12 Days of Christmas (Albums) #5-7

I'm heading out of town for a couple of days and will not have access to the 'ol computer so I figured I'd get the blog updated in advance as to not disappoint my dedicated readers.

#5 A Charlie Brown Christmas
Now I'm certain that for many people this would be tops on their list of Christmas albums. I'm not knockin' it, but I'm also not raking my albums in any particular order (sorry for those of you who like to watch those VH1 "most _fill in the blank_ celebrity" countdown shows). Regardless, this one is a classic. : )








#6 Christmas with the Chipmunks
I want to see the new Chipmunks movie. It looks like a lot of fun in that pop-culture glossy-eyed kind of way. I don't really recall watching much of the chipmunks, but I do remember hanging out in the basement in Montana as a kid listening to the record player blast out those shrill chipmunk harmonies. Who knew something so annoying would be so AWESOME!






#7 Mannheim Steamroller: Fresh Aire Christmas
And, to finish up this trio of market savvy Christmas faves, I'd like to say that this is one of those childhood albums that that just transports me back in time. In particular, in 1991 when my oldest brother was performing with the local high school band for the annual Christmas concert, he played the "Cantique De Noel (O Holy Night)" arrangement from Mr. Chip Davis on piano with a flute soloist and left the auditorium absolutely stunned. It truly was beautiful. And I was very proud of my brother. I still am.

12 Days of Christmas (Albums) #4

From my earliest days, I remember hearing all sorts of music around the house. Peter, Paul and Mary, the Carpenters, John Denver and other great folk artists. It was awesome! Amy Grant was one of the artists that got played regularly around our house and her 1983 Christmas album entitled "A Christmas Album" was a staple of Christmas music around our house.

12 Days of Christmas (Albums) #3

Album #3 is from that vocal powerhouse group Take 6: He is Christmas which incidentally is ranked #9,430 in the most purchased music at Amazon.com. Way to go guys.

I you love vocal jazz, these guys are top notch. Grab a glass of wine and enjoy the smooth sounds of Take 6 this Christmas.

12 Days of Christmas (Albums) #2

Album #2 on this 12 days list is George Winston's December and was amazed to see that the 20th Anniversary Edition is now available and it includes a couple of extra tracks!

Of all the piano-Christmas albums out there, this one has always just had a special place in my heart--it' just seems to bring out the holiday spirit in me.

Funny thing is that it's the ONLY George Winston album I own.

12 Days of Christmas (Albums) #1

Here are 12 of my favorite Christmas albums, one at a time for the next 12 days!

#1 Christmas Songs with the Ray Brown Trio
My supervisor and partner in crime in the music department at the church found this CD in the discount rack a few years ago and purchased it on a whim. She let me listen to and instantly fell in love with the groove as layed down by Ray Brown (my favorite bass player) and his powerful trio and guest artists.

AMAZON.COM has this to say:
Ray Brown's got the right idea about making Christmas music: swing it, shout it, blues it up and down, riff with it, and, above all, never let it become boring. With a handful of top-line jazz vocalists on board, and a sax and guitar sitting in with the trio, he and his cool company can't miss the mirth of improvising or the mistletoe magic of rejuvenating a baker's dozen seasonal standards. Dee Dee Bridgewater demonstrates her versatility on "Away in a Manager" while the sublime Diana Krall scats with the creeping bass line on "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town." With Nancy King, Etta Jones, Marlena Shaw, Vanessa Rubin, and Kevin Mahogany singing, Brown delivers the goods musically (just check out his lyrical work on "Rudolph."). --Martin Keller

How Good and Pleasant

WOW! It's been nearly 3 weeks since I last posted. Ugh.

Happy Thanksgiving. I hope that everyone is finding this day to be restful (not too stressful) and full of good things to be thankful for. I've got family in town (my parents from Montana) and we'll be enjoying Thanksgiving dinner with some friends here in the valley.

Last night we celebrated at church with a joint worship service between Congregation B'nai Tikvah and Saint Matthew. It was an amazing evening that truly gave testimony of the good relationship between our two congregations and the spirit of thankfulness that can be found in being unified in God's love for us all. We shared in music and readings, a little bit from all traditions and then, as per our tradition at Saint Matthew, the annual pie fest! People bring pies, we eat them after the service and the the left overs are donated to familes in need as a Thanksgiving meal is provided by a compassion agency in the Contra Costa valley. Good times.

Well, don't eat too much. We've still got all of December to make it through.
Happy holidays!
Jason

What to do about our schedule

The worship team at Saint Matthew has been operating on a "schedule" since we tore down our old buildings to make room for new buildings. Additionally, we changed our worship times from 8:30am & 10:30am to 8 & 11am. I've been trying to be a fair minded and conscientious person and have encouraged my volunteers to sign up sign up to sing at either the 8am or the 11am service. Needless to say, I've been less than enthusiastic about our arrangement lately. I know some people love it because they get to decide if and when they're gonna sing (plus they can sleep in on Sunday mornings ocassionally). But I know others would prefer to sing for both services because they finally feel warmed up by the time the late service rolls around.

I've felt the pinch of our current method of operation on two levels that affect how we lead in worship. 1) We aren't spending the time together on a regular basis to really work on the vocal dynamics we really need to work on...the whole blend has been off lately. This is nobody's fault, but it's a symptom of our current schedule. 2) We aren't connecting as a community as much. Our time together is more dictated by "what function or project must I complete" versus spending time together singing God's praises and praying for one another. Doing both of these things, I think, are invaluable for our worship leadership on Sunday mornings and I think our current schedule has created a road block for us.

What do you think? Am I just imagining this?