A Little Christmas Music

I've been working on some Christmas songs for a while now. It's been hard to make interesting arrangements of songs that can be sung and played. Here are a couple I just recorded, with my teacher, Jennifer Clevinger's help producing them. Here they are. Hope you enjoy it, and would love your thoughts.

This version of the traditional Christmas song, "Silent Night", is based on a version by Dr. John in his album "Dr. John plays Mac Rebennack" (FYI: Mac Rebennack is Dr. John's real name). It's a tough piece to play and sing, just because there's so much going on, and it's so syncopated.

The other song I recorded is a version of "The Christmas Song," by Mel Torme, but based on the changes in the Nat King Cole version. I sang it in the same key (D-flat) Cole did, which was tough, because it's a hard key to play on the piano. But it's a cool key to sing in: just a tiny bit "sharp" sounding than C.

I realize I still have a long way to go, but it's nice to know one's making progess. :)

UPDATE: Several people tell me the links above didn't work, so I've updated them to use a different service (damn Yahoo! Briefcase). If you can't see the file (and want to :), just email me, and I'll send them to you.

Merry Christmas!
Swami

Jay McShann RIP

Jay McShann died last week, and I haven't had the chance to blog about it yet. He died December 7, which is of course the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and less famously the birthday of Noam Chomsky.

Allmusic.com has a good bio of McShann. For me, I was introduced to his music a few years ago by a colleague, and came to love his silky, ever so slightly out-of-tune voice, and his smooth piano playing that straddles the line between blues and jazz in a unique way. I've worked on a version of his rendition of the Bessie Smith song "Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do."

For those that don't know him, here are a couple of my favorite tunes ("Ain't Nobody's Business" and "Trouble In Mind") by McShann, both from his album "Still Jumping the Blues," in which he's accompanied by Duke Robillard on the guitar. Download, and if you enjoy, buy the CD :).

Rehearsal video of "Georgia on My Mind"

I've had a tough few weeks, struggling with some things I've done that have hurt people very close to me. Anyway, I've decided I need to keep some focus on my music as a way to keep things sane. So ...

I've been working on a version of the Hoagy Carmichael song "Georgia on my Mind." The most memorable version of the song, of course, is by Ray Charles. This version is based on that one. The chord changes are quite different from the original Hoagy Carmichael version.

This is a rehearsal video, so of course it's not yet polished. Much more work to do. I'll post an update soon. Let me know what you think :)

Swami