Holiday Jazz 2019: Plenty of tasty stocking-stuffers

[Web master’s note: Northern California film critic Derrick Bang — still the eldest, youngest and only son of this site’s primary jazz guru, Ric Bang — has surveyed the holiday jazz scene for 23 years, with lengthy columns that just keep growing. Check out previous columns by clicking on the CHRISTMAS label below.]

Let’s start with a blast from the past, finally (finally!) making its debut on CD.

Longtime holiday jazz fans have always prized the Ramsey Lewis Trio’s two classic albums: 1961’s Sound of Christmas and 1964’s More Sounds of Christmas. Both initially were released by Argo and then reissued by Cadet and Chess; the first one went digital in 1989, first on Chess/MCA, and then on Verve. The second album logically should have hit CD simultaneously … but that didn’t happen.

Three decades passed (!). Then, just a few months ago, Verve quietly issued More Sounds of Christmas on CD. Modern listeners now can delight in the trio’s droll handling of “Snowbound,” “We Three Kings” and “Jingle Bells” — the latter a particularly saucy arrangement — and numerous other seasonal chestnuts, along with a couple of originals (“Egg Nog” and “Plum Puddin’ ”). 

The hitch: Five of the 10 tracks are accompanied by syrupy strings, which’ll raise an eyebrow or two. (Oh, well.)

Folks just starting a holiday jazz collection will be delighted by New Continent’s Christmas Hits: Jazz, Lounge and Rhythm & Blues. This three-disc anthology offers 25 iconic tracks in each of the three genres. The Christmas Jazz CD features classics by Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Kenton, Mel Tormé, Chet Baker and many others. Christmas Lounge is laden with vocals by Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Johnny Mathis, Judy Garland, Eartha Kitt, Julie London and others. Christmas Rhythm & Blues, finally, is a smorgasbord featuring The Cadillacs, Brenda Lee, Elvis, Chuck Berry, The Drifters and much more.

With 75 tracks for slightly less than $13, you can’t go wrong!

As this survey was going to bed, Santa dropped a copy of up-and-coming vocalist Rebecca Angel’s CD single cover of “Santa Baby.”Considerable bravery is required to tackle this classic, in the wake of Eartha Kitt’s iconic 1953 version, along with respectable later covers by Kylie Minogue and Madonna. To her credit, Angel has the appropriate little-girl coo, and her flirty reading is backed by a tasty quintet: Dennis Angel (Flugelhorn), Jason Miles (keyboards), Jonah Prendergast (guitar), Reggie Washington (bass) and Brian Dunne (drums).

But will it stand the test of time? Hard to say. 

Now, let’s see what else Santa brought jazz fans this year (or recently, anyway) …

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Doug Hamilton: Jazz Band

OA2 Records
By Ric Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 1.8.09
Buy CD: Jazz Band

If you've never heard of Doug Hamilton, there's a good reason; by day he's Dr. Doug Hamilton, head of surgery at two hospitals.

Hamilton didn't seriously pursue jazz until he was 40, when he picked up a trombone and began lessons — and studied arranging — at night. After 10 years, in the 1980s, he founded The Brass Connection: a Juno Award-winning group consisting of five trombones and a five-man rhythm section.

He released a CD in 1986 (“A Five Star Edition”) that featured trombone greats Carl Fontana, Bill Watrous, Jiggs Whigham and Ian MacDougal. In '93, Hamilton formed his jazz band tentet using musicians from U.S. military groups such as the Army Blues. This unit is smaller than a standard big band — Hamilton uses just two trumpets, one trombone, three reeds and a piano, bass, guitar and drums — but his compositions and arrangements are such that the group sounds, and swings, like a much larger orchestra.

Hamilton composed three of the 13 tracks here and arranged all of them, but he did not play trombone; that task fell to Matt Niess.

Hamilton's arranging style is similar to that of greats such as Bill Holman and Bob Florence; on some tunes, the melodic improvisations are done up-front, with the familiar melodic lines saved for the final part of the arrangement.

He also leaves plenty of “open” spacing for the solos, a technique that inspires and challenges each instrumentalist; of particular note are trumpeter Craig Fraedrich, guitarist Jim Roberts, baritone saxman Scott Silbert, tenor saxman Tedd Baker and pianist Tony Nalker. Drummers Steve Fidyk and Dave McDonald split the tracks and keep things moving.

This is a fine “little big band”; it sets the bar high for all others.