Nils
Landgren (bandleader, trombone, vocals); Sharon Dyall (vocals, harmonica); Jonas
Knutsson (saxes); Jeanette Kohn (vocals); Eva Kruse (bass); Jessica Pilnas
(vocals); Ida Sand
(piano, vocals, glockenspiel); Johan Norberg (guitar, kantele)
(Review
by Ann Alex).
Santa time is here again
and so are the Christmas CDs up for review.
‘Ugh’ I thought, ‘this will be sentimental tosh’. But not a bit of it, this is the 4th
CD in a series, popular in Germany, offering thoughtful, varied interpretations
of Christmas songs, just the thing to play for the family, and not too kitsch
at all.
Numbers range from The First Noel; a version of George
Michael’s Last Christmas; Ellington’s
Come Sunday (beautiful reverent
lyrics); Angel’s Carol by classical
composer John Rutter; and German carols such as O Helga Natt. Some are jazz
interpretations, such as the bluesy spiritual If Anybody Ask You(Odetta) sung by Sharon Dyall with an
introduction on harmonica; The Rutter song is sung in a soprano style by
Jeanette Kohn and Ida Sand; Come Sunday
features Sharon Dyall, who has a dry-toned jazzy voice, with guitar and
trombone; Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,
my favourite track, is an instrumental with effective bass and trombone; Icicles, an original tune by Johan
Norberg, features a lovely tinkling, cool, glockenspiel and, I guess, the
kantele, although it’s not an instrument I’m familiar with. So there is some
jazz, traditional Christmas songs, hymns such as Gutav Holst’s In The Bleak Midwinter, pop songs, a bit
of classical singing, something for everyone, and all performed well, with
imaginative interpretations.
Enjoy this CD with your
Christmas dinner!
CD Nils Landgren: Christmas With My Friends 1V available on ACT Label.
Ann
Alex
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