Disc of the day
Heaven 17 - Penthouse And Pavement
From Sheffield, synth pop and funk to stick it to Thatcher. Currently being played live!
Features Disc of the day
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Wishes You A Swinging Christmas
(Verve, 1960)
Jazz's coolest voice gets her Yule on: just the thing for the cold snap...
"Here is an ebullient Ella Fitzgerald, exuding the warmth and spirit and good cheer with which the Yuletide is usually equated." So say the liner notes to Ella's first (and best) Christmas album, a record that shuns the heartbroken, lonely and blue in favour of festive fun, frolics and goodwill. From a finger-poppin', scat-fuelled Jingle Bells to a blissful White Christmas, Ella's cool, clear vocals are the perfect soundtrack to the crackle of home cooking, the slosh of wine and the flicker of early evening candle light. Amazingly, Frank DeVol and Russ Garcia's arrangements avoid the trappings of schmaltz throughout, ducking and diving their way around the vocals with rippling ease. It is to their credit that this remains a jazz album from start to finish - the smooth pulse of Let It Snow! and Frosty The Snowman are guaranteed to give your Christmas Day a particularly zinging feel. But this is an Ella Fitzgerald album and it's her authoritative stamp that ignites these festive favourites. Each track is deftly articulated and elegantly poised, and of course, naturally swinging. The queen of jazz could sing these songs in the middle of July and make it seem that Rudolph and his pals were already limbering up for their leap into the night. Now, where did those mince pies get to?
Ross Bennett
Posted by Danny_Eccleston at 6:00 AM GMT 24/12/2009
Further Listening
Various Artists – Christmas Cocktails (Capitol, 1996)
Ray Charles – The Spirit Of Christmas (Columbia, 1985)
Bob Dylan – Christmas In The Heart (Columbia, 2009)
Previous Disc of the day
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Heaven 17 - Penthouse And Pavement
From Sheffield, synth pop and funk to stick it to Thatcher. Currently being played live!
6:00 AM GMT 18/03/2010
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The Pop Group - Y
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6:00 AM GMT 11/03/2010
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