It's turned out to be a pretty big year for new Christmas music. We've gotten or are getting new holiday albums from Eric Clapton, John Legend, Ingrid Michaelson, The Monkees, William Shatner, Rodney Crowell, JD McPherson, Dailey & Vincent, The Mavericks, Engelbert, Martina McBride, Moffat & Hubbert, and we just announced the best edition yet of the fabulous Snowflakes Singles. But, for my head, the portion of our musical Christmas tree reserved for Jazz and Blues is still looking pretty bare. And so I go looking. And, sometimes, I find a gem that I missed the first time around. Or it finds me.
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1. That's What I Want for Christmas
2. Winter Moon 3. My Dear Acquaintance (A Happy New Year) 4. River 5. Silver Bells 6. Good Morning Blues 7. Rockin' Robin 8. Christmas Everyday 9. Silver Bells (Scatmas Edition) |
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Lucy Lockwood is a Jazz and Blues singer from the Northwest portion of England (near Liverpool) and "Warm Hearth - Shivering Heart" is one of the best Christmas albums I've ever missed and then found (possibly the best). As you can hear on "Silver Bells" above, Lucy can scat with the best of them. We haven't heard scatting that good since Ella.
But Lucy is more than just scatting. The best Jazz vocalists are the ones who use their voice as an instrument (we spoke about this a bit in our earlier look at Dred "Perky" Scott and the Steve Rudolph Trio). That's more than just vocal improvisation, at which Lucy does excel. There's the ability to bend notes, something we most often think of when we think of Blues guitarists. And there are times when Lucy sings where she has the precise resonance and tone of a brass or a woodwind instrument; at times, you'd swear her voice has become the personification of Dizzy's trumpet or Bird's sax or J.J. Johnson's trombone or Benny Goodman's clarinet. That's talent. And she whistles, too. Lucy is unafraid of tackling the entire panorama of music. Material in her live shows ranges from Hoagy Carmichael to Howlin' Wolf, from Cole Porter to Iron Maiden.
"Warm Hearth - Shivering Heart", originally released in 2016, is Lucy Lockwood's debut record (instant bonus points for debuting with a Christmas record). And, much to her credit (and our enjoyment), she eschewed the usual suspects and selected a program of lesser known, but no less classic, songs of the season. Sure, Joni Mitchell's "River" has had it's share of covers lately, but how many people have covered Peggy Lee's "My Dear Acquaintance (Happy New Year)"? Only Regina Spektor that I can think of. Then there's "Winter Moon" (speaking of Hoagy Carmichael); even the few covers of that standard that I can think of off the top of my head (Art Pepper's and Banu Gibson's) weren't on Winter or Christmas albums. And how many covers of Smokey Robinson's great "Christmas Everyday" can you name? I can only think of two--The Temptations and The RMS Five (the latter because I bought and enjoyed their 2012 Christmas album, which is titled after the song). Isn't that amazing? Such a great song (personally, I've always felt the best of all the Motown originals...no offense Stevie) and nobody covers it. And, since we've mentioned "Christmas Everyday", let's also make the point that "Warm Hearth - Shivering Heart" isn't just for Jazz heads; there's a nice assortment of sounds, here.
Finally, Lucy deserves credit for assembling a cast of musicians who are simply splendid. I won't mention them all by name because I don't want to leave anyone out (you'll find them listed in the "Album Notes" at CD Baby), but I can't help but single out Dave Eatock whose Blues Harp only appears on "Silver Bells", giving the song some additional texture. Nice touch.
Lucy Lockwood would probably appreciate if I would mention that there's a concept, here, reflected in the album's title. Two sides of the season...festive fun and quiet reflection, winter romance and lonely isolation. And I get that; I categorize Christmas music that way in my own head. But I'm less about concepts and more about the music. And the music on "Warm Hearth - Shivering Heart" is exceptional from beginning to end. Lucy knows when to pour it on and she knows when less is more. She knows a good song when she hears it and she knows how to make a good song better. And, finally, she clearly loves Christmas music--it shows in every decision made, here, and it shows in every note.
While we wait for Lucy Lockwood to release another album, there are some non-holiday tracks you can enjoy at Soundcloud. And I highly recommend adding "Warm Hearth - Shivering Heart" to your holiday playlist. CD available direct from Lucy Lockwood and digital download available pretty much everywhere. My personal favorites on the album are "Good Morning Blues" (all 7 outstanding minutes of it) and "Winter Moon", but its all superb. And what better way to conclude than with a free download track. Here's Lucy's rendition of the holiday love song made famous by Nancy Wilson, "That's What I Want For Christmas", available at ReverbNation.
But Lucy is more than just scatting. The best Jazz vocalists are the ones who use their voice as an instrument (we spoke about this a bit in our earlier look at Dred "Perky" Scott and the Steve Rudolph Trio). That's more than just vocal improvisation, at which Lucy does excel. There's the ability to bend notes, something we most often think of when we think of Blues guitarists. And there are times when Lucy sings where she has the precise resonance and tone of a brass or a woodwind instrument; at times, you'd swear her voice has become the personification of Dizzy's trumpet or Bird's sax or J.J. Johnson's trombone or Benny Goodman's clarinet. That's talent. And she whistles, too. Lucy is unafraid of tackling the entire panorama of music. Material in her live shows ranges from Hoagy Carmichael to Howlin' Wolf, from Cole Porter to Iron Maiden.
"Warm Hearth - Shivering Heart", originally released in 2016, is Lucy Lockwood's debut record (instant bonus points for debuting with a Christmas record). And, much to her credit (and our enjoyment), she eschewed the usual suspects and selected a program of lesser known, but no less classic, songs of the season. Sure, Joni Mitchell's "River" has had it's share of covers lately, but how many people have covered Peggy Lee's "My Dear Acquaintance (Happy New Year)"? Only Regina Spektor that I can think of. Then there's "Winter Moon" (speaking of Hoagy Carmichael); even the few covers of that standard that I can think of off the top of my head (Art Pepper's and Banu Gibson's) weren't on Winter or Christmas albums. And how many covers of Smokey Robinson's great "Christmas Everyday" can you name? I can only think of two--The Temptations and The RMS Five (the latter because I bought and enjoyed their 2012 Christmas album, which is titled after the song). Isn't that amazing? Such a great song (personally, I've always felt the best of all the Motown originals...no offense Stevie) and nobody covers it. And, since we've mentioned "Christmas Everyday", let's also make the point that "Warm Hearth - Shivering Heart" isn't just for Jazz heads; there's a nice assortment of sounds, here.
Finally, Lucy deserves credit for assembling a cast of musicians who are simply splendid. I won't mention them all by name because I don't want to leave anyone out (you'll find them listed in the "Album Notes" at CD Baby), but I can't help but single out Dave Eatock whose Blues Harp only appears on "Silver Bells", giving the song some additional texture. Nice touch.
Lucy Lockwood would probably appreciate if I would mention that there's a concept, here, reflected in the album's title. Two sides of the season...festive fun and quiet reflection, winter romance and lonely isolation. And I get that; I categorize Christmas music that way in my own head. But I'm less about concepts and more about the music. And the music on "Warm Hearth - Shivering Heart" is exceptional from beginning to end. Lucy knows when to pour it on and she knows when less is more. She knows a good song when she hears it and she knows how to make a good song better. And, finally, she clearly loves Christmas music--it shows in every decision made, here, and it shows in every note.
While we wait for Lucy Lockwood to release another album, there are some non-holiday tracks you can enjoy at Soundcloud. And I highly recommend adding "Warm Hearth - Shivering Heart" to your holiday playlist. CD available direct from Lucy Lockwood and digital download available pretty much everywhere. My personal favorites on the album are "Good Morning Blues" (all 7 outstanding minutes of it) and "Winter Moon", but its all superb. And what better way to conclude than with a free download track. Here's Lucy's rendition of the holiday love song made famous by Nancy Wilson, "That's What I Want For Christmas", available at ReverbNation.
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