Carla's Christmas Carols

Carla Bley | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 3, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: ECM Records
• ASIN: B002PJS38U
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #129,465 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. O Tannenbaum

2. Away In A Manger

3. The Christmas Song

4. Ring Christmas Bells

5. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Part One, Part two

6. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

7. Hell's Bells

8. Jesus Maria

9. Jingle Bells

10. O Holy Night

11. Joy To The World

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Carla Bley serves up a jazz classic, December 8, 2009

By 

Christopher Johnson "Jazzcj" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Carla's Christmas Carols (Audio CD)

Carla Bley has a remarkable musical sensibility, and brings together a wonderful ensemble here that's as comfortable serving up warm chorale-like brass arrangements as it is bursting into solo on top of a swinging jazz bass line (often in the same song). The arrangements are creative masterpieces - at once lyrical and humorous - with rich, unexpected chord voicings that will reward serious listeners without alienating the mainstream. The jazz world has always had a special connection with Christmas music - from Dexter Gordon's emotional take on Mel Torme's "Christmas Song" to Vince Guaraldi's lonely "Christmas Time is Here". The best tunes of the genre contain warmth, playfulness, and always a hint of sadness at the passing of time. This record so full of personality will sit well next to the classics of the idiom. It's a fantastic album.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful!, November 27, 2009

By 

Leseratte "LR" (Cologne, Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Carla's Christmas Carols (Audio CD)

Great recording. Emotional, but without getting sentimental. With love to the classic christmas melodies, but at the same time with delicate irony. Wonderful. Especially "Holy Night" on the electric bass is brilliant.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thank you Carla Bley. You made me like Christmas music again., December 15, 2009

By 

J. GARRATT - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Carla's Christmas Carols (Audio CD)

Confession time: My ire for Christmas music reached an all time high earlier this decade. My busy job at the time during the holiday season was a contribution factor. The local radio station that my boss played around the clock was no help either. Each November/December, it would be the same renditions/recordings of the same songs done by the same people. Not only was it stifling music (Leo Kottke, one of my favorite guitarists, insists that you can't do anything new with a Christmas carol anymore), but there was no variation in the playlists. And it was like that for seven days a week. Put that together with cranky customers on the phone, I thought my blood veins would rupture.

One day recently I find out that Carla Bley has released a Christmas album, and I am torn. On one hand, Carla Bley is an artist; a composer, a musician who doesn't just roll out of bed and release yuletide crap to earn money. On the other hand, it's Christmas music. I decide to try it. And I like it.

One thing that I especially get is Bley taking liberties with melodies. For instance on "Away In A Manger," the note that matches the word "his" in the line "no crib for his bed" is flatted. That's awesome. If I tried to pull that off at a Christmas party, I would get dirty looks. The way she screws with the harmony of "O Tannenbaum" is equally cool.

Her combination of piano and brass ensemble adds a welcome blur of styles. Sometimes it sounds jazzy, other times it sounds like classical chamber as you can hear on "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen."

And Carla includes her own "Jesus Maria." Christmas music is saved.