Totally Boss Christmas

by CHRIS SLAWECKI
I generally don't care for big band music, and like ubiquitous holiday music even less than that. So why do I like Big Band Christmas (Concord, 1998) by Rob McConnell & The Boss Brass? Because McConnell's arrangements -- many combining two or three venerated favorites -- challenge both the music and listener, and transport these familiar melodies from the "same old classics" into vibrant new territory.

These arrangements are simply brilliant. "The Christmas Waltz," for example, dances on a Latin ensemble groove that peels back into a gentle interlude that casts one solitary horn against soft guitar. A Latin groove percolates beneath Pat LaBarbera's caliente sax solo in "I'll Be Home for Christmas," too. "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" jumps like roast chestnuts popping on an open fire, and McConnell even sneaks a verse of "What the World Needs Now Is Love" into "Silent Night."
McConnell devotes the longest track to "My Favorite Things," with saxophone solos (soprano first, then tenor) and pin-wheeling rhythm movement that seem to directly honor Coltrane's famous incandescent exploration of this sound and music. More gently led by flugelhorn, "A Christmas Love Song" reflects the peace and quiet of a fireplace night after a well-spent Christmas day.

One more reason to give holiday music more of a chance: Through an agreement with the US Postal Service, Concord just released Letters To Santa: A Holiday Music Collection, a new anthology available at select US post offices and online at http://www.usps.com/.
http://www.concordmusicgroup.com/jazz/