Customer Reviews

Django Bells

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is probably one of the best Christmas/Holiday albums you will ever buy. It's refreshing to hear such great music, especially Holiday music which, when re-done, can become cold and predictiable... Not so with the Gypsy Hombres!
The songs are very Tim Burton-ish in that they are melodic and full of texture. The tone of the whole album is so wonderful, it's such to become an album you will listen to all year long, not just in December.
I highly recommend this album, it's such to become a holiday classic.

By the time I heard this CD, I was sick of Christmas music, yet I still bought it. It's like no Christmas CD I've heard before. Full of very original takes on Christmas classics. Who can resist "Rudolph The Red-nosed Reindeer" as a tango? It also has the best version of the Grinch song ever produced. You can't go wrong with this one, unless you don't like jazz violin.

This Cd is full of surprises when it comes to a new tkae on old christmas classics. A must have for a stylin christmas get together or wrapping presents by the fire.

On paper, the combination of Django Reinhardt-style gypsy jazz and Christmas Carols wouldn't seem to work, but this is a fantastic album. It's freewheeling yet tasteful, adventurous yet traditional and secular yet sacred. Highly recommended. Also one of those Christmas records that will please all yet offend none. It would be an enjoyable listen anytime of year. Django all the way!

You get a whole new feel for some old standards like "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" or "Sleigh Ride". Imagine a gypsy violinist, a guitar, and an upbeat, swing feeling to the tunes. They really have a lilt and a zip to them.

Wonderful jazz licks by all three musicians with each playing off and with the others. There's a real sense of fun with the arrangements and a range of tunes mostly from the "modern" era of the past fifty years. One of the best I've heard this year.

We purchased this CD two years ago, and it is now an anticipation-laden harbinger of the holiday season for us. I don't think it will ever grow old. The combination of humor, musicianship and spirit are classic.

I"m not a big fan of Christmas music (particularly non-stop for a month), but this totally rocks. This Cd makes me smile every time I put it on. I know the Gypsy Hombres are classified as jazz\swing, but I'd put them down as jazz\mariachi. We had this playing Christmas morning (and I've been listening to it for years) and were dancing around the living room before breakfast. If you want a break from all the big-box muzak, this is the cd for you.

"Django Bells" is a warm instrumental holiday set from three guys who are obviously having a ball twisting these familiar tunes. "Blue Christmas/Let It Snow" shines with a jazzy treatment that sets a happy holiday mood. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman" starts with a somber intro blasting into new territory with Justin Thompson's inventive guitar playing off David Spicher's bass to great effect. Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride" puts a smile on my face as Peter Hyrka's violalin squeezes the melody joyfully. "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" creeps up on you like a mouse looking for cheese. "Whose Child Is This" transforms with this lighthearted jazz approach. The title track takes "Jingle Bells" to another universe. Gypsy Hombres' holiday set is well worth discovering for its inventive musicianship & good-hearted spirit. Enjoy!

Simple as that - title says it all. This is the first album I play as the holiday season rolls in, and the last I play as it leaves. It even makes appearances year-round. It will make many more than three kings to dethrone this gem.