Jazz

Jimmy McGriff – Christmas With Jimmy McGriff

October 14, 2022

# 21

Jimmy McGriff
Christmas With Jimmy McGriff
1996

(Originally released 1963 on Sue Records Inc.)

Distributed by Collectables Records

Collectables ® is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

# 15 – 1964 – Billboard Christmas

Genre : Jazz

You may not be familiar with Jimmy McGriff. I certainly wasn’t until I purchased this reissue of his 1963 Christmas album some years ago. Jimmy McGriff was born in a suburb of Philadelphia in 1936. He learned piano at age 5 and learned many other instruments by the time he was in his late teens. It was through his friend Jimmy Smith that he was introduced to the unique sound of the Hammond B-3 organ. (Jimmy Smith was also a Hammond B-3 organ player. Look for a review of Jimmy Smith’s Christmas record from 1964 later in this blog’s future).

Jimmy McGriff was immediately intrigued by the Hammond B-3 and set out to master it. He is considered a blues / jazz performer. After leaving the police force after two years, he devoted all his time to playing the Hammond B-3. He toured extensively and released many albums throughout the 1960’s. He retired from music in 1972, but quickly returned to playing in concert when his record label kept releasing new albums. He continued to record and tour all the way into the 2000’s. He passed away in 2008, in New Jersey, never moving very far from his original birthplace.

This CD reissue by Collectables Records is an exact copy of the original LP from 1963. Collectables Records is a reissue label, and they do a good job of re-releasing older albums from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. The cover of the reissue is the same picture used on the original. It features an attractive woman in a Santa Claus suit that seems to be slipping off her back. The artwork on the back of the CD does not resemble the artwork on the back of the album in any way but features a smaller version of the front cover along with a numerical track listing and copywrite and publishing notes.

The CD cover opens to a double fold, 3-page booklet. The inside features the same endorsement that appears on the back of the original album, albeit in a different font and a different layout. It is a typical endorsement of why you should have this Christmas album in your collection. It was written in 1963 by Ira Howard, editor of Cash Box Magazine. So, all the original information from the back of the album is featured in the CD artwork of the re-release.

The last page of the inside artwork is a mail-in form to receive a catalog from Collectables Records. The track listing for the CD is the same as the original LP.

This CD features Jimmy McGriff and His Trio; Rudolph Johnson on sax, Larry Frazier on rhythm guitar and Willie “Saint” Jenkins on drums. The original album featured only 8 songs, two of which Jimmy McGriff wrote. They are Christmas With McGriff and Hip Santa. And I’m pretty certain you won’t find them on any other Christmas compilations, except maybe a jazz Christmas CD.

The other 6 songs included are not any of the Christmas carols or hymns that appear on many Christmas issues. They are all standard secular Christmas songs everyone is familiar with, all written 1941 or later.

All the songs except Winter Wonderland are upbeat, jazzy renditions of familiar Christmas songs. Even Winter Wonderland has a jazzy arrangement. And all songs are instrumentals; no vocals to be found here. Those familiar with this blog should know I would like the two Jimmy McGriff originals the best. Christmas With McGriff starts off with sleigh bells before progressing into a fast tempo, jazzy arrangement. Hip Santa is a rather jazzy, fast tempo Christmas (?) song that is… well, kind of “hip”.

As I said, I like the Jimmy McGriff originals the best, but most listeners will be hard pressed to recognize the others. The jazzy arrangements that feature the unique sound of the Hammond B-3 organ kind of throw the listener off because they are so nontraditional. The ones that are more pleasing to me are I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, which features sleigh bells throughout the song. Also, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town and Jingle Bells, (there are those sleigh bells again). The sleigh bells found on many of the songs help to remind the listener that they are listening to a Christmas record.

This is a Jazz Christmas album, heavy on the Hammond B-3 organ with a little electric guitar. Afterall, Jimmy McGriff was a master on the B-3. There are only 4 musicians playing on this record, so you won’t find full orchestras or any other instruments other than organ, sax, guitar and drums. If you don’t like jazz, avoid this one. You’ll just be disappointed, and perhaps a little confused. If you prefer the Pop Christmas songs from the Classic Christmas Era, you will not like this.

But I collect everything Christmas; Jazz, Blues, Pop and Soul, and even Kiddies. I like having this in my collection for a couple of reasons. First, Jimmy McGriff was one of the very best on the Hammond organ. There are many performers that produced Christmas records with an organ. Most of them played cathedral pipe organs, but only a few used the Hammond B-3. Second, it is a unique Christmas record that you won’t find in everyone’s collection. Third, like I said, I collect EVERYTHING Christmas music related.

My rating for this CD reissue will consider, not how much the whole world can appreciate it, but rather the quality, craftmanship and uniqueness of it. It is a classic in its own way.

I give this CD :

****

Vince Guaraldi Trio – A Charlie Brown Christmas

April 13, 2025 / Leave a Comment / Jazz

July 23, 2022

# 5

Vince Guaraldi Trio
A Charlie Brown Christmas
1988

(Originally released 1965 on Fantasy Records)

http://www.fantasyjazz.com

# 13 – 1987 – Billboard Christmas

Genre : Jazz

Vince Guaraldi had already established himself as an accomplished jazz pianist in the 50’s after having grown up around other jazz performers in his family. He honed his skills in the bands of Cal Tjader and Woody Herman in the 1950’s.

In 1963, Vince Guaraldi was approached by Lee Mendelson to compose some music for a Peanuts documentary that was being produced. Vince Guaraldi quickly agreed. The music was produced and released. The documentary was filmed but was not released. But this formed a partnership between Vince Guaraldi and Lee Mendelson that would have lasting effects forever in the minds of children and adults alike for all time to come.

When it came time to produce A Charlie Brown Christmas for televised release, of course Vince Guaraldi was onboard. In reality, the music was composed and recorded before the television special was drawn. Charles Schultz drew the cartoon from inspiration from listening to the music.

The album did not chart on the Billboard charts until 1987, reaching as high as 13 on the Christmas chart. The CD re-issue has continued to chart every year on both the Christmas charts and the Pop charts. It was certified 5 times platinum in 2022.

The artwork on the CD is a little different from the original artwork on the LP. Very similar; the Christmas tree is drawn differently, and some of the characters on the cover have had their images reversed. But it is a very good and very close representation of the original.

The CD insert contains a list of musicians and a short endorsement of Vince Guaraldi. The back of the insert lists the songs with writer credits. The track listing is the same as the original release that contained 11 songs. There is one bonus track included on the CD release starting in 1988 and more bonus tracks on releases starting in 2006.

The CD opens with O Tannenbaum. A soulful rendition of the German version of O Christmas Tree.

The second track, a traditional Christmas hymn called What Child Is This, was recorded at the same time as the other songs, but did not appear in the TV special.

The 3^rd track, My Little Drum, is one of 6 songs Guaraldi wrote for the soundtrack album. It’s kind of not right to say that because as stated earlier, the songs were chosen and recorded before anything was drawn. My Little Drum features the choral voices of the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Children’s Choir of San Rafael, outside of San Francisco. To me, the arrangement seems to be influenced by The Little Drummer Boy. Throughout the song, the children’s voices maintain a monotonic cadence supplemented with a left hand piano bass chord, also monotonic.

The 4th track features Linus And Lucy. Everyone knows this song! And everyone knows from where they know this song. This has to be one of the most popular Christmas songs ever written. All over the world, people know this as the song that plays over the classic dance scene in the special. Written in 1963 as the overall theme for the original Peanuts documentary that never aired, it was a defining song of what would influence Vince Guaraldi throughout the recording of the Christmas special album.

Linus And Lucy is followed by an instrumental version of the TV special’s opening sequence, Christmas Time Is Here. A more haunting version than the one with vocals, this is a fantastic contrast to the song that played right before it.

Following the instrumental version of Christmas Time Is Here, is the vocal performance. Once again featuring the voices of the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Children’s Choir of San Rafael. This is the OTHER song everybody knows, and where they know it from.

If all that was not enough, Skating plays next. Another classic from the TV special. A Vince Guaraldi original, it was written early on in the beginning of the recordings. Playing over the scene with Lucy and Snoopy skating, you can just vision the scene as the song plays.

The 8^th track follows. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing closes out the TV special. The children have discovered the true meaning of Christmas and gather around Snoopy’s doghouse and in unison sing this perfect carol.

Christmas Is Coming is another original number. This should be familiar to everyone. A longer, jazzier piece, the first part and the middle part is used also for dance scenes of the special.

If my recollection serves me right, the song Fur Elise is the song Schroeder is playing when Lucy approaches him to inquire if he knows how to play Jingle Bells. Not a Christmas song, but a wonderful inclusion from the special.

The original album closes with The Christmas Song, the classic written by Mel Torme and Robert Wells. This song was not included in the TV special.

The CD version from 1988, which is the one I have in my collection, features one bonus track. Purposely titled Greensleeves, this version of What Child Is This is a longer version than appears on track 2.

I’m telling you, there is not a bad song on here! THIS IS A MUST HAVE FOR ALL CHRISTMAS COLLECTIONS. You should have this, then you can entertain your friends, your family and even yourself with classic Christmas songs that will take you back to childhood. That being said, I think most people enjoy some of the songs a lot, and others they would probably pass on. This may not be a Christmas CD that you put on and listen straight through, but it contains classics that need to be in every collection.

Vince Guaraldi died of a sudden heart attack in 1976 at 47 years of age. Otherwise, there would have been much more ‘Charlie Brown’ music to have come from him.

I give this CD :

*****

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