Christmas Tree-O (Palmetto Records)
Matt Wilson
Released in 2010
DownBeat Four-Star Review
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mQQOas9QrTa2HHpfpd41RCu0Kqatsbjj4
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/2xVEZzY4NBGV4ok9OlOLmj?si=BFEVZMuoR9STvrzdFczorQ
About:
Matt Wilson’s Tree-O, the perfect collection of holiday compositions. “Traditions are ways for us to reconnect with events and times. Christmas is a time of year when traditions are especially important for folks. I have many that I enjoy. Decorating the tree, singing Christmas carols, going to church on Christmas Eve, watching the children open their presents, watching ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ and, when I was young, doing my best to have the fortitude to eat a traditional Christmas dish of Sweden, lutefisk. My brothers and I lovingly referred to it as fish jello. Creates quite a culinary image right? I am sure that you have many traditions at Christmas time that are dear to your heart. We hope as you and your loved ones celebrate the season that you will welcome a new tradition, the mellifluous sounds of the Christmas Tree-O. So as you decorate, cook or motor to Grandma’s house, allow this heartfelt music to lift your spirits and brighten your holiday season.” “Thank you for hearing the Music. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!”
Matt Wilson
Track Listing:
1. Winter Wonderland 04:25
2. The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late) 04:42
3. Angels/Angels We Have Heard on High (Traditional) 05:43
4. Christmas Time Is Here 04:20
5. You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch (Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel) 02:58
6. Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (John Lennon / Yoko Ono) 04:27
7. O Come O Come Emmanuel (Traditional) 02:48
8. Mele Kalikimaki 02:57
9. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (Traditional) 03:17
10. I’ll Be Home for Christmas 03:19
11. Hallelujah Chorus 03:19
12. Snow Fall 05:54
13. Little Drummer Boy (Traditional) 03:48
14. We Wish You a Merry Christmas (Traditional) 01:37
Personnel:
Jeff Lederer: tenor & soprano sax, clarinet, bass clarinet, piccolo, toy piano
Paul Sikivie: bass
Matt Wilson: drums, timpani, jingle bells
Recorded May, 2010, at Maggie’s Farm
Produced by Matt Balitsaris and Matt Wilson
Photography: Matt Wilson
Review:
Wonder and innocence, gaudiness and cheer: can it be any surprise that the jazz drummer Matt Wilson thrives around the holidays? His Christmas Tree-O, which released a scrappy and endearing album on Palmetto two years ago, does more or less what you’d expect, batting around holiday standards with a mischievous but sentimental air.
Plenty of groups do that, and not just in the region of jazz. But as holiday larks go, the Christmas Tree-O can feel unusually stout and lived-in — maybe because its emotional palette squares so nicely with the year-round demeanor of Mr. Wilson, who at 48 has credibly retained his boyish enthusiasm. In any case, the band, with Paul Sikivie on bass and Jeff Lederer on reeds, represents something more than a side project or a symptom of seasonal opportunism. It has its own gait and style.
During a two-night run at the Jazz Standard this week, the group also had a featured guest: Bill Frisell, who shares Mr. Wilson’s capacity for sly humility. A guitarist of unerring lyrical grace, Mr. Frisell added several layers of refinement to the group’s late set on Tuesday, festooning the melody of “Silver Bells” with fluttery grace notes and finessing “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” with a light snowdrift of arpeggios.
But the Christmas Tree-O isn’t all about shimmer. The set opened with “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” arranged as a medium-bright shuffle, with Mr. Lederer’s tenor saxophone giving the melody a touch of roadhouse honk. A version of the Hanukkah song “Eight Candles” sped along in a klezmer vein, with keening clarinet and an assured guest vocal by Amy Cervini. “Mele Kalikimaka,” also featuring clarinet, began in an antic, razzle-dazzle cadence; merged onto the expressway of up-tempo swing; and finally, under Mr. Frisell’s twangy spell, moved partway toward a country-western lope.
Two of the set’s most cohesive performances were polar opposites, in terms of temperament. First came “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” with Mr. Sikivie carrying the plodding melody with Mr. Lederer, on bass clarinet; the tune’s inherent minor-key slinkiness is a perfect environment for Mr. Frisell, who made himself at home.
For contrast, there was the band’s enlightened mash-up of “Angels We Have Heard on High” with “Angels,” an exclamatory anthem for the free-jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler. Mr. Lederer sounded most engaged in that free-form setting, and Mr. Frisell gave it some context, using his effects pedals to form a wave field of echoing drones.
Later on Mr. Frisell played a reflective and bucolic solo treatment of “Silent Night” — which Mr. Wilson prefaced with a dedication to those devastated by the shootings in Newtown, Conn., inviting the audience to sing along, embracing the song as a salve.
What came next, closing the set, was a sprightly “Little Drummer Boy,” featuring yet another guest, the alto saxophonist Grace Kelly, who jumped right in with a long stream of notes, threading her way through the form, as Mr. Wilson grinned merrily in the background, cymbals jangling all the way.
Nate Chinen (New York Times)
