‘Nuts’ for Christmas

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The New York Sun

Jazz musicians have never lacked for genius at interpreting the great Christmas songs, from Benny Goodman’s swinging “Jingle Bells,” to Louis Armstrong’s heartfelt reading of “The Night Before Christmas,” to Duke Ellington’s radical rethinking of “The Nutcracker Suite.” Yet surprisingly few jazz composers, even among those who worked mainly in song form, have written a memorable Christmas song. Perhaps the most famous example of Christmas music that has been part of the jazz domain from the ground up is the remarkable score written by the pianist Vince Guaraldi for the 1965 animated television special “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” which has now been reissued in a deluxe edition with bonus tracks and alternate takes on Fantasy Records.

Like the Raymond Scott themes heard in vintage Looney Tunes and the Broadway-styled scores of the classic Disney musicals, Guaraldi’s distinctive melodies are known to several generations. The tunes have proved a bonanza for smooth-jazz cover artists, but they’ve also been recorded by plenty of straightahead jazz musicians, like Wynton Marsalis and Cyrus Chestnut. The combination of cartoonist Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts” characters and Guaraldi’s music has proved such an enduring combination that, decades later, they have been jointly parodied by such wise-guys as the “South Park” team, who, in that rather cynical show’s first Christmas episode, had one character sing “The Lonely Jew on Christmas.”

The story goes that TV producer Lee Mendelsohn heard Guaraldi’s 1962 crossover hit, “Cast Your Fate to the Wind,” and was moved to hire the pianist to supply music for a documentary he was doing on Schulz and what had already become the “Peanuts” empire. From there, it was a natural that Guaraldi should write the music for the first “Peanuts” special, even though CBS originally opposed the idea of using jazz for what they considered a kids’ show. Forty-one years later, scores of grown-up kids can trace at least part of their love of jazz back to hearing Charlie Brown and Snoopy cavort to Guaraldi’s irresistibly catchy rhythms.

The most famous tune of the original 12 on the album is “Linus and Lucy,” which comes in several clear sections, opening with what seems like a postmodern take on a bass vamp boogiewoogie, then shooting dramatically from the bass to the high end of the piano with a bright, stop-time break; another of the piece’s several themes sounds like a smooth roller skate riding over a newly paved road; another is a church-like melody that ties into the religious themes expressed elsewhere in the special.

The soundtrack is rich with delights thanks to Guaraldi’s insightful adaptations of Christmas music both popular (Mel Tormé’s “The Christmas Song”) and traditional (“O, Tannenbaum”). There’s also Guaraldi’s only major holiday song with lyrics, “Christmas Time Is Here.” In toto, the handsomely packaged new CD edition is nearly an hour of highly attractive piano trio music that could transform any toddler into a jazz fan.

***

Holiday music, like holiday dining, usually revolves around comfort food, and it’s hard to imagine a more nutritious meal than the songs of Irving Berlin. Originally, the idea of reworking the 1954 movie, “White Christmas” to the stage from the screen was not an obvious one, mainly because the film’s plot was so insubstantial; here was a picture that relied almost entirely on the charms of its performers and its music. The film, in fact, had a unique doubleheader cast, with two leading men, Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye, and two leading ladies, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen. Yet the movie and its songs have become such a longstanding classic that you want to forgive it for its rather minimal story the same way you want to forgive your Uncle Sol for getting drunk at your bar mitzvah.

Although no New York production has been announced, the stage show, which has been mounted in St. Louis, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Boston, has been recorded as an original cast album on Ghostlight Records featuring the four leads from San Francisco: Brian D’Arcy, Jeffry Denman, Anastasia Barzee, and Meredith Patterson. They’ve reconfigured the score somewhat, adding a few vintage Berlin classics (“How Deep Is the Ocean,” “I Love a Piano,” and the seasonal “I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm”), plus a few worthy obscurities (“Love and the Weather”). The one regrettable omission from the original score is the dated “Choreography”; no one, however, will miss the now-gone whiteface minstrel number that closed the film.

I couldn’t tell you if the show itself works as a piece of theater, but the album is, for all of its 18 tracks and 54 minutes, a total delight. Its old-fashioned songs are sung in an old-fashioned way with old-fashioned orchestrations, and nobody sounds the least bit “retro,” cynical, or self-conscious.

Other Noteworthy Holiday Releases

CHRISTMASTIME IS HERE
Erich Kunzel & the Cincinnati Pops

“Christmastime Is Here” is the second holiday album by Mr. Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops. This one features some very attractive guest vocals: Ann Hampton Callaway shows a hitherto unseen reverential side with “I Wonder as I Wander,” Tierney Sutton sticks to the familiar melody for once (and highly appealingly so) on “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” the nascent crooner-pianist Tony DeSare delivers his most mature ballad yet on “The Christmas Song,” and John Pizzarelli Jr. takes a turn for the sentimental — with the verse, no less — on “Silver Bells.” And not surprisingly, there’s a children’s choir singing Vince Guaraldi’s — and Charlie Brown’s — title song.

NICKY’S JAZZ CHRISTMAS
Carol Friedman

“Nicky’s Jazz Christmas” is the third installment in the book-and-CD series for kids detailing the adventures of everyone’s favorite jazz cat. The 13 selections on the disc are primarily swinging but highly accessible versions by Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, Peggy Lee, and others of familiar yuletide tunes that even the youngest kiddies will know. The accompanying photo book, with gorgeous color shots of Nicky in various musical and holiday poses, is equally delightful. This is kitty stuff of the highest quality and a sweet reward for young ones who’ve been nice all year.

wfriedwald@nysun.com


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