Published on Dec 24, 2004
I’m not a big fan of
The OC, but I had to laugh when I saw the ads where one of
the characters’ blended family is getting ready to celebrate
“Christmakah.” As a somewhat agnostic half-Jew raised by my
Christian mother, I usually look forward to the holidays with a
mixture of dread and bemusement. Our household’s approach to the
winter holidays is pretty much buffet-style, and I’m not talking
about the meals.
That said, there are things I’ve always enjoyed about Christmas.
Not the food — turkey and mashed potatoes has never really done it
for me. Not the shopping — I’d rather have a filling drilled
novocaine-free than spend an hour in a mall between Thanksgiving
and New Year’s. But the music… yeah, some of that is
alright. Of the many albums of Christmas music that have passed
through my CD player over the years, none has returned more often
than this relatively obscure disc of contemporary jazz-pop by
renowned session and solo guitarist Larry Carlton.
Carlton’s style is the epitome of smooth jazz, all flowing
melody lines and nimble, understated runs up and down the frets
over mellow piano-organ-bass-drums backing. If I were a Christmas
traditionalist, the absence of lyrics and the dinner-club
arrangements of these songs might bother me. But as background
music designed to get you in the holiday spirit without hitting you
over the head with Santa’s fully-loaded bag, it’s a home run.
Personal favorites include Carlton’s lilting take on “Winter
Wonderland,” where his gentle picking duets with Terry Trotter’s
electric and acoustic piano through the verses and on into a snappy
series of solo passages; “White Christmas,” where Michael Fisher’s
work on bells and percussion brightly decorates Carlton’s fluid
electric leads; and “What Child Is This,” which Carlton transforms
into a skittering, at times scintillating nightclub jazz jam. He
also manages to sandwich some of his smoothest, tastiest soloing
between the familiar choruses of “The Little Drummer Boy.”
On the quieter side of things, Carlton turns a medley of “Silent
Night” and “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear” into a contemplative
exploration that captures the essential spiritual message of the
original while bringing the songs into a new and unfamiliar
landscape. “The Holly And The Ivy” receives an especially pretty
treatment, a deceptively simple duet arrangement featuring just
Carlton and Trotter. Before he’s done Carlton also tips his hat to
jazz legend John Coltrane with a steady-burning take on “My
Favorite Things,” paired here with that other Rodgers &
Hammerstein favorite, “We Three Kings Of Orient Are.”
Christmas At My House is a great find for those who prefer
their Christmas music light on the dogma and easy on the ears. It
sets the mood nicely with or without a roaring fire and stockings
hung by the chimney with care. Whatever you’re celebrating this
year, have yourself a merry one!