 LEECY and DALLAS (I think) That's Claudia, a member of The Flag Girls. The Flag Girls are a concept group--an all female group where members come and go. Claudia's bandmates, past and present, include Kaci, Mattie, Leecy and Dallas though, as noted, it's a rotation of sorts (and, for some reason, it appears to be first names only). The music of The Flag Girls falls within the sweeping term that is Americana. They'll do a down home old-timey fiddling Country tune and then turn around to give you some Indie Alt Folk.
Claudia (Hoyser) is one to watch, though. She's been singing at coffee houses ad the like since she was 15 (and writing original music almost as long). She'll be seen in the movie "Wildflower" which is expected to be released in March, and four of her songs are featured in the movie. The Flag Girls are a fairly new venture, so there's not much music I can point you to. There's "Blue Jean Heart", but not much else online. I would expect the center of their sound to be vocal harmonies but, again, we're working with a small sample so far. The Flag Girls are up on the social media, though--website, Facebook, YouTube and ReverbNation--and they'd appreciate you stopping by and sharing the love with the "likes" and the "follows" and the "recommends" and whatever thumbs up things are going on in the social media these days. You're going to want to do that anyway because we hear Leecy has a surprise coming up. And just so you know that street goes both ways, Claudia and the rest of The Flag Girls have an early Christmas present for you. Now through Christmas, you can download "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" for free at ReverbNation. Well, I "like" that. 
Well, will you look at that. It's the fourth night of Hanukkah. We're halfway home. I'm in the mood for a little Hanukkah Jazz, tonight. If I haven't already done so, let me point you to a couple of the classics of Hanukkah Jazz. There are some great individual tracks of Hanukkah Jazz but there are two full albums that I would recommend without reservation. For the lighter touch, you can't do better than Jon Simon's "Hanukkah And All That Jazz" from 1992. It's solo piano and, ordinarily, I wouldn't recommend solo piano to a Jazz fan (as many such records are more New Agey and less Jazz). But Simon's record is completely satisfying to your Jazz head while maintaining the spirit of the occasion. It was probably the first Hanukkah Jazz album I ever owned and is still my favorite. For a more swinging Hanukkah experience, the best of the bunch is from Kenny Ellis. The 2005 album "Hanukkah Swings" does exactly that. It's a great album for those who like that Rat Pack style and certainly the best Hanukkah album of that type I've come across. Kenny's voice sounds a bit more Barry Manilow than Frank Sinatra to me, but that's a minor issue considering the fantastic arrangements and musicianship. Not to slight anyone--there's great Hanukkah Jazz in abundance if you know where to look--but we'll leave it at those two for tonight.
Speaking of the Rat Pack style, Aaron Myers has a new holiday album out, "Snowing In Vegas". Aaron Myers is a world class entertainer. I know that because it says so on his Facebook page. All kidding aside, Myers' singing does recall some of that old Rat Pack magic. Though "Snowing In Vegas" is primarily a Christmas album, Myers did include a song that's meant to cover all the seasonal holidays, "Love All Year", the theme of which is similar to last night's track from Matisyahu and The LeeVees, and this song for the Festival of Lights, "Hanukkah Light". "Snowing In Vegas" is available through CD Baby (or you can buy the Hanukkah track a la carte). My personal favorites from the set are the single, "Love All Year", and the title track (though "Snow Day" and "Angels We Have Heard On High" aren't far behind).
When I see generic "cover art" like this, I tend to run away. Generally, poor cover art portends poor music. And this is about as bad as cover art gets. But, with relatively few Hanukkah releases each year, I'll give about anything a spin. And Leah Finkelstein's "It Must Be Chanukah" is simply gorgeous. The song is done as an old school Jazz standard, with a romantic open and a swinging middle section, and the lyrics are memories of Hanukkahs past. Hanukkah is about family just as is Christmas and, instead of a nursery rhyme about a child's game or a history lesson about Judah Maccabee, it's nice to hear a song that reflects that. "It Must Be Chanukah" is available from Amazon and iTunes.
One more, I think. This one is actually from last year, though I only bought it this year. Again, bad cover art is a real big turnoff for me. And, while this isn't as bad as the one above, it's....not good. But the music is genuine Jazz, it's instrumental, and it's one of the songs you don't hear as often. "Sov Sov Sov" (generally "Sivivon, Sov Sov Sov") is the other Dreidel song. Translated, it means, "Dreidel, Spin Spin Spin". There are actually two versions of the song (and, frankly, two versions of the game). Since one of the symbols on the Dreidel references the "Great Miracle", there's a version for Israel and a version for everywhere else--the difference being whether the great miracle happened there or here. Just some trivia for you. Won't matter with the tune which is from Pittsburgh's "Center Of Life Holiday Sampler" and the Center's own COL Jazz group. Again, the rest of the set is Christmas, but COL Jazz does a great job on "Sov Sov Sov". You'll find this one at Bandcamp.
 Since the work of a Christmas music obsessive is never really done, I'm constantly puttering around the Internets looking for Christmas music. Even in the off-season. But the website, well, usually come the actual day of Christmas, you take a deep breath and relax. Take a little time off and then gear up for New Year's. So it was Christmas Eve last year when I found "Hold You (On Christmas Eve)" by Carly Thomas. Yes, yes...I found "Hold You (On Christmas Eve)" on Christmas Eve. Point is, it was really a little late to do anything about it--at least as far as the site goes. Yeah, I could have tossed up the video without much commentary--that's pretty much what I do here between Christmas and New Years. But I really liked the song and thought it deserved better than that. So I just tucked it in my back pocket and that was pretty much that. And, then, in the off-season, I was busy trying to close out Mom's "estate" (which still isn't done) and I forgot all about it. Not long ago, Carly sent an email to the people on her mailing list (I'm on a lot of mailing lists)--tis the season, don't forget my Christmas song, and... Oh, hey, that's right. I loved that thing. And so now, albeit a year after its release, I finally get to share it with you properly...with commentary (what, you thought the soup was free?).  Carly is an Indie Folk Rock artist from London (Ontario) and I hope you'll take some time to check out her other music (there's a bunch you can stream or buy through Bandcamp and even a few name-your-price downloads). If you prefer videos, Carly's got a YouTube channel (might I recommend "Explode", the title track from her most recent release). She draws you in with the melodies, but it's her lyrics that are truly amazing. She just has a way of capturing a moment, an image, a feeling, a situation we've all been in, and turning it into poetry. Goosebump inducing. Truly.
"Hold You (On Christmas Eve)" is Christmas Eve from the point of view of the missus--Mrs. Claus. I don't want to say Christmas is a sexist holiday but, really, the only two female characters are Mary (a virgin) and Mrs. Claus. And Mrs. Claus is either portrayed as a little old lady who bakes cookies, or some sexed up ho ho ho. And, OK, I get it; she's fictional. But why is Mrs. Claus never portrayed as a full and complete person--just like the rest of us? I'll tell you what. I had an uncle who was a truck driver. And, for a long stretch there, he was almost always on the road at Christmas. I remember how he'd come home a day or two after Christmas with Hess trucks for the kids. Do you think my Aunt just sat around humming carols and baking cookies? No. She missed him, she worried about him. There wasn't a moment or thought of Christmas that wasn't accompanied by a thought of her husband, and she counted the seconds until he was home safe. I know that time moved very, very slow for her every Christmas he was on the road. So, at last, Carly makes Mrs. Claus real. Like any wife whose husband is on the road for business, she misses him and can't wait for him to get home. And the thing is, she is never going to be held by her one true love on Christmas Eve. It's not like Santa can call out sick for the day. And she can't make the trip with him (for reasons that Carly explains). Anyway, I know I babble on. But "Hold You (On Christmas Eve)" does actually bring tears to my eyes. It does. Yeah, I'm just a big sentimental softy at heart. But it couldn't make me cry if Carly hadn't made Mrs. Claus real. And, besides, look at the adorable cats and kittens in the video. How could you not love that? "Hold You (On Christmas Eve)" by Carly Thomas is available through Bandcamp. You'll note that it's one Canadian dollar, but that's a good thing for us in the states since, at the current conversion rate, that's about 75 cents, give or take. And, if she impresses you as much as she impresses me, you can follow Carly on Facebook or through her website.  We've always enjoyed the Christmas music Summer Camp makes, be it the cover of The Waitresses "Christmas Wrapping", last year's "Last Christmas" or their Christmas mashup "All I Wonderful Is You".
The Indie Pop husband and wife duo just dropped an entire Christmas EP and, thankfully, they didn't want to wait until Christmas to do so. Summer Camp's "Christmas" EP (looks like it's digital only) includes their covers of "Last Christmas" and "Christmas Wrapping" and three all new tunes--"Here Again", "Done With Christmas", and "I Don't Wanna Wait Til Christmas". It's all fantastic stuff and a wonderful early Christmas present. You can get the EP at Amazon, Google Play and through the group's label, Moshi Moshi. 
You may not know the name Bette Stuy just yet. But you will.
Bette Stuy was born in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in the New York borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is known as Bed-Stuy; thus the name "Bette Stuy". It's a way of never forgetting where you came from. It's been a long and winding road to get to where she is. In 2012, Bette was inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame, so she's come a long way. And there's a long way yet to go. Bette is billed as the Queen of Neo-Blues. Neo-Blues, like Neo-Soul or Neo-Swing, is simply the next generation of Blues; Blues music that is combined with the other sounds and styles that surround us...Soul, Funk, Gospel, Jazz, even a little Rock n Roll. The music that comes out of someone is usually a mix of the music that went in--and its best to let that music be what it is, rather than try to change it to fit a narrow description. So, if that music is a mix of influences--say Sippie Wallace and Gladys Knight.....Neo-Blues. Bette's new Christmas song, "Be Like Santa", is a good example of the mix of influences. It's not a gritty Blues number (though she excels at gritty Blues). It's an upbeat and sunny Pop Soul number with a positive message. But you can hear a bit of Blues, a hint of Gospel and, actually, a good deal of Soca influence in the song. There's a truism in the music business--there's no such thing as an overnight success. Ask anyone who seems to have achieved overnight success and they'll tell you about the years of hard work it took to get there. But the Blues world, well, you generally have to work ten times harder and longer to become even half as well known. Blues artists can't count on a hit single or a TV appearance to get the cash registers ringing. Blues artists rely--have to rely--on live performances in small clubs across the country...night after night after night--just to pay the bills. B.B. King, as famous and, yes, financially set as he was, was still playing 200 shows a year well into his 70s. When he was younger, it was over 300 shows a year. Koko Taylor did the same; when she finished one gig, the band would get on the bus, driven by her husband Robert "Pops" Taylor (a gifted guitar player himself), and drive to the next town. The Blues is hard work. It's also great music. 
Bette Stuy is putting in that hard work. Reading her biography, it's amazing how many places she's been, how hard she's worked to become better as a songwriter, as a singer, as an artist. If you looked at what she's done in just the last three years, you'd swear that it would have to take a decade to do all that. She's played festivals in Belgium and France, the Czech Republic and London town, and, in this country, everywhere from California to New York, New York. She's worked with top notch producers such as Kashif, who has produced chart toppers for Whitney Houston and George Benson, and recorded at Sean (Puff Daddy) Combs' house in New York and Paramount Studios in L.A. And those are just a few of the highlights from just the last three years.
Bette wasn't always a Blues singer. For many years, she worked in other shades of Soul. It was still hard work. Starting in some of the dingiest clubs you don't even want to think about, performing whenever and however an opportunity presented itself--be it an all female vocal group in Canada or providing backup vocals for Caribbean Soca singer Aarow--and all the while focused on her own music. One of her songs, "Stay Free", caught the ear of none other than Ray Charles and Bette was invited to work with the master. There might have been a longer story there, producing some legendary music, but Ray Charles passed away soon after the two met. One night at a club she was playing in Vancouver, Bette was listening to the Blues there and appreciating the simple purity of it. It started to work its way into her soul. The Blues will do that to you, if you give it half a chance. Back in New York, some time later, the band was sitting around talking about music and one of them said of Bette, "She's really a Blues singer. That's what she is--a Blues singer." Bette hadn't been singing Blues at all, but it struck her at that moment that that's what she was after all. As she told Vents Magazine earlier this year, "That's where my spirit and my voice all come together." 
Bette hasn't yet decided how she wants to get "Be Like Santa" out (other than premiering it here, which we certainly appreciate). She might post it to her Soundcloud page or it might make its way to CD Baby and iTunes (you can keep up with Bette's music via Facebook and her website). Frankly, she's been too busy readying her coming album--"Introducing Bette Stuy: This Is Neo-Blues". There's been a flurry of writing and recording, filming for videos, and getting everything just right. From the singles that have been previewed, it sure sounds like the effort paid off. It's a wonder she had any time to make a Christmas single at all.
Bette did release an album back in 2005, "From The Well Of My Inner Child". I tracked it down and there's some real good stuff on there. But you can tell she was still finding her musical direction. It was before she and the Blues found each other. In a way, "Introducing Bette Stuy: This Is Neo-Blues" is Bette's recording rebirth...her neo-debut. The album is expected to drop this winter and will be accompanied by a tour in the spring. Among the songs on the album will be a newly arranged and recorded version of "Stay Free" (it's easy to hear why Ray Charles dug it so much), the Neo-Blues tune "Enigma", and a couple of sensational new Blues tunes, "Teddy Bear" and "Black Dog Blues". Bette Stuy still has a long way to go on her musical journey. But she and the Blues were made for each other, found each other, and will now take that journey hand in hand. She's got the grit and the growl, the strut and the swagger. She's a gifted writer and singer and she's paid her dues. She is Queen of Neo-Blues. The Blues is hard work, but it's also great music. And, if you want to know why I'm so high on her, listen to "Black Dog Blues". It'll knock you out.  I hate doing Singles posts Sunday night for Monday. Because you can pretty much count on somebody doing something on Monday. Two noteworthy items so far today. And, OK, technically, both were likely posted before I went to bed (at 6 in the morning), but they weren't showing up in searches. While Pat Benatar and husband Neil Giraldo still haven't finished their respective Christmas albums (so far as we know), they are at least issuing a holiday single this year--"One December Night". The song will be debuted during the Macy's Day Parade. And there's a whole thing about taking pictures of them and spamming instagram to possibly get a free download. Good luck with that. The song is listed on iTunes with a release date corresponding to Turkey Day (and the parade), but no audio so far. And the H&M Christmas advert featuring Katy Perry's original Christmas song, "Everyday Is A Holiday" has dropped. H&M gives us two full minutes of Ms. Perry (though the song is still quite obviously abbreviated for the spot). No word on a commercial release date for the single--can't imagine it will be too far from now--but it is definitely a Katy Perry song in a Katy Perry style and, really, that's a lot of what you hope for when contemporary artists cut holiday singles. The ad, too, is very Perry. Check it out.
Lots of stuff happening, now, and we don't get a chance to cover it all. That's one reason you can't just rely on us and should visit those folks in our Festive Friends list. Mistletunes is back for the season. Christmas A-Go-Go, Christmas Underground, Santas Working Overtime (especially their Twitter feed), Merry & Bright, and Imwan are all going strong. And we expect to see some of the others up and running again, soon. You should also keep checking the List. I don't catch everything (far from it), but I do update the List frequently (and I backfill, so you can't always just look at the upcoming release dates).
First up, and very important...this just in... "XO For The Holidays" is back for its eighth year. There are a number of annual Christmas music traditions and XO Publicity's free collection of Indie Christmas tunes is routinely among the earliest and best of them. Honestly, if you want to be ahead of the curve on the best new Indie Christmas music, XO Publicity's annual collection will get you there. Wish I could say I had a gut feeling the XO comp was ready, but I didn't. The folks at XO contacted me to let me know. They're good like that.
From "Volume VIII", we get some old favorite artists and some brand new favorite artists. Piney Gir, one of my personal faves, is represented by "Love Is A Christmas Rose", which is actually from 2010, I believe. Old, new, who cares? It's Piney Gir! The rest of the collection is brand new, as far as I can tell. The Winter Sounds' latest is a sort of TSO meets The Killers "Mas X" (more from The Winter Sounds on our Free List today). And Magnuson is back for this latest with a pretty awesome grungy Indie Rock take on "Hazy Shade Of Winter". But it's some of the newer kids on the block who steal the show. In, I think, her second appearance in the series, Alejandra O'Leary takes on "Merry Christmas Baby". It's a unique vision of the song unlike any I've heard--and I mean that in the best possible way. Alt Rock fans will love it, I'm sure, but it should really speak to fans of deep Delta Blues (it's got a bit of CeDell Davis to it, and you can't get any deeper Delta Blues than CeDell Davis). And Seattle's Stubborn Son gives us "Snowed In", one of those fuzzy Pop Christmas tunes that should be a staple of any Indie holiday playlist for decades to come. Kicking everybody's ass, though, is ArtPeace, whose sound is amazing. It's a soulful Folk Pop sound (think Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car", but with heavenly harmonies). The two women who are ArtPeace met in a way that you'd never see in the movies because no one would believe it. YOU won't believe it, once you've heard them sing, because it sounds like they were born to sing together. Their debut album, "Free Music", is just out. And "Winter Wanderland" is so completely perfect, you'll probably want it on a continuous loop through the holidays. So make sure you grab "XO For The Holidays VIII". It's awesome (as always). It's free (as always)! And if you missed any or all of the previous XO Christmas sets, they're all still there and they're all still free.
One thing you might have seen on the List is an Amazon EXCLUSIVE compilation of what looks to be mostly new material--"Indie For The Holidays". We got our heads up on that one from Christmas Underground. The entire track list hasn't been released yet (26 tracks in all) and, I haven't really checked, but it could be another of those Amazon Prime tie-ins. The first song from the set--"Surviving Christmas" from Norwegians Sondre Lerche and Jherek Bischoff--debuted on Stereogum Wednesday. More exclusive debuts to follow before the official release November 20. "Surviving Christmas", itself, is pretty awesome. Written in a sound that wouldn't be out of place amidst the Andy Williams and Dean Martin records, the lyrics speak of what a wonderful moment Christmas is--when everyone feels and seems capable of realizing our full potential of goodness--and how sad it is that that moment inevitably passes all too soon. Amazon's "All Is Bright" didn't really win me over last year. But "Indie For The Holidays" is off to a great start and I'm much more hopeful and excited.
Our friends at Double Crown Records (known for their fine selection of Surf and Roots Rock, including many releases on their own imprint) have added some new items to their holiday section. In addition to the new Martin Cilia CD "Electric Christmas" (which, I can assure you, I paid much more to get), they've added a pair of 7" vinyls that you might find interesting if you don't alreadt have them. Both preceded Stubby's, by the way. First is the 2004 red vinyl 7" from the Swedish Rockabilly band The Go-Getters. It pairs "Run Rudolph Run" with "All I Want For Xmas". The other is the 2009 4-song EP (on green vinyl) from Spanish Roots Rockers The Confidents. The songs on that one are "It's Christmas Time", "I Believe In Christmas", "Sleigh Ride" and "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree". Double Crown is also offering 15% off any order for the rest of November (use coupon code NOV15). And don't forget that Double Crown has released a few Christmas CDs of their own, through the years. So check those out, if you missed any.
Hanukkah comes early this year--starting on December 6--and we're always looking for some good new Hanukkah music. One of the many popular Jewish a cappella groups, The Maccabeats, have recorded an EP this year, "A Maccabeats Hanukkah". The set doesn't include "Candlelight" or any of their other clever take-offs on popular music. Instead, they stuck to the best known songs of the holiday (except for "Dreidle", which is not here). In one way, that's too bad, because their annual singles are great. But its also good, because these ARE the popular songs of the holiday and we have far too many lifeless versions of them. So having the Maccabeats give those songs a more contemporary and energetic spin makes this a welcome disc. You can pick it up on Amazon.
I haven't seen anybody anywhere mention the new set from December People yet. Heck, you can't even find it at Amazon. But there it is, over at CD Baby, in both CD and digital formats (and bearing a 2016 release date, which might be the problem right there). December People, of course, are the group that takes well known Christmas songs and does them up in the styles of assorted Classic Rock bands. Classic Hits, Classic Carols, Fused into One. They've been at this for quite a number of years, now (well over a decade). At their best--when they get everything right--they can be amazing. But they've been known to miss on a few. Based on the samples for "Classic Rock Christmas", the one that most impresses me is John Lennon's "Happy Xmas". They deserve kudos on that one for the concept alone--doing it up in Magical Mystery Tour era Beatles style. I mean, you could have had me in a room kicking around ideas for a year and I never would have thought of that. Seriously, it would never have occurred to me. And the result sounds pretty awesome. Doing Train doing "Auld Lang Syne"? Not so much. Anyway, I'll leave you to figure out who else is doing what else on this.
I'm sure there was more, but I'm beat. Later.
 OK. So you may recall that, a while back, we told you about Fetal Records and their upcoming Christmas album. To refresh your memory, Fetal Records is a Baltimore & D.C. area label that began in the 80s putting out music in the then very hot Punk and Ska genres. Among their most popular artists were Law & Order, Bollocks, Braver Noise and Paddywack. It amuses me a bit because I distinctly remember how hot those sounds were at the time...the same time I found myself digging deeper and deeper into the Blues. But I'm getting ahead of myself a bit, here. Fetal Records continued into the 90s but sort of drifted away as new artists and sounds emerged as the new hottest things going. In 2012, some of the members from Law & Order (specifically drummer Beat Digger) and some other area artists and songwriters resurrected the label. But not as a Punk redux/nostalgia label, but a label without musical boundaries. My philosophy has long been, if its good, I don't care what it is; good music is good music. And that seems to be the philosophy adopted by the reincarnated Fetal Records. At the time I stumbled across Fetal's website, the Christmas album was just coming together. It was sort of a smaller idea that organically grew into a full-scale album. Well, now, it is done. The release date is November 20 and it will be available in CD and digital formats. You can see the cover art for "A Colorful Christmas" above, along with the track list. And I get to tell you all about it (or try to). But I can't be unbiased. "A Colorful Christmas" is all my favorite things--a local label multi-genre Christmas compilation with tons of artists I don't know singing Christmas songs no one else has ever sung, AND there's a lot of Blues music here...including new music from the legendary Charlie Sayles. I mean, I'm in heaven! But heaven's no fun if you're the only one there. I want you to be as excited as I am.  RICHARD SCHLETTY "A Colorful Christmas" has a little bit of everything--there's Blues, of course, Folk, Post Punk, Indie, Children's Music, R&B, Rock and also some deeply religious Choral music. Now you can throw lots of different kinds of music together and, basically, make a mess...unless you understand that these are all just different paints on the palette. You can paint a beautiful picture if you blend them properly. And, I have to tell you, the folks at Fetal Records knew what they were doing. I'm not, personally, big on the Choral and Classical. Just never got there. But, the way the album is laid out and paced, I was not only able to appreciate their beauty and the depth of their devotion, but I was unable not to. Is that a double negative? Are you following? Oh, yeah, I'm going to get to the Blues, but to get me to listen to and appreciate the beauty of something like Richard Schletty's "O Star of Mystery" or "Child Of Eternal Love"? That takes some kind of magical skills. Because, ordinarily, my brain would just shut that down. But, no. I heard it. I listened to it. I felt it. I loved it. That goes for all of the songs, here, from Mr. Schletty, as well as those from Matilda Jane Kraemer. Not my wheelhouse, but presented perfectly to make even me love them.  JET WATLING How 'bout children's music? Kid's music has always been something that, you know, I get it...but I don't really get it. I think it goes back to those old Kids records they put out when I was growing up. And I know some people loved those things. But, from a very early age, I thought they were crap. Hell, man, the Beatles had just arrived in America and I'm supposed to be placated listening to a tone-deaf rendition of "Peter Cottontail"? I was having none of it. I used the dang things as frisbees (kids, don't try this at home; I nearly decapitated my brother). Yeah, I was a bit of a brat. But what qualifies as Kids' music on "A Colorful Christmas" is completely and totally AWESOME! One of my favorite tracks--possibly my very favorite--is the opening track, "Reindeer Romp & Roll". The music is very Brave Combo and young Jet Watling is a natural. And the song is going to stick with you. It's one you'll be listening to all year round. I don't see how you won't be. Jet also joins with Run Little Elephant (featuring father Scott, mother Vivian, Tony Fazio and Law & Order's William Dagher) for "Peppermint Milkshake". If Kids records had sounded like this when I was growing up, I'd still be listening to them (and would never have tossed them in the general direction of my brother who, thankfully, kept his head in spite of my tantrums).  TONY FAZIO Your Folky Post Punk on the program comes from the members of Law & Order, Bollocks, and Braver Noise. In addition to the excellent original credited here to Braver Noise--"The Curious Child"--they're also Subsidiarity, who perform "All This Happened On Christmas Day" with Tony Fazio and "Homeless Christmas" with Scott Taylor. As the driving forces behind Fetal Records, they also contributed in the writing and performing on a number of other songs on the record. "The Curious Child" has a bit of "Me & Julio Down By The Schoolyard" to it (only better and with actual substance) while "Homeless Christmas" is a much more positive tune than the title would lead you to believe. "Let it snow again," because I'll be dreaming of a tiny child born in a stable far away, a child who showers his grace upon us like the snow that falls. And let's talk about Tony Fazio for a second--the guitar wizard who is a common thread through much of the album. Tony was one of the artists behind the resurrection of Fetal Records. He's most well know for his work with Electrified (aka The Electrified Blues Band). And his guitar playing throughout "A Colorful Christmas" is spot on perfect. He has a good feel for what a song needs--sometimes just a touch and sometimes much more. But my guess is that, from start to finish, you're going to be thinking to yourself, "Damn, this guy's good." And he is. Tony gets one song of his own, here, "Greensleeves". And, though it begins simply enough, the man will make it all his own before he's done (and you will wish the track was longer when its done).  SCOTT TAYLOR Scott Taylor is a revelation. If Tony Fazio does it all with his guitar, Scott Taylor does it all with his voice. From Scott, we get one of the album's best moments--the Blues masterpiece that is "Christmas Spirit". But Scott also gives us some street corner Soul ("Homeless Christmas"), takes us to church ("I'm Blessed To See Christmas"), and even gives us a bit of Bluesy Ska on "O Come Emmanuel". And I have to make special mention of "Jolly Old St. Nick", in which Scott calls to mind the classic R&B of greats like Otis Redding. "Jolly Old St. Nick" isn't one of my favorite traditional tunes (probably those Kids records again), but Scott made me love it.  CHARLIE SAYLES Saving the best for last.... Charlie Sayles. He's why I came. Charlie doesn't just play the Blues. He lived the life. Coming out of a series of foster homes, Charlie served in Vietnam and, while there, taught himself to play the Blues harp. Returning from the war, trying hard to adjust to civilian life after Vietnam, Charlie took to playing on the street corners for tips. He became a wandering musician, playing street corners all over the country. St. Louis, New York, Boston, Atlanta, Washington D.C. It says something about how talented he is that the tips from playing street corners has largely sustained him through the years. There's some early Chicago style in his music, but there's also Funk and Rock. Charlie is a true original. He somehow coaxes nearly an entire band out of his Blues harp. He's been criminally under recorded. He cut an album in 1976, "Raw Harmonica Blues" (good luck finding a copy but, if you do, buy it). A couple of albums for the British label JSP followed in the 90s. He hooked up with Tony Fazio and Electrified after settling in the D.C. area and, when Tony became one of the people behind the new Fetal Records, it made perfect sense to get Charlie recording again. Look for a feature on Charlie in the Feb/Mar 2016 issue of Living Blues magazine. For "A Colorful Christmas", Charlie gives us the original "A Christmas Blues", which is a more or less traditional Blues about a man coming to grips with the season after losing his family. And Charlie plays the hell out of that harp. "It's Not The Present" is a non-traditional Blues. I'd almost call it a Post Punk Blues, but most would just call it a Funky Blues. He gives the tune plenty of that Charlie Sayles personality and, once again, the harp playing is gonna get you. "The Christmas Way" is done more as a rural Blues--vaguely Country, even--but infused with some Gospel spirit. Charlie also sings two traditional carols and, on both "Angels We Have Heard On High" and "Silent Night", Charlie forgoes the harp, but his vocals are so heartfelt that you won't even be thinking about that. And "Silent Night" is as beautiful a version as I've ever heard. It's so real, it'll bring tears to your eyes. All of Charlies's tracks are raw and that's a feature, not a bug. I said in my earlier write-up I would kill to have me some Charlie Sayles Christmas songs and, thanks to Fetal Records, I don't have to. If there's a flaw to "A Colorful Christmas", it's that it's over too damn soon. I wanted more. And that's always a good sign. It's also a good sign that "A Colorful Christmas" makes me want to check out the rest of the Fetal Records catalog. And, while "A Colorful Christmas" has loads of great individual songs, it's a great straight-up listen, from beginning to end. In fact, that's how I'd recommend you listen to it. If you're just picking out tracks, here and there, you're going to miss so much of what makes "A Colorful Christmas" so good. Due out November 20, it looks as though only the digital version is available for pre-sale at the moment (I am assured there will be a CD). But Fetal also did another really cool thing. They're offering genre-specific digital bundles. Only interested in the Blues? Then you can order a bundle featuring the tracks of Charlie Sayles and Scott Taylor. Only interested in some (admittedly awesome) Children's music? They have a bundle for that, too, featuring "Reindeer Romp & Roll", "Peppermint Milkshake", "Children's Christmas Gloria" by Matilda Jane Kraemer, and Charlie's "It's Not The Present". Me, I'd tell you to just get the whole thing. Cuz it's all great music and, if its great, I don't care what it is. Do you?
 1. Let It Snow 2. It Must Be Christmas Time 3. It's Beginning To Snow 4. When Moonlight Has Hit The Town 5. I'd Like You For Christmas 6. Christmas Is Everywhere 7. Baby It's Cold Outside 8. Santa Baby 9. Silver Bells 10. The Christmas Song 11. Jingle Bells 12. Deck The Halls THISBE VOS WEBSITE PURCHASE FROM THISBE VOS PURCHASE FROM AMAZON PURCHASE FROM iTUNES PURCHASE FROM CD BABY  Today is the official release date for "A Jazzy Christmas" by Thisbe Vos. Thisbe went the crowd-funding route to bring this dream to disc and she also did something a bit unique in that those who participated in the crowd-funding effort received their CDs or downloads last year--a full year before the official release. I'm a big fan of crowd-funding, generally, and I like Thisbe's wrinkle of rewarding contributors with a full year advance (though I wouldn't want them all to be like that). You would think that, having had a full year to listen to this, I would have had plenty of time to write out a review long ago. But I didn't write a review in all that time. If procrastination were an Olympic sport, I'd surely be a gold medalist. So the time has come. Let's do this thing.
Born in the Netherlands and currently residing in California, Thisbe is a traditional romantic Jazz vocalist in the grand tradition of artists like Peggy Lee, Julie London, Jo Stafford, and Sarah Vaughn. Her voice is as smooth as silk and as warm as fresh gingerbread. She is, in short, exactly the kind of artist you want to listen to while snuggling with your special someone by a cozy fire. Were Thisbe "merely" a vocalist, she would already be extraordinary. But she's also a songwriter and producer...a triple threat...a modern day renaissance woman. Remarkably, the music Thisbe writes sounds as though it were written in the Golden Age of The Great American Songbook and Tin Pan Alley. This is the style in which she trades--not just because it fits her voice like an extra long satin glove--but because she loves it. Talented from an early age, Thisbe gravitated to this musical path--once well trod but nearly abandoned in recent decades--against the advice of pretty much everyone who advised her there was much more money to be made elsewhere. It might just be my opinion--I've got no charts or graphs or polls to prove it--but the one place where romantic Jazz is still held in the highest esteem is the world of Christmas music. We all still seek out every obscure track from the Golden Age and worship every note of the original Christmas standards. Even most of those who specialize in other, less traditional and more raucous Christmas sounds, have an appreciation and understanding of the classics. They don't call 'em standards for nothin'. So it makes sense that Thisbe would record a Christmas record and it makes sense that it's an outstanding success. Aside from the sound quality, which is flawless, "A Jazzy Christmas" sounds very much like an album from the 40s or 50s. Friends and family will find it so familiar that they'll be certain they will "remember" the name of the vocalist if given a minute or two. It's no carbon copy, though. Thisbe lets her exceptional musicians have plenty of room, allowing "A Jazzy Christmas" to live up to its title. I can pretty much guarantee you the musicians supporting popular vocalists in the fifties were on a much shorter leash. The formula works perfectly and should easily appeal to just about everyone. "A Jazzy Christmas" gets off to a swingin' start with "Let It Snow", which Thisbe originally recorded in 2013. Not only is Ms. Vos in top notch form, but we get some stellar work from Gary Matsumoto on piano and Nolan Shaheed on the flugelhorn. Climbing down the tempo ladder just a bit, we next get the first of Thisbe's four holiday originals, "It Must Be Christmas Time". There a touch of New Orleans in this one without being heavy handed about it. And once again we get brilliant work from Nolan Shaheed and the rest of the horn and woodwind section. "It's Beginning To Snow", another song written by Thisbe, follows and has a beautiful nostalgic feel to it. It might just be the best Christmas waltz since, well, "The Christmas Waltz". The third Thisbe Vos original in succession is "When Moonlight Has Hit The Town", my current favorite on the album (though I've been through about eight "my favorite"s since last year). There's a lovely, dreamy intro verse which gives way to a more swinging beat for the song's final two-thirds. This one spotlights Thisbe's vocal skills, and she's got mad skills. Range, phrasing, precision and passion--they're letter perfect. She takes hold of notes even the angels wouldn't attempt. Time for a little romance. Bobby Troup's "I'd like You For Christmas", most often associated with Julie London, is beautiful when anyone sings it and Thisbe certainly sounds fantastic. But my heart still holds the version by Dave's True Story as "the best ever", so I've lost my ability to be objective about it. All I can fairly say about Thisbe's version is "what's not to love"? "Christmas Is Everywhere", the final Thisbe original (co-written with Gary Matsumoto), closes out the first half of the record with a staccato tour de force and some fantastic clarinet from Geoff Nudell. The second half of "A Jazzy Christmas" features familiar songs of the season. Thisbe and Elmer Hopper do Frank Loesser proud on "Baby, It's Cold Outside". "Santa Baby" is sort of obligatory at this point, but at least Thisbe sings it properly--with a sly smile and a wink and completely free of camp or affect. "Silver Bells" gets just a subtle touch of Blues, courtesy of some more mighty fine keyboard work from Mr. Matsumoto. Between that and another superb performance from Thisbe, it's easily one of the best versions I've heard. If you've been looking for the perfect version of "The Christmas Song" featuring a female vocalist, Thisbe's got it. Yep, your Christmas practically demands Thisbe's "The Christmas Song", which also features some warm and tasty romantic sax, though I'm not sure if that's from Benn Clatworthy or Allan Walker (I'm going to guess Allan, given his history in Blues and R&B). That was one of my earlier "my favorite"s and, listening again, just now, it might have just retaken that mountain. "Jingle Bells" is one of those songs that, really, requires Jazz and Thisbe and friends give it plenty. Yet another favorite. And the album closes with a slowed down waltz version of "Deck The Halls", which presents a whole lot of beauty to that melody that the traditional versions completely blow right by. I don't even dance and I can see myself spinning around the dance floor with a beautiful lady (who is somewhat inexplicably wearing a Victorian gown; she looks good, though). A very pretty arrangement and a good closer (never thought of "Deck The Halls" as a closing number before). If you've always liked the standards and music from the era of the Great American Songbook, you're going to love "A Jazzy Christmas". And if you were never all that much into the standards and music from the era of the Great American Songbook, you're going to love "A Jazzy Christmas". Thisbe Vos has created a Christmas album that everyone will agree on. It's a warm comforter that you're going to want to wrap yourself in until Old Man Winter has gone away. The album should be available through all the major on-line retailers and, if you'd like an autographed copy, you can order directly from the lady, herself (be sure to click on the second item in the store window--the one that says "signed"). |
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