| |
Milt Hinton - Ralph Sutton - Gus Johnson - Jim Galloway
The Sackville All Star Christmas Record
Sackville - 1986
Mike Milner
|
The Christmas album is a genre fraught with peril. While there are some records that are genuinely loved and have stood the test of time, the field is littered with far too many examples of anodyne versions of songs already too saccharine for their own good. Jazz musicians, however, seem to approach the concept with an open mind, since with jazz you can experiment with the arrangements and maybe breathe some new life into older Christmas numbers.
In March of 1986, Sackville, a Canadian record company and label that specialized in jazz, brought together some musicians to record an album of Christmas music. The Sackville All Star group was a quartet consisting of Jim Galloway (soprano saxophone), Milt Hinton (bass), Gus Johnson (drums) and Ralph Sutton (piano). Galloway, the only Canadian of the bunch, was born in Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland and moved to Toronto in 1964. In addition to a prolific recording and performing career, he was a leader in Canadian jazz, most notably as a band leader and a co-founder of the Toronto Jazz Festival.
Side one of The Sackville All Star Christmas Record opens with 'Santa Claus Is Coming Town', one of the best-known songs in the Christmas canon (and before anybody looks down their nose at this selection, it should be noted that Bill Evans also recorded a version of the tune). The album includes three popular carols ('We Three Kings', 'Good King Wenceslas' and 'Silent Night'), a pair of more modern seasonal ditties ('Winter Wonderland' and 'Let It Snow') and two other Christmas-themed songs I had not heard before: 'At the Christmas Ball' and 'Santa Claus Came in the Spring'. The final track on side two is 'Old Time Religion', which according to the liner notes was included because "while not exactly a Christmas song, [it] personifies the spirituality which is so much a part of the season". All of the songs are performed with verve and character. These are tunes that all of the players would have been familiar with, and probably had played over their careers on numerous occasions. In this case, the arrangements are respectful of the nature of each song, but also inventive enough to inject a bit of verve into them.
A nice piece of Canadian recording history.
|
|
Suggestions
The Lawn
Peace in the Valley
Secret Song
Vital Sines
Big Dark Dreams - 12" EP
Fringe
Sheep Look Up
Sheep Look Up 12" EP
SLUR
P Allen
Fisherman / Fisherman (version) - 7"
Ponko Dread
|
