Holiday Jazz 2024: An international affair

[Web master's note: Northern California film critic Derrick Bang —  the eldest, youngest and only son of this site's primary jazz guru, Ric Bang — has surveyed the holiday jazz scene for more than a quarter century (!). Check out previous columns by clicking on the CHRISTMAS label below.]

 

Holiday albums appear earlier every year, so I was able to begin this annual survey in October ... and, for the next several weeks, it looked like 2024 would be a dismal year for new holiday jazz releases.

 

Happily, things improved as we slid into mid-November — thanks also to a few slightly older international albums that came to my attention — and you’ll find plenty to enjoy here (along with a few ... not so much).

 

Onward!

 

********

 

The New York-based Interplay Jazz Orchestra, formed in 2003, has maintained a monthly residency at Stony Brook’s The Jazz Loft since 2016. The 16-member unit’s holiday-themed shows have become go-to events every December, with upcoming dates at The Jazz Loft (December 14) and Bay Shore’s Boulton Center for the Performing Arts (December 20-21).

It’s Christmas Again, the most recent of their three albums, was released just a little over a year ago. The arrangements are inventive, and solos are just as dynamic as the unison horn work. A strong sense of fun radiates from this album, which is immediately evident in a rollicking, up-tempo handling of “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” powered by Cameron Escovedo’s drumming, and highlighted by John Marshall’s tenor sax solo.

 

“Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” is equally vibrant, with an intro by the full band segueing to lovely unison horns delivering the familiar melody. Jay Orig’s sassy piano solo is complemented by Dave Lobenstein’s walking bass; Baron Lewis then delivers a sparkling trumpet solo, after which the full unit returns for a thundering finale. “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” emerges as a delicious cha-cha, with solos on trombone (Joey Devassy), alto sax (Chris Donohue) and trumpet (Damien Pacheco), backed by Orig’s delicate piano filigrees. You’ll also hear a cheeky bit of horseracing’s “First Call.”

 

Sweet unison horns are backed by a percussive, toe-tapping vamp in “Little Drummer Boy,” with fanfares introducing tasty solos on alto sax (Jim Miceli) and tenor sax (Alejandro Aviles). 

 

My favorite track, though, is the 5/4 arrangement (!) of “Christmas Time Is Here.” Escovedo and Lobenstein lay down a swinging beat behind the unison horns that carry the theme, with improv shading supplied by Donohoe’s alto sax and Marshall’s tenor sax. (I played this track three times, before listening to the rest of the album.)

 

The party concludes with a leisurely, wistful reading of “Auld Lang Syne,” with unison horns backed by Escovedo’s strong beat; the arrangement has a definite “end of the evening vibe,” augmented by brief solos on tenor sax (Marshall) and trombone (Joey Devassy).

 

My sole lament is that the album favors horn solos; I wish Orig had cut loose on piano a few more times. Hold that thought for the next time!

Hendrik Meurkens: Harmonicus Rex

Height Advantage Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Harmonicus Rex

Once upon a time, not all that long ago, most kids played — or tried to play — a harmonica. Even for a neophyte, it was possible to make music with relative ease. And even at its worst, the resulting sound was reasonably pleasant. All in all, the harmonica was an inexpensive way to develop an interest in music, and it often led to more intricate instruments.

For Hendrik Meurkens, though, it was the instrument.  

Meurkens’ first musical instrument  was the vibraphone ... until he heard Toots Thielemans (one of the first, and most famous, musicians to introduce harmonica to the jazz world). At age 19, Meurkens was hooked.

The harmonica is a free reed instrument that produces sound by using the mouth — lips and tongue — to direct air into or out of a series of holes located in a mouthpiece. Each hole contains one of more reeds, which produce a chord or specific tone. Because of a harmonica’s relatively small size, it’s limited in range and volume; it’s also hard to play single-note phrases.

This album contains a mix of songs: some from the Great American Songbook (“Falling in Love with Love,” “What’s New”); some from well-known jazz artists (Dave Brubeck’s “In Your Own Sweet Way,”  Milt Jackson’s “SKJ”); and several originals by Meurkens. The supporting combo includes Dado Moroni on piano, Marco Panascia on bass, Jimmy Cobb on drums, Joe Magnarelli on trumpet and flugelhorn, and Anders Bostrom on alto flute. They make a swinging group with equally great solo work.

Meurkens more that holds his own; his solo work is excellent and moving, particularly when you consider the limitations of his “horn.” Move over, Toots; you’ve got company!

Hendrik Meurkens and Misha Tsiganov: Junity

Hendrik Meurkens Music
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Junity

Despite Toots Thielemans’ decades-long reign as a master of the jazz harmonica, that particular “mouth organ” remains one of the last instruments one thinks of, when considering our favorite music genre. Well, for much of that same time, German-born Hendrik Meurkens also has been considered a harmonica master, although he began his career playing the vibraphone. After hearing Thielemans, however, Meurkens concentrated on the smaller  instrument. 

He and Russian pianist Misha Tsiganov have performed together for years. Both gained early fame in their home countries; both became immersed in jazz; both attended Boston’s famed Berklee College Of Music; and both ultimately settled in New York City. And, needless to say, both have worked with many of the world’s famous jazz artists. 

On much of this album, the harmonica/piano duo is joined by bassist Oleg Osen Osenkov and drummer Willard Dyson; the former also hails from Russia — and also attended Berklee — while the latter is from San Francisco. 

Like Thielemans, Meurkens plays the chromatic harmonica. While Thielemans concentrated on jazz — playing guitar, harmonica and “whistling” — Meurkens was trained in both classical and jazz genres. This release demonstrates his skill with both. He achieves a pure, clean tone that is second to none, whether performing a ballad (“Ruby My Dear,” “Luiza,” “Close Enough for Love”) or swinging standards (“West Coast Blues,” “Pent Up House,” “Blackbird,” “Norwegian Wood”).

This is one of the finest albums of beautiful, moving jazz, performed by magnificent musicians, that I’ve heard in years. Don’t miss it.