Unpopular Christmas 2019

Here we a Christmas offering for you. It comes in four sections - A kind of straight-up jazz set, then a few medieval through baroque choral pieces, which leads us to some "derangements" of some overly familiar songs, and finally some small-scale, intimate, perhaps introverted even, renderings of some more staples. This exercise of hearing these familiar songs on unfamiliar, even irreverent settings can perhaps help us appreciate the original musical intentions of the songs.



Rest ye merry! (and remember, the comma comes after "merry," not "ye.")

See the playlist after the break...

artist	title	album	comments	label / date
The Qualities	It's Christmas Time	Sun Ra - Singles	1st part of theme “unidentified male vocal group with Sun Ra on harmonium and sparse backing from unknown players of guitar, bells and wood block.”	Strut 1956, 1960 or 1961
The Three Suns	Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!	A Ding Dong Dandy Christmas	2nd part of theme	RCA 1959
Charlie Hunter and Bobby Previte	Deck The Halls	We Two Kings		find it on Bandcamp
Kenny Burrell	God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen	Have Yourself A Soulful Little Christmas	Orchestra arranged and conducted by Richard Evans	Moochin' About 1966
Carla Bley	God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen (Part Two)	Carla's Christmas Carols	Carla Bley (p) Steve Swallow (b) Partyka Brass Quintet (Tobias Weidinger, Axel Schlosser (trp, flg) Christine Chapman (hrn) Adrian Mears (tbn) Ed Partyka (b tbn, tba)	WATT / ECM 2008
The Incredible Jimmy Smith	Jingle Bells	Christmas '64	Jimmy Smith (org) Quentin Warren (g) Billy Hart (d)	Verve 1964
Jethro Tull	Christmas Song	Living in the Past	song by Ian Anderson	Chrysalis 1968
Paul Hillier; The Pro Arte Singers, Indiana U. Children's Chamber Choir	Lully, lulla, thow littel tyne child (The Coventry Carol)	Traditional and Modern Carols	anonymous 16th century	Harmonia Mundi 1998
Joel Cohen; Boston Camerata	Conductus with Refrain (Congaudet Hodie • In Dulci Iubilo) • Hymn (In Dulci Iubilo)	A Medieval Christmas	anonymous 12th c.; anonymous 15th c. Dutch; anonymous 16 c. German	Teldec 1975
Paul Hillier; Theatre of Voices	In dulci jubilo, BuxWV 52	In Dulci Jubilo - Music for the Christmas season by Buxthude and friends	Else Torp (sop) Mark Chambers (ct) Jakob Bloch Jespersen (bss) music by Dietrich Buxtehude	Dacapo 2017
Håkon Austbø	Narodil se Kristus pán	Janáček - Piano Works	Czech Christmas song adapted by Leoš Janáček	Brilliant Classics 2004
Jean Guillou	Cavatina on 'Angels We Have Heard on High'	Improvisations for Christmas	Great Kleuker-Steinmeyer organ of the Tonhalle, Zurich	Dorian 1988
Mars Williams	O Tannenbaum - Spirits - 12 Days Of Xmas	Mars Williams Presents: An Ayler Xmas	featuring Witches & Devils - Mars Williams (ts, toy instruments) Josh Berman (crnt) Fred Lonberg-holm (vc) Jim Baker (p, syn, vla) Kent Kessler (b) Brian Sandstrom (b, g, trp) Steve Hunt (d, prc) "Spirits" composed by Albert Ayler	find it on Bandcamp 2016
Ill considered	Little drummer boy	An Ill Considered Christmas	Idris Rahman (sax, clt) Leon Brichard (b) Emre Ramazanoglu (d, prc, drones)	Wildflower 2018
People Like Us	Silent Night	Christian Marclay’s Sounds of Christmas with People Like Us	Silver Bells and Ave Maria too	also on Bandcamp
The Ramsey Lewis Trio	Santa Claus Is Coming to Town	Sound of Christmas	Ramsey Lewis (p) Eldee Young (b) Redd Holt (d)	Argo 1961
Sufjan Stevens	Joy to the World	Joy - Songs for Christmas, Vol. 4	Sufjan Stevens (voc, g, etc) Bridgit DeCook (voc) song by Lowell Mason and Isaac Watts	Asthmatic Kitty 2005
Alex Chilton	The Christmas Song	The dB's & Friends - Christmas Time Again!	song by Mel Tormé and Robert Wells	Omnivore 1993
John Zorn	Magical Sleigh Ride	A Dreamers Christmas	music behind DJ	Tzadik 2011
Maynard Ferguson	Christmas for Moderns	Stan Kenton - A Merry Christmas!	Maynard Ferguson, Chet Ferretti, Rick Kiefer, Jerry Tyree (trp) Slide Hampton, Kenny Rupp (tbn) Joe Farrell, Willie Maiden (ts) Frank Hittner (bs) Jaki Byard (p) Charlie Sanders (b) Rufus Jones (d) arr. Willie Maiden	Capitol 1960