1 comments about Malt Shop Memories: Christmas.

1. This is a nice cd of early sixties Christmas music.And personally I like the Drifters version of White Christmas better than the more famous versions

4 comments about Trio West Plays Holiday Songs.

1. Awsome holiday record. Super relaxing and interesting arrangments. This recording makes me feel like I'm on vacation. It gives a feeling of romanticism that captures the true spirit of what Christmas should be about.



2. if you're like me you love the Vince Guaraldi Peanuts xmas and you're looking for more music like that for the holidays . . . this is it right here - makes a perfect gift as you get to look cool by turning peeps on to a new thing they likely never heard of. HIGHLY reccomended and very tasty..... jazz purists will love it as will your Uncle Fred who knows nothing about jazz. . . .



3. This has become my favorite holiday CD ever, winning its place next to Nat King Cole's on my shelf. If you're tired of all the hokey, overproduced holiday music you have to suffer through during December, put on Trio West and let it permeate the room: a mixture of nostalgia, sophistication, joy and warmth. Thank you, Trio West, for recapturing the holiday spirit!



4. What I love about this CD the most is that it's not the same old holiday songs that are played ad naseum in stores, on the radio, or on television. Instead, you'll find new jazz-inspired takes on classic tunes that are not only delightful but which also foster a warm and inviting atmosphere. A standout in the category and one you'll likely listen to all year round.

No comments about The Ultimate Jazz Christmas.

4 comments about Christmas with Thomas Hampson.

1. Wow! This guy is terrific. All the other singers seem to have their own reinterpretations of the Christmas songs. That's OK too, but he sings them straight and with energy and style. You would not believe how many recordings of "O Holy Night" I listened to before I found this one. Joy, joy, joy.



2. The voice of Thomas Hampson is really wonderful, it is warm and light and clear. This cd is a good mixture of christmas song, but the interpretation of the german songs are not in the right tempo, especially the "O du fröhliche", it has to be the half of the tempo. "Tochter Zion" and "Macht hoch die Tür" is aswell to fast. The musical interpretation is brilliant.



3. Once in a while we come across a Christmas recording that is out of the usual silly lot to which we are subjected this season. No elevator music here. Actually Thomas Hampson interpretation is probably too much to stomach for those that just want the "feel good and be merry" holiday music. The artistry of Hampson shines, and the Hugh Wolff musical direction is flawless. Their combination brings the greatness of some of our oldest Christmas music reminding us that the inspiration is in faith, in love, in the hope of new beginnings. It is to their honor that they allow us a new look on things that we just took for granted. Be it an almost heart breaking "Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas" when we suddenly think about those that will never be with us anymore; be it the awesome "Macht hoch die Tur" where even the agnostic in me recalls the days of faith and the meaning of Christmas; or be it the winsome rendering of "In dulci jubilo" that links us with the spirit of Christmas through ages, a tribute to the never ending freshness of this holiday. If there is one Christmas record that one can listen during the rest of the year, this is it.



4. Thomas Hampson has a wonderful lyric baritone voice and I love the music, so why only four stars? Most of the pieces are a little laid back for my taste. (Maybe the fact that I'm a Mario Lanza fan explains that.) Exceptions are Alleluia, O Holy Night, and Ding Dong Merrily On High. The orchestra plays with wit and taste, which is almost a given when they are conducted by Hugh Wolf. If you love Christmas music sung by a lower male voice, then this album is a must. Does anyone know if Erich Kunz's marvelous carols album is available yet on CD? For anyone who likes Thomas Hampson, Erich Kunz should be tried. His voice is similar to Hampson's voice and his affection for the music shines through. Hampson's vocals are clean and well-focused. This, as one reviewer said, is music for other seasons too.

2 comments about Christmas in Carolina.

1. christmas in carolina - bill leslie
   a review
   
   
   Bill acceded to my wishes by including more vocals on this CD, including a definitive Sweet Little Jesus Boy that communicates with understated voice and guitar the deep and poignant message of this song. The other vocals are drawn from songs Bill wrote for his home church for the lighting of the Advent candles.
   They too have a profundity that requires listening to the words attentively - and musically they're graced by the angelic harmonies of Marty Suttle. Road to Bethlehem will lift you to new heights.
   Bill's lifelong friend, pianist Bill Covington's uniquely fresh arrangements of Silent Night, Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming, and The First Noel will delight anyone who is looking for "Christmassy" music.
   The rest of the varied collection might better be labeled as a spiritual offering from the heart of Bill. As always, the songs evoke images of his beloved home state of North Carolina, with echoes of his Celtic ancestry.. delicately intertwining guitar, Celtic whistle, violin - occasionally hammered dulcimer and synthesizer. Bill has a remarkable gift for melody and how to reweave it.
   His music is soothing to the soul. But turn it up now and then to hear marvelous touches you missed the first several times you listened.
   This CD will have a long shelf life. I'm thinking I'll be pulling it out at Easter, Pentecost, All Saints Day, and surely next year at Advent.
   If you seek to draw closer to God at Christmas, Bill is near to God's heart and you can hear it, inspiringly!
   
   
   Rev. Bob Inskeep is associate pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Raleigh NC.



2. When you listen to Bill Leslie's "Christmas in Carolina" CD, you can't help but wonder if the miraculous Christian heritage events surrounding the birth of Jesus might have occurred just around the bend or down the road a piece. That's because Leslie and his harmonious entourage of instrumentalists and vocalists have succeeded in crafting a truly remarkable portrait of the very legacy of Christmas as it affects the individual believer, casting reflections from the wonderous story's setting in ancient Bethlehem to the wintry sunrises and sunsets of the New World.
   
   With a brilliant ensemble combining strings, winds, piano and guitars, the singer-songwriter and Raleigh, N.C., television broadcast journalist adds a good measure of home-cooking to this remarkable musical journey. In "Christmas in Carolina," Bill Leslie and his supporting cast offer us a stirring sequence of songs and instrumentals connecting the threads of personal experiences from the Christmastime season with a sprinkling of distinctive interpretations of traditional seasonal favorites along the way.
   
   Cellist Clark Wang and violinists Sherry Buchheit and Jennifer Curtis bring the life-breath of string sounds to the orchestration, flavored as well by skyward flute passages by Linda Metz, a nifty guest guitar solo on the title song, "Christmas in Carolina," by Brent Cotten, percussion touches by Will Leslie, additonal vocals by Marty Suttle and augmented most distinctively by the piano interpretations of traditional favorites by Bill Covington. Add a sparkling array of Leslie's Celtic whistles to this platform, highlighted by an awakening, Lightfoot-gone-South, if you will, vocal reach of the singer-songwriter, and you'll no doubt be wanting to take this CD out for a test drive via sled or horseback at the first opportunity.
   
   If you didn't know that Leslie himself is providing the lilting Celtic whistle passages heard around the bends of this naturalist and spiritual Appalachian and Blue Ridge excursion, you might think that these songs were composed way across the seas in one of those Scottish coves or in an Irish coastal hamlet from which many a journey to America has emanated through the centuries. But when you add to this glow and mystique from distant musical homelands the unmistakably Southern regional flavoring of the fine guitar figures Leslie adds to these blends of voices and instruments, then you realize that "Christmas in Carolina" is offering us a rare chance to hear the wonder of the great Christian harkening toward the very coming of Jesus from that landscape of the Israel of old yet soothingly brushed with a back-country touch from all the neighborhoods back home. Thus is given to this miracle from afar a relevance known to all who have experienced that familiar crossing from the next ridge over, yielding a marvelous meandering through the Carolina country, adaptable quite naturally to all the hills and plains across the land, with the compelling artistic imprint of the Christmas experience enchantingly evident at every stop along the way.

2 comments about Hymns Triumphant.

1. The most difficult aspect of finding a good choral CD is the mix. Hymns Triumphant is fantastic.



2. If I was stuck on an deserted island with only one CD to choose from, this would be it. When I was going through chemotherapy for Hodgkin's Lymphoma, this collection (a cassette at the time) kept my spirits up and aided in my healing. Listen to these excerpts and taste and see how truly good this glorious music is.

No comments about Roman Christmas / Italian Concertos & Cantatas.

4 comments about A Guitar for Christmas.

1. simply an excellent xmas cd. the guitar playing is wonderful & solid as are his arrangements. i say this is a must have for anyone seeking solo guitar xmas music.



2. This guitar playing is just lovely, and the recording is top notch. Very glad I got this.



3. Christmas music by guitar -- sounded a bit quaint, but i thought I'd give it a try. Over the holidays I found myself listening over an over. Totally a treat.



4. This is simply a beautiful album-- magnificent playing of great arrangements. I suppose Robin Bullock is not exactly a secret in Celtic/folk/new age circles, but he is truly one of the best guitar players in the world. This album will fit the bill for those times when you want to put on some mellow holiday music, or background music for a holiday dinner, but the more carefully you listen, the more astounded you will be.
   
   Several years ago, I had the good fortune to see Robin perform a holiday concert with his friends Al Petteway and Amy White (the three of them put out an excellent holiday album together, b.t.w.), where Robin played his exquisite arrangement of "The Carol of the Bells", which he said was brand new. For a while I wished that he would release a holiday album including that number, and then my wish came true. And the album met my high expectations. I don't see how anyone could produce something better in this genre.

2 comments about The Sound of Christmas.

1. Before they disbanded in the 1950s, the Trapp Family Choir made a series of recordings on the Festival label. Years of singing together and touring had brought their work to a much higher level of performance than can be heard in the recordings they made soon after they arrived in the USA in 1939. From these 1950s recordings, a selection of Christmas carols, issued in 1992 on this CD, is all that is currently available. Sadly, I cannot report that this issue will do much to perpetuate or enhance the family's reputation. A process of dubbing has reduced the original sound quality and introduced an audible hum, defects I don't hear when I replay the items as they originally appeared on LPs. While hoping for better reissues, I meanwhile welcome this extremely inexpensive 37 minute memento. The delightful carols are arranged by the choir's conductor, Dr Franz Wasner. A verse of the well-known "Silent Night", in its original form, is sung first in German, then in English, and then hummed.



2. The von Trapp's have such wonderfully blended voices and this CD just shows that. Silent Night is the most beautiful version I have ever heard in my life. There singing is so fresh, original and different then most music today!

1 comments about Liberace Christmas.

1. Liberace could play the piano like no other. I remember some of these songs from my childhood. The only thing that bugs me is the sound quality. It just doesn't sound remastered. It sounds like they put on some of his old records and just put those on a cd. it adds that vintage feel I guess. I still recommend this album to anyone who likes great piano music or liberace.