Nov 20 2008
Some Christmas Jazz
I am living in denial. I am living in denial over the fact that it is once again the holiday season. It just can’t be that Christmas is almost here. In my head, Thanksgiving is still more than a month away and not something happening in a week. I just can’t wrap my brain around the idea. It does not compute.
Outside the weather here in Chicago is cold and we have even had some snow flurries. People living in Northwest Indiana actually got buried in lake effect snow the other day. So, we kind of skipped over Fall and went right into the heart of Winter here. At the same time, I still can’t fathom that I will have to do Christmas shopping soon.
It seems to me like only yesterday I was helping my boss prepare Christmas items to send to our clients as a friendly reminder that we still existed and to thank them for their patronage during the past year. It seems like only yesterday that I was watching my baby niece open her very first Christmas presents and attempting to eat the books I had bought her.
Still, the calendar does not lie unless the entire world has decided to play the most elaborate prank ever just on me. So, I am going to try and instill and little holiday cheer here. This is not always easy to do with a blog that focuses on Jazz and Blues.
There is one guy who always seemed to put out the Christmas jazz. He is a singer you may know from his many mentions on the old 80s sitcom “Night Court.” I was never a big fan, I must admit. To be honest, vocal jazz has never done very much for me. However, some folks like Mel Torme. I can’t get behind anyone whose nickname was The Velvet Fog. I mean, what the hell does that even mean anyway?
Back when I worked at a jazz radio station in college, we had to find and play Christmas music during this season. It was agony. At other stations I worked at, no matter the format, they all fell into this trap. It was and is always agony. I can’t stand those stations that go all Christmas music at this time of year.
However, the one guy you could always count on to have a relatively benign and pleasant Christmas tune was the Velvet Fog. So, while attempting to inject a little Christmas cheer into this blog, I went digging for some Mel. I was amused to find not only an old clip of Mel, but of Mel singing with Judy Garland.
Yes, at least for today, this blog is a friend of Dorothy. So, begrudgingly, Happy Holidays.
