"Jersey Jazz" review of Carol of the Bells

     It can't be true. I am sitting here at the end of October, with
the temperature still hovering in the 60's, listening to a new
Christmas album, and a good one at that. The Buselli-Wallarab
Jazz Orchestra is based in the Midwest, and is chock full of
superior players, including the co-leaders, trumpeter/
flugelhornist Mark Buselli and trombonist Brent Wallarab, who
wrote the terrific charts on "Carol of the Bells" (Owl Studios –
0806). It is always a challenge to bring freshness to songs that
are repeated over and over by countless performers. I always
judge the appeal of a Christmas album by whether or not it still
appeals to me if it is listened to out of season. If I can dig it
a few months out from or after the season, then I feel that I have
found a real good one. As I write this, I am listening to Carol
of the Bells for the fourth time since it came about a month ago,
and it has sounded just fine each time. The arrangements pull you
right in, and the band sounds sensational. A real bonus on the
album is the presence on seven of the twelve tracks of
Indianapolis-based singer Everett Greene, a cat who comes from the Eckstine/Hartman school of vocalizing. His soulful take on
"Silent Night" is a highlight on the disc. In answer to Greene’s
closing musical question "What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve," I
might just be listening to this album, that is, if I am somewhere
near a CD player. (www.owlstudios.com)

 

~Joseph Lang