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Béla Fleck: Jingle All The Way
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Label: |
Rounder Records |
| Released: |
2008.09.30 |
Time:
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61:38
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| Category: |
Progressive Jazz |
| Producer(s): |
Béla Fleck |
| Rating: |
*********. (9/10) |
| Media type: |
CD
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| Web address: |
www.flecktones.com |
| Appears with: |
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| Purchase date: |
2008.11.10 |
| Price in €:
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14,20 |
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[1] Jingle Bells (Public Domain) - 3:30
[2] Silent Night (Public Domain) - 4:41
[3] Sleigh Ride (Anderson/Parish) - 3:29
[4] The Christmas Song (Torme/Wells) - 3:01
[5] The Twelve Days of Christmas (Public Domain) - 5:19
[6] J.S. Bach's Christmas Oratio: Ich Will Nur Zu Ehren Leben [BVW 248: #41] (Public Domain) - 4:26
[7] Christmas Time Is Here (Guaraldi/Mendelson) - 2:21
[8] Linus and Lucy (Guaraldi) - 2:54
[9] Jingle Bells (Reprise) (Public Domain) - 3:13
[10] The Hanukkah Waltz (Public Domain) - 2:34
[11] Danse of the Sugar Plum Fairies (P.I.Tchaikovsky) - 3:29
[12] What Child Is This/Dyngyldai (Public Domain) - 5:08
[13] O Come All Ye Faithful (Public Domain) - 2:12
[14] Medley: We Wish You a Merry Christmas/It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like (Davis/Hammerstein/Marks) - 5:38
[15] Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (Blane/Martin) - 5:48
[16] River (Mitchell) - 3:46
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r t i s t s , P e r s o n n e l |
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Béla Fleck - Banjo, Piano, Arranger, Producer, Mixing, Electric Banjo
Jeff Coffin - Flute, Arranger, Bass Clarinet, Saxophone
Roy "Future Man" Wooten - Acoustic Percussion, Synth-axe Drumitar
Victor Wooten - Arranger, Bass Guitar
Andy Statman - Clarinet, Mandolin, Arranger
Edgar Meyer - Double Bass, Arranger
Alash Ensemble:
Bady Dorzhu Ondar - Igil, Arranger, Throat Singing
Mai Ool Sedip - Byzaanchi, Arranger, Throat Singing
Ayan Shirizhik - Kengirge, Arranger, Throat Singing
Ayan Ool Sam - Arranger, Vocals, Doshpulur, Arranger, Throat Singing
Sean Quirk - Honorary Tuvan on [5]
Richard Battaglia - Engineer, Mixing
Robert Battaglia - Engineer, Mixing
Patrick Granado - Overdub Engineer
Richard Dodd - Mastering
Señor McGuire - Photography
Sarah Lainie Radawich - Design
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o m m e n t s , N o t e s |
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2008 CD Rounder 610616
2008 LP Rounder 610636
Béla Fleck, often considered the premiere banjo player in the world,
has made a name for himself as a virtuoso instrumentalist unbounded by
genre. His band The Flecktones - Victor Wooten on electric bass, Jeff
Coffin on sax and flute, and Future Man on percussion - are equally
talented and adventurous as Fleck himself, and together they have made
a string of critically acclaimed albums that combine bluegrass, jazz,
funk and world music with technical prowess, unlimited imagination and
occasional zaniness. Their new holiday CD Jingle All the Way is all of
that, with bells on - Christmas music as it's never been heard it
before, with unique tonal textures (banjo, Tuvan throat singing,
klezmer mandolin), hot solos and tight ensemble arrangements that make
every measure new. Jingle All the Way is the perfect stocking stuffer
for those who like their Christmas music fun and challenging at the
same time.
“Can you throat-sing “Jingle Bells?” asked banjo master Béla Fleck to
Tuvan throat singer, Avan-ool Sam, a vocalist who can carry and
harmonize two simultaneous musical lines.
Welcome to the world of Béla Fleck & the Flecktones!
This unearthly, endearing rendition is only one chapter of the musical
adventure that is Jingle All The Way (September 30th / Rounder
Records), the first holiday collection of the Flecktones’ blazing
20-year career.
“We always imagined we would do a holiday album,” says Béla, a 10-time
Grammy winner who has previously introduced the instrument into jazz,
pop, classical and world music settings throughout his 30-year career.
“When the Flecktones first got together, we worked out a Christmas
medley – it was really fun. People loved it, and we continued to play
it every year.”
Produced by Fleck, Jingle All The Way – in the true spirit of the
Flecktones - morphs traditional music and standards into expressive,
often highly composed soundscapes. A major collaborative effort between
Béla, bassist Victor Wooten, Future Man (drumitar and acoustic
percussion) and Jeff Coffin (woodwinds), the album features everything
from the sparkling banjo-harmonic arrangements of “Christmas Time Is
Here” and “River” (Blue is one of Béla’s favorite albums; this is the
first Joni Mitchell song he’s ever recorded) and a Tuvan-inspired,
worldbeat performance of “What Child Is This / Dyngyladai” to fiery,
virtuosic renditions of “Sleigh Ride” and “Danse of the Sugar Plum
Fairies.” J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio #41 features the Flecktones
with world-renowned bassist Edgar Meyer delivering “four minutes of
intense counterpoint,” adds Béla. Friend and clarinetist Andy Statman
“unearths the soul of Jewish music” (New York Times), widening the
album’s concept with “The Hanukkah Waltz,” and chamber arrangements of
“O Come All Ye Faithful,” with Meyer and Fleck.
www.flecktones.com
Grammy-winning banjo "fusionist" Béla Fleck and his Flecktones may be
the most qualified collective to inject some life into the notoriously
monotonous "holiday music" scene, and Jingle All the Way (one would
think that an innovator like Fleck could come up with a more creative
"Christmas" album title, or at least one that doesn't directly
reference a 1996 Arnold Schwarzenegger comedy), doesn't disappoint. All
of the standards are here ("Sleigh Ride," "Silent Night," "Twelve Days
of Christmas"), but they're filtered through the skewed prism of an
outfit capable of just about anything from klezmer, to classical to
Tuvan throat singing -- the latter is provided by the internationally
acclaimed Alash Ensemble. It's not all wacky though, as Fleck, Victor
Wooten, Jeff Coffin, and Future Man prove reverent when needed,
especially on a cover of Joni Mitchell's "River" and the Vince Guaraldi
classics "Linus and Lucy" and "Christmas Time Is Here." Jingle All the
Way, despite its groaner of a title and questionable "frontman in Santa
hat with eggnog" photo, is anything but predictable.
James Christopher Monger - All Music Guide
The first Holiday album from Béla Fleck & the Flecktones! Jingle
All the Way is Christmas music as it’s never been heard it before, with
unique tonal textures (banjo, Tuvan throat singing, klezmermandolin),
hot solos and tight ensemble arrangements that make every measure new.
The perfect stocking stuffer!
www.musicdirect.com
Bela Fleck is an amazing talent. With a cabinet crammed full of Grammy
Awards in diverse categories, Fleck is an intensely creative force in
bluegrass, jazz, pop, and world music. His weapon of choice? The banjo,
but don't conclude that Jingle All the Way is a bluegrass recording.
Far from it! With his outstanding Flecktones, Fleck attacks 16 seasonal
pieces ranging from classical Christmas to Hanukkah to Joni Mitchell.
The universal theme is eclectic invention, and the overall tone is
contemporary jazz with world flair. In fact, this album is so
outrageously quirky that it is somewhat difficult to compose a
meaningful description of its content. That being said, I will
certainly give it a shot.
Jingle All the Way is probably my favorite holiday release of the 2008
season (so far!). It is an instrumental offering, although that's a bit
misleading. After all, Fleck includes "Tuvan throat singing" (by Alash
Ensemble), gutteral vocalizations that grab focus like a blistering
Gregorian chant. In other words, if you are looking for "traditional"
renditions of well-loved carols, steer clear! Bela Fleck and the
Flecktones are all about pushing the envelope, and this release
exemplifies the soul of creativity. In the holiday music arena, which
often is deluged with sound-the-same CDs, Jingle All the Way is an
absolute breath of fresh air.
The album opens with the sound of horse's hooves and Tuvan throat
singing on Jingle Bells; this introduction is dramatic and fun. The
second cut, Silent Night, develops over the first 30 seconds or so
before the melody reveals itself. Fleck's banjo goes magically fast on
pieces like Sleigh Ride; it does not seem physically possible to play
at that speed! The sweet, low-key River closing is perfection. Expect
the unexpected here, and rely on first-rate musicianship throughout.
I love this album - its irrepressible innovations had me hanging
on every note, wondering what clever creations were ahead. If you love
Bela Fleck, then you are probably already en route to the store to buy
this album. If you don't know Fleck, but enjoy inventive, jazz-charged
instrumentals for the Christmas season, then look no further. Bela
Fleck is the man, his Flecktones are fabulous, and Jingle All the Way
is your ticket to holiday fun this year!
Carol Swanson - Reviewed in 2008
Christmasreviews.com
Instrumental Album!
Currently no Samples available!