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December 23rd, 2007 Edition #464 Previously 
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| Our
Sixth Annual: A Café
Jazz Christmas!! With a mighty "Ho Ho Ho, direct from studio B" we launch the sixth installment of our yearly review of all the best in smooth seasonal music! Featured are great renditions of a few holiday classics as well as a few modern classics in the making, selections such as those from Terry Disley and Chris Rea. We've included past favourites by Russ Freeman and Rauder & Hobbs; fresh takes on traditional favourites by Brian Auger & Dotsero; while also appearing are Dave Koz, Rick Braun, Kenny G, Peter White, The Pointer Sisters, and Boney James. I hope you'll enjoy the music we've selected and a celebration unlike any other. So let the bacchanalia begin ! |
Complete playlist:
One Year Ago: |
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| Highlights Hour One
What Child Is This - Phil Sheeran: The story behind this Christmas classic sees an amalgam of words and music from two disparate worlds. Greensleeves, the melody, has a long history that dates to Elizabethan times. Apparently, the first licensing occurred in 1580 under slightly different titles, one to Richard Jones included … Lady Greene Sleeve, while the other by Edward White, had … Ladie Greene Sleeves. Included were lyrics that were not at all religious, nor indeed were they even respectable, however, the tune is probably older still. Unsubstantiated reports have it that Henry VIII may have written the song for Anne Bolin while Henry's daughter Queen Elizabeth is said to have danced to its strains. Shakespeare mentions it in The Merry Wives of Windsor while traitors were hung as hired musicians gloomily played its measure. |
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| Almost three centuries later, Englishman William Chatterton
Dix was stricken by a near-fatal illness when he was 29. He remained bedridden
for many months and suffered deep depression. During this time, Dix often
reflected & examined his faith, and thru reading The Bible & the works
of various theologians, Dix discovered the power that allowed him to change
his life. Shortly after recovering, he wrote several hymns including The
Manger Throne, which in time came to be recognized as his most inspired
work. Passages were used in church services and eventually it appeared
in print in both England & abroad. However, it wasn't until several years
later that fellow compatriot, composer and organist Sir John Stainer,
selected three stanzas from The Manger Throne and connected Dix's words
to the traditional melody Greensleeves that the beloved carol came into
being!! In the years since, the names Greensleeves and What Child Is This? have become synonymous with the selection being recorded thousands of times and becoming one of the most readily identifiable songs of the season. Indeed, the melody freely lends itself to interpretation and as some indication, we've included no less than four versions on this very program! First up is Phil Sheeran with a refined and reflective adaptation from the first of his Christmas collections. In addition to Sheeran's delicate guitar work, Richard Warner chips in on alto flute to further enhance the matchless mood of reverence!! CD: I'll Be Home for Christmas (1996) Label: Passage Records Site: Phil Sheeran |
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Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Dave Koz:
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Chinese Dance - The Terry Disley Experience:
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| Highlights Hour Two | ||
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Greensleeves (What Child is This?) - Peter White:
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Holly & The Ivy - Danny Wright:
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Skating - Boney James: |
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| After Hours ~ Exclusive to our Web Site: | |
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As has become our custom you're getting a full hour of great uninterrupted
seasonal music with no annoying chatter from me whatsoever. So sit back,
relax and enjoy our holiday gift to you as A Café Jazz Christmas
continues, After Hours style. Just click on the paw for a complete list
of the artists, titles, and albums that we're playing! |