Have A Swingin' Christmas & A Cool Yule

Merry Christmas, & Happy Holidays generally to one & all!

For those of us who at this point might need a bit of respite from the tamer, more traditional holiday music, a few links below to some different offerings from the likes of Louis Prima, Lena Horne, John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong, Bette Midler, Brian Setzer, & several others.

And if the mood strikes, feel free to add to this musical pile on/grab bag with your own favorite seasonal tunes of the non-traditional (or traditional, why not?) variety- jazz, blues, marimba, bagpipe & fife, mariachi, klezmer, oud, bring it on over. Any & all vids, MP3s, podcast links or ??? welcome in the comments.

The annual holiday season is tailor made for musical enjoyment (& we can certainly use some this year), the more & varied the better.

Best Wishes for 2009 to you & yours:

Christmas in New Orleans- Louis Armstrong

Shake Hands With Santa Claus- Louis Prima

My Favorite Things- John Coltrane

Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town- Lena Horne

'Zat You Santa Claus?- Brian Setzer Orchestra

Christmas Island- The Andrews Sisters (couldn’t find Leon Redbone’s version online-here's the superb original)

Christmas Night In Harlem- Jack Teagarden

(Everybody’s Waitin’ For) The Man With The Bag- Kay Starr

At The Christmas Ball- Bessie Smith (recorded in 1925; very bluesy from the Queen of Blues)

Baby It's Cold Outside-Leon Redbone & Zooey Deschanel

Cool Yule- Bette Midler

-Maureen Lang

Comments

[Maureen Lang]

Must give credit where credit is due- many of the Christmas songs linked above can be found on the Rhino CD Swingin' Christmas. Others are from:

Christmas Jazz- Verve
"Elf" Sountrack- New Line Records
A Nostalgic Merry Christmas To You- ASV Music
Christmas On The Bandstand- Columbia

[Johnny]

That Coltrane video is intense. My favorite jazz drummer Elvin Jones is featured in it. Elvin always makes it all look so effortless. Thanks for linking to Trane, and Merry Christmas.

[Johnny]

A favorite of mine has always been Ella Fitzgerald's unique phrasing on "Sleigh Ride"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbYBaMxzPLQ

[Maureen Lang]

Thanks for the link, Johnny. Ella's version of "Sleigh Ride" is wonderful, also her scat riffing on that old chestnut "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer," which I can't seem to find a link to.

Wish I could have found a link to Coltrane playing "Greensleeves," which also features Elvin Jones, & McCoy Tyner on piano. Nice to hear from a fellow Trane fan.

[Kiwi]

Spike Jones and his City Slickers
All I Want for Christmas is My 2 Front Teeth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYH7a3F0qvk

Irish Rovers
GrandMa Got Run Over by a Reindeer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McGMwxjhlW8

[Maureen Lang]

Thanks for the youtubes, Kiwi. BTW, have you been over to Sic Semper & checked out the two Christmas vids attached to Pat's Bill Mauldin post? The Celtic Woman vid is an extraordinarily beautiful rendition of "O Holy Night," but I have a suspicion that the other one w/Willie Nelson & Stephen Colbert might be more to your liking...

[JFF]

I've got one for you-

The 12 Days of Christmas- Parody from India
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgsB1nbqLNI

[Maureen Lang]

That's someone's truly funny & original take on 12 Days of Christmas, JFF. Thanks for posting it.

[JFF]

Here's one that isn't jokey at all. This is a lively performance by the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band on Dec. 22, 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWsde6043XI

Happy Hannukah.

[Maureen Lang]

Happy Hannukah right back to you, JFF. Thanks for the klezmer band vid- it's definitely a toe tapper.

[Johnny]

RIP Eartha Kitt- what a voice, what a performer.

Santa Baby
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOMmSbxB_Sg

[Maureen Lang]

I was sorry to read of Eartha Kitt's passing. "Santa Baby" has become a classic- must have heard it a dozen times on the radio this Christmas season.
I remember Eartha Kitt fondly from my childhood for another reason, too- despite the later incarnation by Michelle Pfeiffer, Eartha was The Best Cat Woman Ever!