part.

5. Forget the name of this tune. They seem to play a pretty lose version too. Sounds like its live in a club setting. Good solos from the everyone here.

>>69840312
is this the charlie brown guy

>>69854111
Yea

>>69854082
>2. This is from the Bing Crosby musical White Christmas.
Glad somebody got the connection

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrGAXWNdlZc

Bumping with Dexter Gordon's Christmas

Bumping for answers

File: R-2440200-1284173622.jpg (119KB, 600x600px) Image search: [Google]

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>Track 1
Count Basie and His Orchestra- Jingle Bells
from Basie's Jingle Bells (Roulette, 1962)

Count Basie- Piano

File: Screen Shot 2016-12-24 at 11.57.12 AM.png (1MB, 696x690px) Image search: [Google]

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>Track 2
Red Rodney- Greensleves / Giant Steps
from Red Giant (SteepleChase, 1988)

Red Rodney- Trumpet
Butch Lacy- Piano
Hugo Rasmussen- Bass
Aage Tanggaard- Drums

File: Screen Shot 2016-12-24 at 12.02.28 PM.png (620KB, 704x685px) Image search: [Google]

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>Track 3
Bill Evans- Santa Claus is Coming to Town
from Trio '64 (Verve, 1964)

Bill Evans- Piano
Gary Peacock- Bass
Paul Motian- Drums

File: Screen Shot 2016-12-24 at 12.08.06 PM.png (965KB, 699x697px) Image search: [Google]

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>Track 4
Chet Baker- Winter Wonderland
from Chet Baker & Miles Davis with the Lighthouse All-Stars 1953 (Jazz Factory, 2003)

Chet Baker- Trumpet
Russ Freeman- Piano
Bass- Howard Rumsey
Drums- Max Roach

File: Screen Shot 2016-12-24 at 12.13.41 PM.png (884KB, 700x698px) Image search: [Google]

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>Track 5
Joey Calderazzo- God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
from Yule Struttin' (Blue Note, 1991)

Joey Calderazzo- Piano
Jay Anderson- Bass
Adam Nusbaum-Drums

File: R-6958593-1435635470-4483.jpg (91KB, 600x597px) Image search: [Google]

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>Track 6
Dexter Gordon- Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
(Columbia, 1980)

Dexter Gordon- Tenor Sax
Kirk Lightsey- Piano
David Eubanks- Bass
Eddie Gladden- Drums

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>Track 7
Fred Hersch- Snow Is Falling...
from Whirl (Palmetto, 2010)

Fred Hersch- Piano
John Hebert- Bass
Eric McPherson- Drums

File: 515F6dpLooL.jpg (44KB, 500x500px) Image search: [Google]

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>Track 8
Antonio Hart- Winter Wonderland
from Merry Jazzmas (RCA Victor, 1995)

Antonio Hart- Alto Sax
Donald Brown- Piano
Ira Coleman- Bass
Yoron Israel- Drums

File: 6a00e008dca1f088340148c6b25230970c-350wi.jpg (46KB, 350x348px) Image search: [Google]

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>Track 9
Eddie Higgins- I'll Be Home for Christmas
from Christmas Songs (Venus, 2004)

Eddie Higgins- Piano
Jay Leonhart- Bass
Joe Ascione- Drums

File: Screen Shot 2016-12-24 at 12.49.26 PM.png (826KB, 698x697px) Image search: [Google]

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>Track 10
Kurt Elling- The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing
from This Time It's Love (Blue Note, 1998)

Kurt Elling- Vocals
Laurence Hobgood- Piano
Rob Amster- Bass
Michael Raynor- Drums

As PicturesWithSeatingAreas realized, this one is from the classic movie White Christmas.