Christmas Cabaret

The Oliver di Place Cabaret is pleased to announce the line up for this year’s holiday shows. Prepare to go on a musical journey to parts unknown and unimagined. Prepare to have your ideas of holiday music stretched to the limit. But most of all, prepare to smile and laugh and dance. Welcome.

Chris Bauer: I‘ll Be Home For Christmas

[purchase]

To start off the evening, let’s ease in with some holiday jazz. Now this kind of thing, even when it’s instrumental, can easily get syrupy. But Chris Bauer leads a solid straight-ahead combo here, and he sidesteps the musical traps of the season. In a Yuletide Groove is a set that reveals a sincere love of both the season and its songs, with no sweetening needed. It helps a lot that Bauer gets such a full and rich tone from his harmonica. From the sound, I assume that he is playing a chromatic harp, which has a wider tonal range and is better for chording than a regular harp. It is also harder to bend notes on a chromatic, but Bauer mostly doesn’t need to. He finds the richness of his instrument, and his band provides a solidly swinging backdrop. Yuletide Groove is a generous program of holiday favorites that has a mellow vibe, but also great energy.

Doug Munro and La Pompe Attack w Cyrille-Aimee Daudel: Santa Claus is Comin‘ to Town

[purchase]

Doug Munro and his band are playing what is called gypsy jazz here, the style pioneered by Django Reinhart. Singer Cyrille-Amee Daudel appears on three songs, including the one I have chosen. Elsewhere, the melody is heard on fiddle or clarinet. There are lead and rhythm guitars and bass, but no drums. They are not needed, because Munro and his rhythm guitar player get a sound that is both percussive and melodic, and they and the bass player power the music along nicely. The tightness of the band makes this album a joy to listen to. Daudel contributes a nicely understated sweetness to the songs she sings, and she gets to cut loose in brief scat solos that are emblematic of the pleasure these musicians were obviously having as they made this album.

Asylum St Spankers: Red Nosed Reindeer Blues

[purchase]

I was always taught that holidays were the time to ask questions, to help you gain a better understanding of your culture, heritage, and faith. Here’s one: what would Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer sound like if it had been written by Muddy Waters? The Asylum St Spankers answer that question brilliantly here. Elsewhere, there is a version of Silent Night played on a musical saw, but over all, this is a collection with a jazzy and bluesy flavor, and the joy and cheer of all of the musicians is abundantly evident.

The Invincible Czars: Trepak (Russian Dance)

[purchase]

Having asked about Rudolph and Muddy Waters for the last song, it’s only fair to present this puzzler: what would The Nutcracker sound like if it had been the result of a collaboration between Fishbone and The Pogues? You’re kidding, right? Nope. The Invincible Czars have created this work of mad genius, and there is an entire album of it. It works surprisingly well, even when things go off the rails for a bit, as they do in the bridge of Trepak (Russian Dance). I won’t say any more. Just listen, and prepare to be tickled.

Everett Bradley: Holidelic

[purchase]

If you haven’t gotten up to dance yet, our last act of the evening should fix that. The song Holidelic is a holiday anthem in the style of Parliament/ Funkadelic. There are even P-Funk references in the lyrics. Everett Bradley nails this style, and creates an irresistible dance number for the holidays. Holidelic the album functions as a survey of 1970s and 80s soul and funk styles. Bradley obviously loves this music, and understands its workings perfectly. But more than that, he provides the boundless energy necessary to pull this kind of thing off. For the most part, that don’t make records like this anymore, but Bradley does. There is also an annual live version of this, and it must be quite something to see.

Holiday Folk

The image above is actually a wine stop, available from Strika Distribution.

Here is the first of two holiday posts this year. Originally, the plan was to split it into a post of mostly acoustic holiday songs and another post of a wild mix that might turn out to be the Oliver di Place Cabaret Holiday Party. This is the acoustic post, but something interesting happened while I was putting this together. This post wound up being a celebration of the varying traditions that are celebrated at this time of year. I chose the songs I liked best from five wonderful albums, but I am also thrilled that it worked out this way.

Laurelyn Dossett, Rhiannon Giddens, Mike Compton, Joe Newberry, and Jason Sypher: Gathering Night

[purchase]

The Gathering started out as a six song cycle by Laurelyn Dossett, commissioned by the North Carolina Symphony. These are the first six songs on the album, and they do not have an orchestra on them as recorded. Instead, there is a five-piece folk ensemble. Rhiannon Giddens, from the Carolina Chocolate Drops, is the only one I had heard of before, but on the strength of this album, I am going to have to fix that. The six songs that start the album The Gathering are the original cycle, and Gathering Night is the opener. The cycle tells of a woman who is anxiously returning home after a long absence, on a winter’s night. The symbol of the candle in the window is evocative of many winter holidays, including Solstice, and the power of this symbol comes through beautifully in this haunting performance.

Once Dossett had assembled this fine band to record the six songs, they decided to expand the recording to a full length album by adding seven Christmas songs. These include a stunning rendition of O Holy Night arranged for just a single voice and stand-up bass, and a joyous version of Christ Was Born on Christmas Day for the full band, that closes this wonderful album on a high note.

Traveler‘s Dream: Holly and the Ivy Revisited

[purchase]

Traveler’s Dream is the duo of Michael Lewis and Denise Wilson, but each plays several instruments, so they often sound like a larger group. Cold Blows the Day is an album of Christmas songs, mostly familiar. There are many such albums, of varying quality. Aside from the quality of the musicianship, what makes an album like this work is a set of performances that make it clear that the artists care about the meaning of the songs. Lewis and Wilson deliver. There appear to be very few Solstice songs, but there are more than most people realize, and they are hiding in plain sight, as Christmas songs. The Holly and the Ivy is one of these. The line in the chorus about “sweet singing in the choir” almost certainly replaced earlier words as the song became Christianized. But Lewis and Wilson, with Holly and the Ivy Revisited, put the song back in the woods that it came from. Their lyrical changes are not restorations of lost text, but simply an attempt to restore the original spirit of the song. The care for the roots of this music comes through beautifully in their performances throughout the album.

Robin Greenstein and Cecelia Kirtland: Hanuka (Ladino)

[purchase]

On Songs of the Season, Robin Greenstein and Cecelia Kirtland joyously perform some of the familiar Christmas songs. But the real gems here are the less familiar songs. There is a set of Kwanzaa songs here, and also a wonderful set of Hanukkah songs. When most people think of Hanukkah, they think of the celebrations in the Ashkenazi tradition of the Jews from eastern Europe. But another group of Jews turned west instead of east, and settled for a time in Spain. These are the Sephardic Jews, and they developed their own traditions, and their own language, Ladino. Hanuka (Ladino) is one of their songs, and the performance here is just beautiful. I know most of this background because my uncle is Sephardic, but I never learned the language, so I don’t know what the song means. Can anyone help in the comments?

Louise Taylor: Let‘s Make a Baby King

[purchase]

Wonderland is one of many multi-artist samplers with a holiday theme. Often, this kind of album forces the listener to sift through the chaff to find the few good songs. But this collection comes from the Signature Sounds label, so the talent level is very high, and no sorting is needed. That said, Luoise Taylor’s performance of Let’s Make a Baby King is a standout. Jesse Winchester wrote the song as a pop-gospel number, but Taylor transforms it into a spiritual with a bluesy flavor and real power. Taylor plays guitar and adds African-sounding percussion and little else, but that’s all she needs.

Danaher & Cloud: Santa Claus, I Believe in You

[purchase]

I featured Danaher & Cloud’s last album here, and you can look for coverage of their next one after the new year. But, in between, they have released The Holiday Album. This collection is almost evenly split between familiar songs and originals. The album opens with a haunting rendition of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. I have never heard of Gretchen Guard before, but based on the wonderful cover of her song Follow Now, O Shepherds, I will need to find out more. And an original song, The Little Birds in the Snow, is an eloquent reminder of the true spirit of the season. But I settled on Santa Claus, I Believe in You for its classic sound. This is a frothy and jazzy number that needs only to be heard by the right person in the music industry, and it will become a massive hit in a big, overblown arrangement. But I like it just as it is here, with a small combo, a spot-on fizzy vocal, and a wonderful lead part on fiddle.

Happy Holidays

Unlike in the past two years, this year I wanted to do a holiday post just with music that I received from the artists. That netted me one Hanukkah song, and four Christmas songs. I intend no slight to my Jewish audience, (which includes me, after all). It’s not too early too send me material for next year, and I’ll try to be more balanced then. In the meantime, I offer a pause in the frenzy of the season, to recall why we’re all doing this.

Three Quarter Ale: Blood of the Maccabees

[purchase]

Hanukkah is, after all, a minor holiday in the Jewish calendar. So there are many songs about the frivolous aspects of the holiday. Songs about latkes and dreydls tend to be silly or aimed strictly at kids, or both. But Three Quarter Ale goes back to the story of the holiday in Blood of the Maccabees. They remind us that Hanukkah is a celebration of the fight for freedom of religion, and that such fights usually involve the death of good people. This is presented reverently, not in a heavy handed way, and with a beautifully heartfelt performance. The album Shall We Gather By the Fire includes a few more Hanukkah songs, as well as many Christmas songs. The arrangements range from almost classical, to the folk style heard here, to even some jazzier numbers. Three Quarter Ale is a group that can do all of this well and have it make sense together. Both the reverence and the fun of the holidays are to be found on this album. There are some narrative bits between some of the songs that I found distracting, but the music is strong enough for me to forgive that.

Lori Lieberman: Daughters and Sons

[purchase]

This year, Christine Lavin released Just One Angel. This is a collection of holiday songs by songwriters famous and less so. Most of the songs are originals, including both Christmas and Hanukkah, sometimes in the same song. So I could have presented another Hanukkah song, and there are some decent choices here. I could also have presented a number of other Christmas songs, including some by artists who are new to me, and who I will be seeking out and possibly presenting here in the future. But I noticed a new song by Lori Lieberman. I got my hopes up, and Lieberman did not disappoint me. The same beautiful yet delicate arranging style that I so admired on her album Gun Metal Sky is here as well. This serves a song about a mother whose children are grown and live far away. There is a hint that one or more of them may be a soldier at war. Christmas here is the time for bittersweet reunions. There may be a thousand songs on this theme, and most of them are maudlin and weepy. But Lieberman hits it just right, and the song rings completely true.

Heather Dale: I Saw Three Ships/ Song of the Ship

[purchase]

Most of the songs on This Endris Night are at least 300 years old. Heather Dale, playing all of the instruments here, gives them modern arrangements but sings them in the original languages. So she sings in English, French, Latin, German, and even Huron. She also provides her own English translations of the lyrics to many of the songs in the liner notes. So this album is an impressive of linguistic talent. Dale has a fine almost operatic quality voice, and she plays keyboards, recorders, bowed psaltery, and bodhran, to name a few. She’s after a fusion of ancient and modern, and she makes it work better than most. I Saw Three Ships is familiar enough, but Dale intertwines it with the less familiar Song of the Ship. As heard here, the two songs have a conversation, with each enhancing the other. This is a wonderful piece of inspiration, and a most welcomed addition to my holiday music library.

Anne & Pete Sibley: Once in Royal David‘s City

[purchase]

One of the joys of holiday albums for me is finding an old song that I’ve never heard before. Often this happens because the song must be performed in a certain way to work, and not everyone can do it. Anne and Pete Sibley take Once in Royal David’s City, and turn it into musical swaddling for the infant Jesus. There is no doubt at all what this song is about, just from the sound. The rest of the album has one original, the title track, and a selection of more familiar carols, all performed beautifully.

Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer: The Ditching Carol

[purchase]

Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer were asked by a hardware store chain to participate in a holiday album by various artists that the store used as a gift for their customers. The first year went well enough that they were invited back the next two years. The result was four original songs and four readings of traditional songs. So American Noel was not originally intended to be an album, but it works quite well as one. The Ditching Carol is on of the traditional songs. It is a gentle but eloquent reminder to remember this less fortunate this holiday season. Carter and Grammer’s performance gets it perfect.

Reminders:

It‘s crunch time for Mary Bragg. She has two days left in her Kickstarter campaign, and she still needs just over $4000 as of this writing, or she gets nothing. Follow the link to see my original write-up on her campaign, and hear a song. From there, please follow the donation link, and do whatever you can.

Chris LaVancher is in better shape, He has more time and a more modest fundraising goal. Still, your help is needed.

Kim Davidson and Kristi Martel are doing this the hard way, raising the money for their albums on their own. Follow the link for a taste of their music as well.

On behalf of these artists, thank you for your gifts. And happy holidays to all.

Corners of the World: Christmas in Many Languages

Corners of the World is a feature here that many of you may have never seen. It is my occasional series on world music. This time, I would like to wish you all a joyous holiday season in multiple languages.

Gaudete: Steeleye Span

[purchase]

Let’s begin with Latin. Gaudete is a song that I first learned as a performer. I was once in an amateur chamber choir. Our conductor held us to a high standard, and presented us with a wonderfully varied repertoire. Gaudete, then, was a song we learned for one of our holiday concerts.

The song was written for church services, and the earliest known publication was in a collection of Finnish and Swedish carols from 1582. The song is most likely quite a bit older than that. The lyrics are a joyous announcement of the birth of Christ.

Bruce Cockburn: Riu Riu Chiu

[purchase]

I learned Riu Riu Chiu for that same chamber choir, in a set with two other old Spanish carols. Bruce Cockburn says this about the song:

"This is a Spanish composition of the type known as a 'villancico', dating from the sixteenth century. The language is archaic, some words being unfamiliar to my Hispanic friends and not found in at least the basic dictionaries...”

I was able to find a translation. The words Riu Riu Chiu do not mean anything, but are meant to mimic the sound of a nightingale’s call. The lyrics alternate between various birds proclaiming the birth of Christ, and God’s promise to protect his Son.

The Chieftains with Kate and Anna McGarrigle: Il Est Ne/ Ca Berger

[purchase]

The Irish Chieftains invited the bilingual Canadian McGarrigle sisters to perform these two French carols with them. This is not as strange as it may sound. There are still remnants of Celtic culture to be found in France, especially in Brittany. Il Est Ne and Ca Berger fit together beautifully. Both songs concern the shepherds and others who gathered at the stable to witness the birth of Christ.

Mary McLaughlin: Seacht Suilce na Maighdine Muire (The Seven Joys of Mary)

[purchase]

Speaking of Celtic culture, here is a Christmas song in Gaelic. The lyrics devote one line to each of the joys of Mary, and in this way, manage to tell the story of the life of Christ. This narrative device is often found in the pre-Christian bardic poems of Ireland and Scotland.

Kopela Brodow: Zdrowaś Maryja, Bogarodzico

[purchase]

In Poland, religious songs had to go underground during the communist era. Much traditional culture was also lost. Kopela Brodow is a group that is trying to revive the folk music of Poland. They have recorded an entire album of kodely, or traditional Polish carols. This selection is not from that album, because the songs on that album were performed in English. Zdrowas Maryja Bogurodzico comes from an album of praise songs to the Virgin Mary. Kodely are also found in some of the countries which border on Poland. Remember that this is a part of the world where national boundaries have been redrawn a number of times in modern times.

Happy Hanukkah

I would like to wish one and all a happy Hanukkah. Even if it is not your holiday, I wish you the joy of the season. I was raised in a secular Jewish household. That may sound strange, but it ties in with one of my selections. So fear not, all will be explained. In this post, I will share what Hanukkah means to me. And I have some fine music to help.

Marc Cohn: Rock of Ages (Maoz Tsur)

[purchase]

Jewish holidays always open with a prayer. Rock of Ages is a traditional one for Hanukkah. Marc Cohn, best known for Walking in Memphis, offers a wonderful version.

Emily Kurn: Light the Lamp

[purchase]

Thanks to Susan for this song. She mentioned it last year in response to the first post I ever put up on Oliver di Place, and this year she sent it to me.

Emily Kurn, like me, is a non-religious Jew. But, like me, she observes Hanukkah and, I assume, Passover. How can this be? More to the point, why? Judaism is more than a religion. Some of us feel it primarily as an identity. These days, we can talk of having lost someone “in the camps”, and nothing more needs to be said. Those victims lost their lives, even if they were not religious. Hanukkah, on its surface, is about the freedom to practice religion, but there is more. There is a sense of heritage, of family, and of connectedness. Kurn captures this idea perfectly. Thank you again, Susan, for this song.

The LeeVees: Nun Gimmel Heh Shin

[purchase]

The story is told that the Greeks had forbidden the practice of Judaism. The Jews hid in caves to study Torah, and posted lookouts. Whenever the Greeks came, the Jews would quickly hide their Torahs, and take out their tops and pretend that they had been gambling. This is why the tops, called dreydls, are part of the Hanukkah tradition. Nun, gimmel, heh, and shin are the Hebrew letters on the four sides of the dreydl.

The LeeVees were started by Adam Gardner of Guster and Dave Schneider of the Zambonis.

Joan Baez: Dona Dona

[purchase]

Dona Dona is a traditional Yiddish song, here rendered in English. The song tells us that freedom must be an attitude before it can produce action. This is a theme that runs through many of the Jewish holidays. You must believe in your freedom before you can achieve it. At Hanukkah, this is related to the belief that the Maccabees could prevail against the Greeks, despite the odds. This belief, and the miracle that sustained it, made the victory possible.

Tom Lehrer: (I‘m Spending) Hanukkah in Santa Monica

[I am unable to find purchase information for this one. If anyone knows what album this is from, please leave a comment. Thank you.]

This last selection has no profound meaning. In the end, Hanukkah is a celebration, an occasion for joy, and a little silliness is not out of place.

For a Song - 10 Rocks

Shelby Lynne: 10 Rocks

[purchase]

The winter holidays are upon us. People of faith are celebrating tangible proof of that faith. The Jews give thanks for a small miracle, enabling a day’s worth of lamp oil to burn for eight days. The Christians give thanks for the coming of the Messiah. The scale and significance is completely different, but both are comforts in the darkest time of the year, reassurances that God is there. So 10 Rocks seemed to me to be an appropriate way to welcome the season. Shelby Lynne sings of various hardships, but ultimately, she knows her faith will get her through. This is not a holiday song, but its spirit seems to me to be truer to the season than much of what you will hear in the malls. And musically, 10 Rocks is a joyous celebration. I thought nothing could ever capture this feeling as well as Paul Simon’s Loves Me Like a Rock, but Shelby Lynne has matched it.

Shelby Lynne should be better known, but she is a musical chameleon. She tried to make it in mainstream country, and she has also done an album of western swing. So it is fitting that this song comes from an album called Identity Crisis. The music on this album would be labeled Americana, because it’s hard to know what else to call it. My advice would be, instead of calling it, just listen.