1. Silent Night 2. Christmas Night In Harlem 3. I'll Be Home For Christmas 4. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus 5. White Christmas 6. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear 7. Christmas In New Orleans 8. Jay's Christmas Candy 9. Hark The Herald Angels Sing 10. The Christmas Song 11. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer 12. Hootie's Christmas Baby 13. Silver Bells 14. Auld Lang Syne PURCHASE FROM AMAZON |
"Silent Night" is a bit dreary for my taste, and "White Christmas" is also done as a slow and mellow after hours tune, but the rest of the record pretty much swings. The one vocal on the record is Jay McShann's take on the Charles Brown tune "Merry Christmas Baby" (retitled "Hootie's Christmas Baby" to reflect the personality and direction Jay puts into it; it was a long-time staple of his Christmas shows). And "Hootie's Christmas Baby", along with "Christmas Night In Harlem" and "Jay's Christmas Candy" are what I would call the highlights of the set. But then again, I've always been a big fan of Jay McShann and he's the driving force on two of the three. Since it ain't a new recording, you can check out the samples on the mp3 version Amazon carries.
Look for "Jim & Jay's Christmas" on November 18. No word on any changes to the track list or cover art or anything, so I'm assuming its a straight re-issue as all of the previous re-issues have been. If you're a Jazz fan, you really should have this one in your library.