THE BEAT
Holiday Music Roundup
by Seth Rogovoy
(WILLIAMSTOWN - December 5, 1996) -- The usual array of holiday- themed recordings includes some very atypical surprises this year, offering listeners far more beyond the standard tinsel and fluff.
Not the least surprising is "Festival of Light" (Six Degrees/Island), a unique, eclectic collection of traditional and original Chanukah music by contemporary musicians including singer/songwriters like Marc Cohn and Jane Siberry, folk artists such as Dutch world-music outfit Flairck and dulcimer player John McCutcheon, neo-Klezmerists like Don Byron and the Klezmatics and avant-gardists like John Zorn and Alitsut. Cohn breathes new life into the overdone "Rock of Ages," but the real revelation here is the album's closer, a funky original co- written and performed by Peter Himmelman and David Broza, who come across like the Sam and Dave of contemporary, Jewish folk-rock. "Festival of Light" offers a great soundtrack to the Chanukah holiday, which begins tonight (Dec. 5) at sundown.
As the title indicates, "Kwanzaa Party!" (Rounder) is intended as a soundtrack to help celebrate the African-American cultural festival that turns 30 this year (Dec. 26). The 14 songs compiled here by black artists from around the world do not directly address the holiday itself but instead serve as a testament to the cross-cultural diversity of contemporary black music. The attractive package, which boasts songs by the likes of Roaring Lion, NG La Banda, Kanda Bongo Man and Boukan Ginen, includes background information and suggests appropriate activities and recipes for a Kwanzaa celebration.
"12 Soulful Nights of Christmas" (SoSoDef/Columbia) and "Special Gift" (Island) both feature a variety of contemporary R&B artists handling traditional and new holiday compositions. The former boasts smooth grooves by the likes of Xscape, Gerald Levert, Chaka Khan and Faith, and the latter includes Isley Brothers soul, Ronny Jordan's guitar jazz and Kurtis Blow's rap, among others. "Boney's Funky Christmas" (Warner Bros.) by tenor saxophonist Boney James mixes standard and original instrumentals in a smooth, contemporary style, with a few guest vocals by Dee Harvey and Bobby Caldwell.
It's hard to believe that it has taken all these years for pianist Dave Brubeck to get around to recording a solo Christmas album, but "A Dave Brubeck Christmas," featuring 14 cuts including hymns, standards and a few originals, is finally available on the Telarc Jazz label. This is no cocktail music, either -- in Brubeck's hands, even a trivial novelty like "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" reveals heretofore hidden depths.
Telarc is also offering "Spirit of the Carols" by guitarist Thom Rotella as a counterpart to Brubeck's album. In this case, Rotella overdubs himself on acoustic, classical and electric guitars and mandolins, giving his renditions of hymns and standards a shimmering, orchestral quality.
Brubeck also shows up on "Bending Towards the Light: A Jazz Nativity" (Milan), an ambitious, full-fledged holiday dramatization for voice and instrument, featuring an all-star cast including Tito Puente, Lionel Hampton, Milt Grayson, Ron Carter, Clark Terry and Jon Faddis, recorded live in New York City. Tenor saxophonist Bob Kindred's rendition of "Silent Night" gives new meaning to the term "gospel" music.
Despite its title, "O Come All Ye Faithful: Rock for Choice" (Columbia) offers an edgy holiday alternative of mostly original Christmas tunes by bands including Bush, Presidents of the United States of America, Luscious Jackson and Juliana Hatfield. Shudder to Think contributes a version of the Hebrew prayer Al Hanisim, while Henry Rollins offers a chilling, spoken-word rendition of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" over an ambient soundtrack of industrial-urban combat sounds.
Folk-blues singer/guitarist Jorma Kaukonen's "Christmas" (American Heritage) is a rootsy, playful collection of seven originals and three traditional tunes that range from blues to rags to full-fledged rockers. Kaukonen teams with his Hot Tuna pal Michael Falzarano for the effort.
"Celtic Christmas II" (Windham Hill) features such leading lights of the contemporary Celtic renaissance as Seamus Egan, James Galway, Luka Bloom and Capercaillie, on a gorgeously mellow compilation performing songs that are more reflective of the season's mood rather than specifically about Christmas itself.
For some reason, there seems to be a glut of silly holiday releases this year, the silliest of which is undoubtedly "A Rubber Band Christmas" (ADA), featuring 14 holiday favorites played entirely on office equipment -- rubber bands, rulers, staplers, scissors, paper clips, etc. The CD even comes with a rubber band so you can play along. I'm not making this up. (Call 1-800-727-2221 for this hard-to- find, soon-to-be-classic.)
Almost as silly is "Tiny Tim's Christmas Album" (Rounder). Tim, of course, can only be taken in small doses, but the dozen cuts on this album include a bizarre religious sermon on the meaning (or lack of such) of Christmas which suggests Tim might have missed his true calling as a preacher.
The neo-cocktail set will swing to Juan Garcia Equivel's "Merry Xmas" (Bar/None), featuring a dozen holiday favorites recorded over 30 years ago in the eccentric visionary's "space-age bachelor pad" style. The Bobs are an equally acquired taste, I suppose, and those who go for that quartet's comic, a capella vocalese will want to check out "Too Many Santas!" (Rounder).
The songs on "A Classic Cartoon Christmas" (Nick at Nite/550 Music) may have been intended for children in their original context, but this collection is definitely geared to the adult generation that was weaned on such holiday cartoon fare as "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "A Muppet Family Christmas," among other animated TV specials. Raffi's "Christmas Album" was originally released back in 1983, but the 15-song collection geared toward young toddlers is available again on the Rounder label.
There are still those who like their Christmas music sweet and syrupy, and Sandi Patty's "O Holy Night!" (Word/Epic), awash in strings and choirs, will not disappoint on that account. The obvious best-seller among this year's crop of Christmas albums will be Michael Bolton's pretentiously-titled "This Is the Time -- The Christmas Album." Not just a Christmas album -- the Christmas album, mind you. It includes duets with Placido Domingo and Wynonna, lots of crescendoes and over-emoting, and strings and choirs up the wazoo. According to his press kit, Bolton is "arguably America's premier pop singer and songwriter."
Who am I to argue?
[This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on Dec. 5, 1996. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1996. All rights reserved.]
Seth Rogovoy
rogovoy@berkshire.net
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