Taken together, these performances show that Jeremy Pelt never intended simply to play Christmas music – he endeavored to rethink it, with each track unfolding like a conversation between respected tradition and present-tense imagination.
The venerable Christmas standard “We Three Kings” is transformed into a sleek, modern jazz waltz with a distinctly hip vibe that recalls Freddie Hubbard's “Blue Spirits.”
The colors and phrasing the ensemble brings to “Christmas Time Is Here” are impressively unique and beautifully call to mind the song's hopeful last line: “Oh, that we could always see such spirit through the year.”
“The Little Drummer Boy” receives a strikingly modern treatment with a distinctive, thought-provoking interpretation of a tune you thought you knew.
In the capable hands of this all-star quartet, “Winter Wonderland” bounces along with straight-ahead joy, while “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire” glows with whispered intimacy.
It's all vintage Pelt — inventive, soulful, and deeply musical. Sure, it's a Christmas album, but at its core, it's a sparkling celebration of jazz itself, played with warmth, wit, and real sophistication. - Excerpted from the liner notes by Ray Osnato
SONORAMA recordings in my stock:
CD Brandt,Helmut "Berlin Calling" - The Helmut Brandt Combo 1956-58 Sonorama Records # 75
CD Brandt,Helmut Spree Coast Jazz - H. Brandt Orchestra 1963 Sonorama # 101
CD Koller,Hans Big Sound Koller 1981 Sonorama # 97
CD Van Royen,Jerry Explosion! The Festival Bigband 1971 Sonorama #43
A German based and worldwide distributed independent label run by Ekkehart Fleischhammer, focusing on impossible to find or previously unreleased recordings from the sought after vaults of jazz, funk, soul or latin music history.
Label Code: LC 13415
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10625 Berlin
Germany