Here comes S-A-N-T-A ... S-A-N-T-A!

By Derrick Bang 

[Web master’s note: Northern California film critic Derrick Bang — still the eldest, youngest and only son of this site’s jazz guru, Ric Bang — has surveyed the holiday jazz scene for 20 years, with lengthy columns that just keep growing. Check out previous columns by clicking on the CHRISTMAS label below.]

I’ve been compiling the annual survey of holiday jazz for two decades.

Some years have provided a wealth of great new releases; other years have been quite disappointing. This year, I’m delighted to report, is one of the best ever.

Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz sagely explained that a cartoonist is someone who has to draw the same thing day after day, without repeating himself; the same can be true of musicians brave enough to tackle beloved holiday tunes. We know what they sound like, and we want them to sound that way ... or close enough, in some indefinable manner, to pass muster. That attitude is anathema to jazz musicians, who earn their reputations by taking a familiar melody and changing it up.

Serving both masters, then, is an extremely tricky — and delicate — tight wire act.

It’s arguably even harder with Christmas music. Music fans may be impressed by way-way-out interpretations of classic Gershwin tunes or modern pop ditties, but few people are willing to tolerate a cover of Mel Tormé’s “The Christmas Song” that has been deconstructed to the point of obliterating the original melody.

Most of this year’s offerings superbly navigate those rough seas. As you’re about to find out, plenty of great new albums are waiting to enliven your upcoming holiday gatherings.

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I’ve gone years without any big band ensembles to discuss, and check it out: This year we’re blessed with a bumper crop. First out of the gate is the answer to a longstanding Christmas wish: a holiday album from Gordon Goodwin’s simply amazing Big Phat Band, quite appropriately titled A Big Phat Christmas: Wrap This! (1201 Music).

Dubbing this unit the best and swingingest big band operating today isn’t sufficient praise. These guys don’t merely cook; they explode. The often mischievous arrangements hearken back to Goodwin’s formative years, when he cut his teeth composing and conducting music for the Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain cartoon shows, back in the 1990s. Since then, new albums by his 20-piece Big Phat Band have been treasured classics the nanosecond they’re released.

No surprise, then, that Wrap This! is every bit as vigorously entertaining. The ensemble bolts from the gate with a marvelously sassy arrangement of “Carol of the Bells,” which showcases the terrific unison horn ensemble, along with an excellent soprano sax solo from Eric Marienthal. A wildly syncopated version of “The Little Drummer Boy” is equally ferocious, propelled by strong percussion (Bernie Dresel, Joey DeLeon) and highlighted by sparkling solos on guitar (Andrew Synoweic) and baritone sax (Jay Mason).

Not all tracks are screamers; the band is equally tight at slower and more deliberate tempos, as with a reverential handling of “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing,” which opens with nice bass work from Trey Henry, features a thoughtful piano solo from Goodwin, and gradually builds to an intense finale. The mid-tempo handling of John Williams’ “Somewhere in My Memory” (from Home Alone) is sweet and wistful, fueled by locomotive-style percussion touches and Goodwin’s tasty soprano sax solo.

“I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” is old-style swing, boasting excellent solos on trumpet (Dan Fornero) and tenor sax (Goodwin); “Santa Baby” opens with an impish duet on ukulele and sleigh bells, and then builds via rolling percussion and sassy solos on tenor sax (Brian Scanlon) and trumpet (Willie Murillo). “Do You Hear What I Hear” positively races to the finish line, powered by Rich Shaw’s smooth bass work and a terrific vocal from the jazz ensemble Take 6.

The album concludes with a slow, solemn reading of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” which features more sublime unison horn work that builds to a screaming climax ... and then retreats to a gentle finale on piano. All I can say is Wow!

Ann Hampton Callaway: At Last

Telarc Records
By Ric Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 5.7.09
Buy CD: At Last

Ann Hampton Callaway is a multitalented musician with experience in Broadway shows, clubs and lounges, and is involved in every aspect of her craft. She's listed as an arranger for each of the 11 tunes on this release, and she wrote two of them. She's also an excellent vocalist.

Callaway likes theme albums; her first featured tunes with blues variations, while this one addresses the various aspects of love. She covers well-known standards by Cole Porter, Lew Brown, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Nicks, Harold Arlen and Michel LeGrand; although some of the charts are done up-tempo, most are performed as ballads.

Callaway's remarkable vocal range is richly evident, above and below her natural alto voicing; she can be sensuous and exciting, and her enunciation and pitch are excellent.

But I detect performance differences, when comparing this album to her previous release; she has become more theatrical and less of a jazz vocalist. Putting it another way, she's developing Barbara Streisand's characteristics: Every tune sounds like the sort of production number you'd expect on a stage or in a high-class supper club, rather than the more casual and relaxed format of a jazz club.

Her backup group features the basic trio with which she usually performs — pianist Ted Rosenthal, bassist Jay Leonhart and drummer Victor Lewis — and also includes a sextet consisting of flugelhorn, tenor sax, trombone, guitar, violin and percussion. It's a smooth ensemble, and they complement Callaway admirably.

Ann Hampton Callaway: Blues in the Night

Telarc
By Ric Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 2.1.07
Buy CD: Blues in the Night

The spotlight goes on, the curtain opens and out steps another muti-talented jazz vocalist. 

But wait, I hear you say ... this lady isn't new; she has been around for years. 

So why don't we West Coasters know her better? 

Callaway lives and works primarily in the New York music world, and she's better known as a writer/composer, Broadway stage performer — she had a featured role in the Broadway stage musical Swing — and top-o'-the-heap lounge artist. She has been part of more than 40 albums and has played most of the famous jazz clubs and toured extensively in Europe, but the demand for her writing and composing skills apparently has buffered her from the usual jazz scene. 

This CD's liner notes credit her as co-arranger on almost every track; she performs all the vocals (several with her sister, Liz Callaway), wrote all the special lyrics and played a key role in the recording/production process. I wouldn't be surprised if she swept out the studio and make sure the lights were off, before leaving each day! 

Callaway is backed on several tracks by the all-female Diva Jazz Orchestra, a big band — headed by Sherrie Maricle — that really swings. Callaway is backed by smaller ensembles — quartets or quintets — on most of the songs, however. Either way, the arrangements, musicians and solo work are excellent. 

And she can sing. 

Callaway has a remarkable range, approaching that of Cleo Laine. Callaway is a natural alto: smooth and sensuous for ballads, bright and swinging for up-tempo tunes. She can progress into a stratospheric soprano in a heartbeat, without distortion, hitting each note clear as a bell. 

Oh, yes, she also scats. 

Blues in the Night is a well conceived and performed album. All the songs are blues-related, in various meters, and include many tried and true oldies: "Blue Moon," "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most," "Lover Come Back to Me," "Stormy Weather," "When the Sun Comes Out," "It's All Right with Me," "Blues in the Night" and "The Glory of Love." 

I'm not usually a huge fan of vocalists, but this lady moves me. Based on this CD and her wealth of previous releases — along with what appears to be a top-rated management team — this lady can go as far as she wants.