Masters In This Hall: The New Age of Christmas

Pete Levin & Danny Gottlieb | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 9, 2001)
• Original Release Date: October 9, 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: PLM
• ASIN: B00005RHSF
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #662,153 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars INSPIRED, November 5, 2001

By 

Alan Cagan (Long Island) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Masters In This Hall: The New Age of Christmas (Audio CD)

This is THE definitave jazz Christmas Album. The writing and orchestration ranks Pete Levin as one of the finest contemporary jazz musician-composers of our time, and I feel that he has captured the true spirit of Christmas, while not sacraficing his commitment to his art. Danny Gottlieb, a legendary drummer, lives up to his press, while not intruding into the complex charts which Levin has magically woven. The textures and harmonies are indeed works to treasure, and the album is creative enough to enjoy year round. I am sorry if I have rambled on a bit, but I really think this album is fantastic.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Christmas jazz, November 7, 2001

By 

beforemidnight (Phoenix, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Masters In This Hall: The New Age of Christmas (Audio CD)

I had the original release of this on cassette, which is long gone. I was really happy to see a CD reissue come out, and its even even better with the 2 bonus tracks. Sonicly its better than the original, really kicking my subwoofer. Danny Gottlieb is one of my favorite drummers and he sounds great on this CD. I've got a few recordings of other artists with Levin's work on it, playing keyboards or arranging, but this is the only one I know of that is all his keyboards, without backing a singer or anything else. The arrangements are awesome, this ain't just jingle bells! There are really unusual grooves on "Carol of the Bells" and "We Three Kings" and incredible chords on "Away In a manger". You can listen to this one all year.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This one's different!, November 18, 2001

By 

"bobr2001" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Masters In This Hall: The New Age of Christmas (Audio CD)

Not what I expected on a Christmas album - but in a way, maybe what I did expect. I caught these two guys live years ago with the Gil Evans Orchestra. I wish they had used a couple of the horn soloists from that band - maybe Lew Soloff or Chris Hunter. I would have liked to hear some other soloists. But Levin's arrangements are lush and musical, with a strong Gil Evans influence evident. Gottlieb shows his pop playing side rather than the jazz style he's famous for, but some of his grooves are infectious, often giving a unique twist to the song. This is definitely not a Christmas carol singalong if that's what you're looking for, but it's a very hip album.