Brad Nelson
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Post by Brad Nelson on Nov 28, 2019 11:02:58 GMT -8
With Apple Music, it’s made it rather easy to sample tons of Christmas music. I’ve been wading through jazz Christmas albums, in particular, of late. But not all of these suggestions are jazz. For those interested, I would call these worth checking out. In no particularly order:
Peace Round — The Yellowjackets
Christmas Jazz Jam — Wynton Marsalis
Trio West Plays Holiday Songs — Trio West
Ella & Louis Christmas — Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong
Christmas Joy in Latvia — Various artists
Jazz Piano Christmas — Beegie Adair
Christmas Songs — The Eddie Higgins Trio
A Mellow Jazz Christmas — Various artists
Jingle Bell Swing — Various artists
Sound of Christmas — Ramsey Lewis
Because It’s Christmas — Barry Manilow (yes…no kidding…it’s pretty good)
A Christmas Together — John Denver and The Muppets
Holiday Sing Along with Mitch — Mitch Miller (it doesn’t get any more old school than this)
The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album — The Beach Boys (very new school, but surprisingly not perfunctory)
Rocky Mountain Christmas — John Denver (the man truly gave his best to these songs)
Christmas Presence — The King’s Singers & National Yute Choirs of Great Britain
Christmas Together — The Piano Guys
A Family Christmas — The Piano Guys
December — Chris Botti
This is Christmas — Katherine Jenkins
Liberia — The Christmas Album
Carol to the King — Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Orchestra At Temple Square & The King’s Singers
Obviously I listen to a lot of Crosby, Sinatra, Elvis, and Dean Martin Christmas albums as well. But if you have Apple Music, or some other music service, check some of these out.
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Post by timothylane on Nov 28, 2019 11:08:20 GMT -8
I don't have Apple Music, and I don't seem to have any of those albums, though I do have another Christmas MP3 collection by John Denver.
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Brad Nelson
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עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Nov 28, 2019 17:27:02 GMT -8
Apple Music really is one of the best deals out there. As much as I am almost theologically opposed to renting software (including the software of music), it has made sense for me in this case.
Send me five bucks a month and we can put you on the family plan. I’m not sure how the Apple Music family plan works, but for $15.00 a month multiple users can share the same account. Maybe a DNA test is required. I’ll let you know when I need a urine sample.
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Brad Nelson
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עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Dec 1, 2023 16:54:44 GMT -8
Let's do it...
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Brad Nelson
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Post by Brad Nelson on Dec 1, 2023 17:16:13 GMT -8
And something more traditional from this same fellow...playing this song, as I recall, for the instrument that it was meant for.
Nothing spectacular...which is why it's good.
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kungfuzu
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Post by kungfuzu on Dec 1, 2023 17:49:19 GMT -8
I have not made up my mind on that rendition. I will say that they are all excellent musicians. Note the dark-haired guy's guitar has eight strings instead of the usual six.
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kungfuzu
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Post by kungfuzu on Dec 1, 2023 17:59:33 GMT -8
Yes, it was written by a small-town/village Catholic priest in Austria and he played it in his small church on a guitar, as I recall.
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Brad Nelson
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Post by Brad Nelson on Dec 1, 2023 20:36:17 GMT -8
Mssr. Flu, I took that performance as done with tongue thoroughly planted in cheek. Had it been otherwise, I might even have been offended by it. But it seemed just like good fun.
Of course, I can hear you thinking, "How would the Trans-Siberian Orchestra play it?" Well, my online resources are vast. Let's find out…
We might concur...nothing special. Did I just hear Artler from the cheap seats asking "How would a good ol' boy do it?" Well, my reach is long on the internet. But that might be asking too much. Wait. Wait….I think I can accommodate that request...
We will concur that the video itself is a poor one. But the performance would have had Lucy rockin' out.
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Post by artraveler on Dec 1, 2023 20:53:29 GMT -8
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Brad Nelson
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Post by Brad Nelson on Dec 2, 2023 10:28:46 GMT -8
I know that Adam Sandler can be rightly criticized as the prototypical man-child...the very idol of arrested male development (which every man has to some extent...that adolescent boy still lives on inside). Still, that song hearkened back to the time when Saturday Night Live had some talent and could make you laugh a real laugh (not a politically-correct forced laugh).
I couldn't stop smiling and laughing. Great shtick, Adam. Happy Hanukkah. Or Chanukah. Or Hanukah. Or Khanike. I figuratively light my Menorah (or Hanukkiah) to you. If I had a harmonica, I'd play it but I don't. A gin-and-toniccah sounds good about right now. Cheers. My Jewishness (according to the DNA test that my older brother did) is about 1.9%. I'm not sure that I belongicca but it's something.
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Post by artraveler on Dec 2, 2023 10:37:37 GMT -8
Unfortunately SNL hasen't been funny for about 20 years.
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kungfuzu
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Post by kungfuzu on Dec 2, 2023 14:01:03 GMT -8
Given the choice between your first video and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, I would chose the first. I admit I did not listen to Rush for advice regarding music. I always wondered how much he was paid for his reviews. That said, I found that virtually every song they perform sounds the same. They have a certain fuzzy overblown volume which doesn't impress me. They are all good musicians, but I don't much like most of the renditions I have heard them play. The pianist was good looking and that is worth a fair bit.  I am happy to say that the Danny Gatton video made up for the artificiality(?) of the other two. That man could play. I only discovered him sometime in the last few years. I would have driven many miles to see him pick a string. Classic rock-a-billy, but with even greater technical skills than most. A great shame he committed suicide these many years ago. |
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kungfuzu
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Post by kungfuzu on Dec 2, 2023 14:20:03 GMT -8
I admit I have never seen a full SNL program, but did see snippets back when Chevy Chase, Dan Ackroyd, Bill Murray and Gilda Radner were around. I found them hit and miss, but vastly superior to the rubbish which came thereafter.
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Brad Nelson
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Post by Brad Nelson on Dec 2, 2023 14:28:17 GMT -8
I admit, that's the first time I had heard of Danny Gatton. But it's obvious he can play. Fil has a look at him:
One commenter writes: Danny was known as "the greatest unknown guitarist in the world."
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kungfuzu
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Post by kungfuzu on Dec 2, 2023 14:40:31 GMT -8
I respect Fil more each time I see him. He analyses and critiques guitar playing exactly the same way I do. I am happy he pointed out what he called the groove and how Gatton did not get repetitive on his notes. I say it a bit differently. Gatton has perfect rhythm. He flows perfectly when moving from one theme to another. He doesn't miss beats and believe me when I tell you I hears such mistakes, however small.
I find many of these technical guitar wizzes have little feel for what fits and what doesn't. They are repetitive in their flash, but lack creativity when it comes to putting something together that flows smoothly and, I would say almost, rationally. They get off beat and cover it with volume, if at all, as most of the audience doesn't seem to notice. I find heavy metal guitarists are about the worst in this area.
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Brad Nelson
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Post by Brad Nelson on Dec 4, 2023 8:00:47 GMT -8
If you're saying he's more than just a pretty face, I agree.  He does seem an anomaly for a YouTuber. He seems to have an ear tilted toward quality rather than just the usual bulk faddishness that you'd expect from any yute born after about 1949. |
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Brad Nelson
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Post by Brad Nelson on Dec 19, 2023 9:54:11 GMT -8
One of my more pleasing discoveries of the last few years is Mel Tormé's Christmas Songs album. In particular, I find his "Good King What's-his-name" to be incomparable. Another find, less recent but still cherished, is The Roger Whittaker Christmas Album. Whittaker may be an acquired taste for some but I acquired it fairly early. I find his "The Governor's Dream" to be the stand-out on the album. It is, at the very least, an atypical sort of Christmas song: Country Christmas, Darcy The Dragon, and Momma Mary are other stand-outs. |
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Post by kungfuzu on Dec 19, 2023 14:03:57 GMT -8
Very popular in the Deutsche Sprachraum: translated German speaking area. I first heard him when living in Switzerland. The song you chose was good. It had to do with what the holiday is supposed to be about, at least originally.
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Brad Nelson
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Post by Brad Nelson on Jan 14, 2024 17:40:34 GMT -8
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He does seem an anomaly for a YouTuber. He seems to have an ear tilted toward quality rather than just the usual bulk faddishness that you'd expect from any yute born after about 1949.