B. Goren. Posted October 5, 2011 Report Posted October 5, 2011 (edited) New CD of Geri Allen is always good news for me. From CD Universe website: Christmas albums tend to be a blend of the traditional and familiar with the style of the recording artist, and jazz pianist Geri Allen's A Child Is Born is no exception. Allen has a technically proficient, often elaborate style as a pianist, ... Full Descriptionand she uses it in her evocations of Christmas carols and hymns. There is a slight nod to Ethiopia in the brief versions of "Imagining Gena at Sunrise" and "Imagining Gena at Sunset," as well as the cover art of a black Madonna and child by Kabuya Pamela Bowens, and Allen occasionally employs a Fender Rhodes electric piano or even a Hohner clavinet for unusual effects, notably on her original "God Is with Us" (a musical setting of the Biblical passage Matthew 1:23). Most of the time, however, she takes on tunes known by most Western listeners, playing the melodies in strong right-hand statements backed by often contrasting left-hand rhythms on acoustic piano. Then, she takes off into complex improvisations that only touch back now and then to the melodies. Her playing sometimes has a new age quality, like George Winston in a slightly jazzier mode. So, this is a holiday collection for the more adventurous jazz piano fan, rather than for someone looking for a safe, warm, and fuzzy set of jazzed-up Christmas tunes. Edited October 5, 2011 by B. Goren. Quote
jazzbo Posted October 5, 2011 Report Posted October 5, 2011 I love Geri Allen! I hate Xmas albums! ARGH! Quote
mjazzg Posted October 5, 2011 Report Posted October 5, 2011 I love Geri Allen! I hate Xmas albums! ARGH! I share your pain. what to do? Could she be the artist to make the genre-defying difference...... Quote
B. Goren. Posted October 5, 2011 Author Report Posted October 5, 2011 I love Geri Allen! I hate Xmas albums! ARGH! I share your pain. what to do? Could she be the artist to make the genre-defying difference...... Hopefully... Quote
jazzbo Posted October 5, 2011 Report Posted October 5, 2011 No, it won't make me love Xmas albums. I might pick it up. The only other three I've kept are the June Christy, the Marcus Roberts, and the Uptown Christmas album. . . . Quote
jlhoots Posted October 6, 2011 Report Posted October 6, 2011 Don't like that George Winston reference. Quote
JSngry Posted October 6, 2011 Report Posted October 6, 2011 Don't like the blurb, period. It's like they're trying to sell a Geri Allen record to Scared White People. Quote
TedR Posted October 6, 2011 Report Posted October 6, 2011 I prefer my Christmas tunes to be safe, warm and, I guess, fuzzy. Quote
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