Customer Reviews

GRP Christmas Collection, Vol. 2

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I wrote a general review of the GRP Christmas Collections CD's on the vol. I page. My faves on this one are Blue Christmas , which is a new song to me, and Christmas Time is Here. There's also fresh, jazzy treatments of standards. I Wonder as I Wander really comes alive. Highly recommend this CD and the other two volumes.

I have plenty of Christmas music, more than I can usually play during the season but this one I never can do without. If you like jazz in the smooth jazz vein, soulful renditions of classics, improvised interpretations, than you'll be in heaven with this disc. There are several tracks that wouldn't be Christmas without hearing every year.Don Grusin leads the way with memorable tracks with his choir infused version of "Angels We Have Heard On High." The melodic yet innovative "The First Noel" by George Howard is reminiscent of John Coltrane in his phrasing at times, "I'll Be Home For Christmas" by Spyro Gyra is a rocking jumping good time, Arturo Sandoval sheds his latin jazz image for a brief moment on Bb trumpet and piccolo trumpet for a classical music introduction that soon transcends into blistering jazz solos than back into classical melodies on "O Come All Ye Faithful," the soulful voices of Carl Anderson and Patti Austin respectively on "O Holy Night" and "Christmas Time is Here" give the disc part of it's R&B edge. The absolute most sublime songs you can ever hear during the season are on this disc. You must hear "I Wonder as I Wander" by the New York Voices which mesh so beautifully with jazz arrangements and horns that will knock your socks off. Another soulful track is "Let There Be Peace on Earth" by Voyceboxing which features some remarkable female singing. The disc closes out with an amazing performance on harp by Deborah Henson- Conant who gives a Middle Eastern meets Western sensibilities to the otherworldly "We Three Kings of Orient Are." Great music for the holidays that you will enjoy year after year as I have since the early 90's.

No compilation on the market any better than this! I'd buy THIS cd for Spyro Gyra's "I'll Be Home For Christmas" alone!
All 3 GRP CDs are great. And if you can get your hands on it, try a compilation CD titled "Jazzy Wonderland"

Like the famous Mannheim Steamroller Christmas series, the GRP collections quickly become holiday traditions for all who hear them. The 13 tracks in this second collection demonstrate variety and creativity similar to the original volume. My favorite instrumentals include: "Let It Snow" with Nelson Rangell on piccolo, a great opener for the album; Arturo Sandoval's "O Come All Ye Faithful," which starts out sounding very traditional but then kicks into some of the trumpet master's characteristic bursts of energy; and "I'll Be Home for Christmas" from Spyro Gyra, featuring the band's signature blend of alto sax and vibes. My top picks for vocals: a wonderful rendition of "Christmas Time Is Here" by Patti Austin, Voyceboxing's version of "Let There Be Peace on Earth," and "I Wonder As I Wander" by the New York Voices.
Less impressive are Laima's vocal on "Blue Christmas," which she sings like she's bored with it, and Don Grusin's "Angels We Have Heard on High," which is rather repetitive and uses a children's chorus that makes it reminiscent of some of the music from "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Not that these are bad tracks - they just seem less interesting (to my taste, anyway) than the rest of this great collection.
Overall, highly recommended for your enjoyment across many Christmases.

I've had the Volume 1 GRP Christmas album for years and enjoy it every Christmas time. The music is beautiful and relaxing. The arrangements are novel and interesting. The mixture of spiritual and secular selections is nice. With such a heavy rotation for the first album, I knew Volume 2 would be a gem, and it certainly is.

Two highlights on an album wonderful from start to finish are Acoustic Alchemy's "Earl of Salisbury's Pavane" and Patti Austin's absolutely classic rendition of Guaraldi's "Christmas Time is Here." The Acoustic Alchemy number is reverent and powerful; it's my new favorite Christmas hymn. Patti Austin's song makes me 7 years old again, worshipping in delight and wonder beneath a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Great music.

GRP Record's first Christmas collection was one of the very best holiday jazz discs ever produced. What a shame that this, the eventual follow-up, would be such a total stinker. I think the reason for this is twofold. First, GRP was obviously trying to cash in on the success of the first disc, and second, they relied upon too many of their second tier performers, instead of re-using many of the bigger guns who appeared on the original.

The only song that equals the excellence and spirit of that first CD is Spyro Gyra's I'll Be Home For Christmas. Although usually recorded as a somber piece, this version is jubilant and breezy, and it's all the better for it. Classic Spyro!

The rest of the disc ranges from tepid to laughably bad. Nelson Rangell's piccolo is all over the place on Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! as is George Howard's sax on The First Noel. Don Grusin's meandering Angels We Have Heard On High seems at constant odds with the backing children's choir, Latvian singer Laima Vaitkule embarrasses herself with her woefully comatose Blue Christmas, and Patti Austin turns Christmas Time Is Here into a melancholy dirge.

Arturo Sandoval's O Come All Ye Faithful starts off beautifully, then turns into an ugly, hard bop rage. The usually reliable Acoustic Alchemy fall flat with their Earl of Salisbury's Pavane, as does Carl Anderson with his middling O Holy Night. New York Voices' I Wonder as I Wander wears out it's welcome by going on way too long.

Russ Freeman's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring has a lovely acoustic guitar that's hampered by the encroaching synthesizers. En Vogue wannabes Voyceboxing seem to have stumbled onto the wrong record with their turgid, drum synthesized Let There Be Peace on Earth. Lastly, there's Deborah Henson-Conant's strange and dour We Three Kings to end the disc on a low note.

Do yourself a favor. Skip this terrible disc altogether and just buy the original GRP Christmas Collection. You won't be sorry.

Volume I of the GRP Christmas Collection is my favorite, but this Volume II is very good.

I highly recommend this to anyone that likes smooth jazz and wants mood music for Christmas gatherings. Would also make a great stocking stuffer... I have all the GRP Christmas collections and use them every year. They make Christmas parties seem more festive.