Early Snowfall (Summit Records)
Kim Pensyl
Released in 2015
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_k9-UNE9XO1pf9PqebV69L3qGCuK7-YoIU
Spotify:
About:
Arranging well-known Christmas songs always presents a challenge, since everybody knows the songs and so many artists have recorded them. Finding the balance of the expected and unexpected proved to be the most rewarding aspect of the writing. Kim Pensyl’s fresh and unique approach lets each song receive its own special treatment, yielding an overall sense of fulfillment and musical satisfaction. The group performed live in the studio and displays a cohesive blend of colors, timbre, counterpoint, improvisation, and simpatico of vision for the music. The result is a dynamic addition of contemporary jazz flavored favorites performed on piano, woodwinds, vibraphone, bass and drums for the holiday season. Highlights include “Christmas Time is Here,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “Let it Snow” and the title track “Early Snowfall.”
Track Listing:
1. Winter Wonderland (Felix Bernard / Richard B. Smith) 04:45
2. Oh Christmas Tree (Tradicional) 04:12
3. Jingle Bells (James Lord Pierpont) 05:29
4. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen (Tradicional) 04:35
5. Christmas Time is Here (Vince Guaraldi / Lee Mendelson) 04:07
6. I’ll Be Home for Christmas (Walter Kent / Kim Gannon) 03:41
7. Joy To the World (Lowell Mason / Isaac Watts) 04:54
8. Hark the Herald Angels Sing (Charles Wesley / William H. Cummingson) 04:48
9. Early Snowfall (Kim Pensyl) 04:15
10. Let It Snow (Jule Styne / Sammy Cahn) 02:56
11. Silent Night (Franz Xavier Gruber / Joseph Mohr) 05:05
Personnel:
Kim Pensyl: piano
Rick VanMatre: woodwinds
Rusty Burge: vibraphone
Michael Sharfe: bass
John Taylor: drums
Review:
A quarter-century since last trimming the tree in a recording studio, smooth-jazz operator Kim Pensyl sends personalized season’s greetings by way of his Early Snowfall (Summit 669; 48:54 +++½). Despite a set of standards more worn down than an old toboggan stored in grandpa’s garage, the pianist considerately staves off boredom for the listener by offering updates of musical and emotional substance. Along with Rick VanMatre’s flute and Rusty Burge’s vibraphone, Pensyl’s piano conjures honest-to-goodness Kris Kringle-certified jazz, not its sanitized simulacrum. He composed the album’s title track, which has an air of enchantment.
Frank-John Hadley (DownBeat)
