Customer Reviews

Windham Hill Christmas: I'll Be Home for Christmas

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

 

 

I have long been a fan of the Windham Hill Christmas collections, all the way back to the original 1985 release, "A Winter's Solstice". That, and all the subsequent CD's, have been successful to varying degrees in providing an easy, relaxing musical antidote to an often hectic holiday season. The stable of musicians has always been first-rate, from guitarists to pianists, from electronic composers to the occasional vocalist. Some releases, of course, have been less impressive than others ("Winter's Solstice on Ice" was a strange misstep). And the current "Windham Hill Christmas" series has been pleasant enough, if a bit bland. But this latest collection has a particularly warm, and yes, homey feel. Consisting almost entirely of piano and guitar compositions, it effectively conveys the peaceful mood intended. Most of the tunes are quite familiar, save the closing track by Samite, "Yazala Abambuti". Philip Aaberg's "Complete Nutcracker Sweet" is a whimsical five-and-a-half piano condensation of Tchaikovsky's familiar ballet music, and Barbara Higbie's rendition of "Angels from the Realms of Glory" (a carol not heard much these days) is sublimely beautiful. George Winston reminds us once again that he can play harmonica ("Sussex Carol"), but frankly, I would have rather heard him on piano. But just about every track here has a luminous and inspiring quality to it, like all the best Windham Hill music has. It's perfect for background, but even better for those rare moments when you can just put your feet up with a glass of eggnog, and watch the Christmas tree lights in the dark.

The recording is great background music since there are no vocals. It provides a great Christmas mood without being obnoxious. There is a good mix of secular and religious songs. The Nutcracker Sweet is interesting - done on the piano and kind of jazzy but still retains the charm of the original!

Great idea to have guests show their talent and enjoy our best loved songs of the season. Great listening,

The Windham Hill Christmas volumes are a repository for some of the very best "New Age" artists around, and in this one you get primarily instrumental renditions of several each of the most familiar carols and pop tunes, combined with three you don't get to hear very often. Dealing with these first, we'll start with the one track here which does have a vocal - the last one.

The best way to describe Yazala Abambuti is to quote from the liner notes (which are, in effect, track by track comments by the various artists). Samite, the stage name for the African musician Samite Mulondo of Uganda (he now lives in upstate New York), and a world-renowned flute and kalimba player (sort of a "thumb" piano) writes: "This is a song I used to sing when I was a little kid, and it was re-introduced by my aunt who came to visit me in Ithaca. The story is a legend about a man who gave birth to the Pogmies by bringing Christianity to them. His name was Apollo Kiva Ebulaya. My grandfather assisted him on his long trips into the Congo. All these years I believed that was a Ugandan tune, until I overhead someone in the U.S. singing it, a traditional hymn he had learned in English."

On the traditional 17th Century French carol, Bring A Torch Jeanette Isabella, Brian Dunning on flute/recorder, keyboardist Jeff Johnson and violinist John Fitzpatrick are featured, along with guitarist Tim Ellis, bass guitarist Phil Baker, and percussionist Gregg Williams, while on the old English Sussex Carol you hear the mellow harmonica of Michigan-born (1949) but Montana-raised George Winston, also a famed "Rural Folk Pianist."

Another Montanan, jazz keyboardist Philip Aaberg, who regularly weaves elements of jazz, blues, rock, classical and even bluegrass into his music, used "as many pieces as I could from Tchaikovsky's masterpiece, blended with touches of Bee (sic) Bumble and the Stingers" in his 5:32-long The Complete Nutcracker Sweet. For the record, B. Bumble & The Stingers was a Los Angles a studio group with three hit singles in the early 1960s, including Nut Rocker, itself adapted from the master's The Nutcracker ballet.

From Philadelphia-born (1957) pianist/synthesist Tim Story we get a nice rendition of The Holly And The Ivy, while yet another well-known American pianist, Giovanna Joyce Imbesi contributes the old pop standard, I'll Be Home For Christmas, first made famous in 1943 by Bing Crosby. Marseilles-born Philippe Saisse, a smooth as silk jazz/New Age keyboardist makes another standard, Winter Wonderland, first a hit for both the Guy Lombardo and Ted Weems orchestras way back in 1934, sound like a new original composition, and from the Pennsylvanian-born jazz woodwind virtuoso Paul McCandless, Jr. we get the less-known carol, A Child Is Born. Here he is featured on the oboe as well as the French horn and the keyboard.

The Little Drummer Boy, which we first heard in 1958 by The Harry Simeone Chorale, makes a nice piece for the guitar of San Franciscan Steve Erquiaga, as does the 1944 hit for Judy Garland from the film Meet Me In St, Louis, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, for the piano of San Diego native Liz Story (born in 1956). Electric violinists Tracy Silverman and Sean Harkness give their own unique approach to, respectively, O Holy Night and Vince Guaraldi's Christmas Time Is Here from the now-classic A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Another jazz pianist of some renown is Barbara Higbie, who wipes away all doubts regarding her at-first seemingly dubious choice of Angels From The Realms Of Glory, and from New Age pianist Jim Brickman we get another fine performance on what might initially seem to be a poor choice for a piano instrumental - Good King Wenceslas. Beautifully done, as is every other track on the disc. A perfect one to slip into the CD player some cold, snowy evening while sitting in the dark in front of a blazing fire.

A lovely CD. We listened to it while driving, gift wrapping and tree decorating. Classic Windham Hill, evocitive moods and lovely musical settings.

This is one of my favorite Windham Hill Christmas albums. I really love the "Christmas Time is Here" rendition on guitar - brings me back to my childhood watching "A Charlie Brown Christmas" - there are also a couple of jazzy interpretations on this very beautiful album.

Played it for 3 weeks. Kept me calm in a hectic season.

I love this CD, I'm sure I will be playing it all through the holiday season.