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Barbara Dennerlein - Christmas Soul |
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Barbara Dennerlein considered to be one of the world’s top Jazz
organists and composers has crafted a spectacular Christmas album called
Christmas Soul and it begins
with the breathtakingly beautiful “Christmas Time,” sung by Zara
McFarlane from London, England. Sweden’s Mangus Lindgren’s flute is
enchanting and Dennerlein’s Hammond B3 organ playing creates a magical
mood, while the drumming of Robert Ikitz is appropriately subtle.
Abdissa Assefa is the percussionist for this album and Luca Alemanno
plays both the double bass and electric bass for Christmas Soul. Nicola
Conte played the electric guitar on a couple of songs and he was also
the producer, with Tommy Cavalieri as the sound engineer.
Why after all of these years was this finally the right time for
Germany’s Barbara Dennerlein to do a Christmas album?
“It is a very simple I always thought that one day it would be nice to
make a Christmas album. My
whole story started with Christmas, because my first organ was a
Christmas present in 1975 and I was asked by MPS Records. The person who
was the head of the Jazz department was Christian Kellersmann and he was
the same person who was who was the head of the Jazz department at Verve
Records when I did three albums at Verve. He called me one day and he
said I think there is something that the world is missing and I said
what is it? He said I think the world urgently needs a Christmas album
by Barbara Dennerlein. I said yes that is a great idea and I would love
to do it,” Dennerlein recalls.
We agree! Barbara Dennerlein’s interpretation of “Sleigh Ride,” is
exquisite, fresh and while it remains true to the original composition
the arrangement gives this song new life. The lively playing for which
Dennerlein has become known are evident in this song and Magnus
Lindgren’s flute helps this song to soar. Ikitz is magnificent on drums.
There are plenty of reasons to buy the album Christmas Soul, but this
song alone makes it worth your while to rush over to your favorite
online store or Barbara Dennerlein’s website and purchase it.
The album was recorded in Bari, located in southern Italy at Sorriso
Studio. It was summertime and the temperature was 30 degrees Celsius (86
degrees Fahrenheit).
Barbara Dennerlein says, “When we did “Sleigh Ride,” it sounded to me
like a summer song, but I like to have those groove things going on at
Christmas and for a few songs we have this wonderful singer Zara
McFarlane (“Christmastime,” and “Blue Christmas”) from London. She has
such a great voice for those songs. There is so much emotion in (her
voice). Christian Kellersmann from the record company was visiting us
one day and he came with a lot of Christmas stuff like a Christmas tree.
He also brought some decorations (she laughs) and we laughed about it.
It was a lot of fun and we really enjoyed it pretty much.
I love the song “Sleigh Ride,” which has the summer feeling. We were
driving around Bari with the cars and we turned the speakers on totally
loud. We listened to “Sleigh Ride,” all of the time, because it was such
a summery feeling. It fit so well to the sea and to that atmosphere.
I think we have caught the feeling of Christmas, but at the same time I
think we managed to make something like Jazz Standards and made
interesting music out of it. We give the people the good feeling at
Christmastime, but also give them some music, which is more than that.
The music is Christmas songs, but you can play that CD all through the
year. It is like Jazz Standards or some Soul stuff, so it is not
necessarily only for Christmas. When you are a musician you need to have
the ability to get in a special feeling. I did not feel that this was a
problem at all (with it being in summer), because we were just diving
into the music and we loved it.”
The song selection for the album and the diversity of the music is very
good.
“It is a lot of different things and there are some songs that everyone
knows like “Silent Night,” or “Oh Tannenbaum,” or “Christmas Song.”
There are songs that are also not so usual like Miles Davis’ “Blue
Christmas,” which is a really great Jazz song or we have a very
interesting version of “Let It Snow,” and things like that. “Chim Chim
Cherie,” is more like a Jazz Standard. I also composed “B’s Xmas Blues,”
which I really like to play. We have a very unusual version of “White
Christmas,” on it. It is more like a chilling song when you can sit down
and relax. It is so unusual.
There was wonderful cooperation between the producer who is an Italian
guy, Nicola Conte and also the saxophone, flute and clarinet player
Magnus Lindgren from Sweden and the three of us were responsible for the
choice of the songs and how the music sounds. It was the first time that
we worked together, because honestly I always refused to work with a
producer, but this time it was a lot of fun. We were all on the same
wave length and we understood each other. The cooperation was totally
easy. We met in the studio for the first time. It was immediately a
wonderful atmosphere and it felt fantastic. We had fun all of the time
and the sound engineer is a very nice guy.
It worked so well that is was really just luck. You can plan things and
you know from listening how other musicians play and you think it could
work well, but in the end when you meet you have to see how it matches.
It matched perfectly. I think that we inspired each other and especially
with Magnus we worked together well. We did not have to talk much and it
was just there. I understood his playing and he understood my playing
and we could really interact very well with each other,” she says.
“B’s Xmas Blues,” like so many of the songs on Christmas Soul will
appeal to listeners regardless of the time of year.
So often a record is referred to as timeless meaning it will be
played for many years to come, as will this album, but this collection
of songs are arranged and played in such a fashion that whether it is
Christmas or some other season music fans will want to play these
marvelous songs over and over again. As for the song it has a new
arrangement featuring three flutes and three saxophones.
Barbara Dennerlein is a master
of the Hammond B3 organ, because she does not just play the music, but
she infuses it with the same energy and enthusiasm with which she lives
her life. Her personality is vibrant and it shines through her music.
If you want to make a music purchase that will bring you a lifetime of
enjoyment that Barbara Dennerlein’s Christmas Soul is the one you should
be investing in.
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