Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
Nothing gets music lovers in a celebrating mood like listening to their favorite Christmas carols, and a new CD, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” from trumpeter Chris Pasin delivers a whopping dose of holiday cheer. Pasin has proved himself among the most versatile of musicians. Besides fronting his own bands, he’s been a mainstay of ensembles led by the likes of Buddy Rich, Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabackin, George Russell, and Brother Jack McDuff. He’s also appeared with legendary figures including Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Mel Torme and Ray Charles. For the new CD, Pasin has assembled a stellar ensemble of some of the most in-demand musicians on the New York jazz scene taking on the greatest songs of the season in an original and appealing style.
The holiday season is a busy time for the U.S. Army Blues. Over the years, the band has generated a significant following for their yearly Stan Kenton Christmas and Duke Ellington Nutcracker concerts. The Blues also support the Army Band’s American Holiday Festival and for many years provided horn and rhythm section support for the Sergeant Major of the Army holiday tours of Afghanistan and Iraq. The music on their CD, “Swinging in the Holidays,” captures that tradition and excitement.
Also this week, trumpet legend Herb Alpert unveils a new holiday disc, “The Christmas Wish”.
The Lewis Porter/Phil Scarff Group’s “Three Minutes to Four” is contemporary, East-meets-West jazz, where Indian raga merges with western classical, Ghanaian traditional fuses with improvisational, and where organic meets studied.
The Dave Zinno Unisphere’s “River of January” boasts stellar material, fabulous arrangements and a super-hot band.