Toronto – Ah the holidays. A frantic time of both relaxation and activity. A time to get together with family and friends. A time for food and a time for music. For some, Christmas music is pure bliss. It evokes fond memories of childhoods past. For others, it’s about as fun as a root canal adminstered by Oscar The Grouch, if he was all coked up. On cocaine.
So what can you do about the holiday music? Personally, I’m a fan of Christmas music. It’s just not quite the holidays without the voices of Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, and Nana Mouskouri explaining to me in painstaking detail exactly what the hell feliz navidad means. That being said, I do like to spice things up by mixing the traditional with fresh new takes on the classics.
Which brings me to my best of list. It’s not going to be about the winning albums or best songs of the year or decade. I’ve left that task to my more qualified Panic Manual brethen and sistren. Instead, I’m going to play to my strengths here and take a different route: the best non-traditional Christmas albums.
Non-Traditional = Not Bing Crosby or Nat Cole
1 – Vince Guaraldi – A Charlie Brown Christmas
Ok, so I’m most certainly cheating by making this my number one hit. Good thing for me I’m in the drivers seat. Considering the popularity of the soundtrack to this 1965 CBS special, it’s pretty much already a bonafide classic. Vince’s work on the Charlie Brown TV series put him on the map. Let’s be thankful for this commercial success, because behind these hits is an under-rated jazz pianist. He takes new and traditional christmas songs and infuses them with a swinging jazz that’s both thoughtful and playful. This isn’t just my favourite christmas album, it’s one of my favourite jazz albums too. I call that a twofer.
2 – Verve Remixed Christmas
For you electronic folks, you can keep things both festive and damright (yes I said damnright) groovy with Verve’s Remixed Christmas album. It takes the Verve’s Unmixed Christmas album and well, remixes it. Modern DJ’s like Sonny J and The Orb rework old greats like Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong. If you’re throwing a Christmas party at some hip downtown lounge, this is the album you wanna play. The remix of Jimmy Smith’s God Res Ye Merry Gentlemen is just about the hippest and most danceable Christmas tune I’ve ever heard.
3 – Trojan Christmas Reggae Box Set
For some island fun, the Trojan Christmas Reggae Box Set will certainly entertain your guests. How can you go wrong with songs like Santa Claus is Ska-Ing To Town? That’s a trick question fool, because of course the answer is, “you can’t”. Look here for reggae versions of all your holiday favourites on this crowd-pleasing compilation.
4 – Don Ross – Wintertide
Canadian-based fingerstyle guitarist Don Ross put out an album called Wintertide. In it he creates more of his accoustic guitar magic set to holiday inspired tunes. It’s great atmospheric music, and his accoustic sound and effortless technique create a holiday album that’s decidedly off the beaten path.
5- Jimmy Smith – Christmas ‘64
Jimmy Smith, the Hammond B3 organ wizard himself, put together this album of Christmas hits in 1964. Like all of his other stuff from this era, it’s funky and it grooves. On the Christmas to jazz spectrum, it weighs in heavily on the jazz end. I think that’s why I like it so much. It’s Jimmy Smith unaplogetically cranking out Christmas tunes the only way he knows how to do it, dripping with blues and gospel inspired funk jazz.
6- Sarah McLachlan – Wintersong
She’s got a voice, and she’s singing new holiday stuff in a folk vein and it’s pretty good for people who are tired of all my christas jazz recommendations.
7 – Kevin Gibbs – Christmas Presence
But in case you’re not tired of my christmas jazz recommendations, here’s some more christmas jazz! This time with sweet vibraphones!
8 -The Chieftains – The Bells of Dublin
But if you are really freakin’ tired of my christmas jazz recommendations, then who not mix Christmas with Celtic? The Chieftains are such a treasure trove of traditional Celtic fare. This christmas album is certainly going to be fresh take on festive music for your guests.
9 -Oscar Peterson – An Oscar Peterson Christmas
Oh no! More fricken’ Christmas jazz! Not quite as awesome as the Jimmy Smith one, but still some good jazz from a Canadian legend.
10 – Enya – The Christmas EP
I realize by even writing this recommendation I’m going to be the subject of much ridicule in the upcoming podcast. But hey, Enya makes great atmospheric music, and anyone who hates her also hates the Lord of the Rings (because she plays a song on that soundtrack). You’re new age hippy parents will love this album.
Have a happy and safe holiday! Thanks for reading and listening this year. We look forward to kicking it up a notch in 2010.
-Mark
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Horaayy..there are 9 comment(s) for me so far ;)
So the only question I have for you is when are you going to throw this Trojan Christmas Reggae Box Set on for us complete with “refreshments”?? Also, you never answered Wade’s burning question about those “steel calypso drums”. WTF are those called?
That Guaraldi is basically the best ever. Good call on it being #1. I have other Verve Remixed albums and like them quite a lot, but I haven’t heard their Christmas album yet. I’ll have to pick it up.
where is the OC Christmas mix!
chrismukkah = christmas + something else i think
Probably Christmas & Hanukkah, you ignorant savage. Of course, if they really wanted to be inclusive the probably should’ve called it Chrismukkanza. Or Chrismukkanzadan. Or Chrismukkanzadaniwali. I think I just invented a holiday.
THE OC cast didn’t have any of those other people on there, so it probably didn’t make sense.
True, diversity was not the OC’s strong point.
olivia wilde played a lesbian on the show
Olivia Wilde plays a lesbian on every show.