Holiday Season 2022 - A Holiday Concert: Dianne Reeves and Samara Joy

Wednesday, November 30, 2022

One of my favorite singers, Dianne Reeves, was in town tonight for a holiday concert. Dale and I were joined by Noel. 

Ms. Reeves was supposed to be joined by a singer I've only recently discovered named Samara Joy, who, for reasons unknown to me, did not appear. This was too bad as I was looking forward to seeing her live in concert. Both women are amazing vocalists. 

The concert was downtown at Orchestra Hall, a venue I haven't been to in years. It was good to be back. Noel and I reminisced about our days working there. We met on the job in the late 1980s. As we waited for the performance to start we reminisced out our time working there. Noel was unaware that I had access to the catwalks above the hall. 

Our seats were on the right side of Tier 1 Rear which offered a fantastic view of the stage. We talked about having similar seats when we saw Rosemary Clooney at The Hall about 20 years ago. 

The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra played all of the numbers and Ms. Reeves was the featured vocalist on about half of them. She entered stage left wearing a beautiful red dress with a white sheath coat over it and began the performance by citing the holiday season as one of her most favorite. 

The set list:

  1. Jingle Bells (This selection featured on the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra's 2019 release, A Big Band Christmas).

  2. What Are You Doing New Year's Eve

  3. The Little Drummer Boy (Ms. Reeves on vocals. This selection on her 2004 Christmas album, Christmas Time Is Here. Tonight's live version featured much more vocal improvisation than the recorded version.)

  4. A Child Is Born (Ms. Reeves on vocals. This selection also on her 2004 Christmas album, Christmas Time Is Here.) 

  5. My Favorite Things (Ms. Reeves on vocals.)

  6. Sleigh Ride

Intermission

  7. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

  8. Heat Miser (From the 1970s television special, The Year Without a Santa Claus

  9. Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow (Ms. Reeves on vocals. This selection on her Christmas album)

10. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Ms. Reeves on vocals. This selection on her Christmas album)

11. This Christmas (Ms. Reeves on vocals.). Lots of improvisation and riffing related to experiences of the holiday season that everyone can relate to including the uncle who's maybe said a little too much during family celebrations. 

A Little Decorating, Cocktails, and Music

Sunday, November 22, 2020

So the snowmen went up today...

...and the feather tree got some ornaments. All before Thanksgiving. 

Cocktail hour and music. I haven't had a Bloody Mary in a while.

Okay, so, I wouldn't want to do it this way every year, but starting early has been rather fun. 

Fifth Day of Christmas - Phoenix

Saturday, December 29, 2018

1. Dale and I took a nice walk this morning. Although there are hints of Christmas inside, it looks far from Christmas-y to me outside.

2. John and Dianne picked us up from the hotel at 10:30 a.m. We headed over to Brenda and Irv's new place to check it out before they get here.

3. Dale and I took another nice walk after getting back to John and Dianne's and saw neighbor's cool cacti with Santa hats on.

4. Sat out by the fire pit with Dale and listened to 90s era Rosemary Clooney Christmas music.

5. Finished reading Christmas Eve On a Haunted Hulk.

Fourth Day of Christmas - Off to Phoenix

Friday, December 28, 2018

1. Listened to 70s era Rosemary Clooney Christmas music in the car while taking Athena to the kennel. Always hard to leave her. 

2. Arrived in Phoenix and got a shuttle to the Drury Inn. Checked in and then admired the big tree in the lobby. 

Third Day of Christmas - Christmas On the Couch and More

Thursday, December 27, 2018

1. Sat on the couch and admired the tree.

2. Listened to 50s era Rosemary Clooney Christmas music.

3. Listened to Bing Crosby Christmas music and drank egg nog.

4. Ate some bark left over from Noel's holiday fete. 

5. Worked on the Joe and Mike Christmas Playlist.

6. Read How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

7. Read The Polar Express.

8. Ate leftover Chinese food from yesterday.

9. Listened to Christmas 2013 playlist and read The Night Before Christmas.

10. Took down the tree and all Christmas decorations. Including the two smaller trees pictured above. One was in the bedroom and one was in the dining room. 

11. Drank some egg nog.

12. Read Santa Mouse.

13. Listened to Christmas 2012 playlist.

14. Watched White Christmas with Dale while eating a frozen pizza for dinner.

15. The cowboy Charisse gave me didn't grow much from yesterday although it looks like one of his legs is a little more engorged. I took him out of water a few hours later...

Holiday Season 2018 - The Solstice

Friday, December 21, 2018

The solstice occurred today at 4:23 p.m. Mike texted me a picture as I was taking a screenshot of the time. 

It was of a retro pin-up picture done by a pin-up artist popular in the 1940s & 1950s named Peter Driben. The red and green garments have to be a nod to December. 

Mike also texted me a picture of Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen from White Christmas. I forgot a copy of the movie over at his place the last time I was there. We didn't get a chance to watch it. I'm hoping he's saving it to watch with me...

Christmas Day 2017 - White Christmas

Monday, December 25, 2017

Dale and I finished watching White Christmas before Mom arrived. We had actually started  it yesterday but nodded off. 

Holiday Season 2017 - Cocktails with Mike

Mike came over for cocktails Friday night. We listened to Hamilton and of a bunch of Rosemary Clooney Christmas stuff. We also opened up the Christmas edition of the Drinking Buddies which I recently purchased. 

Always fun to hang with Mikey. We're good buds.

Christmas Season 2015/2016 - Odds and Ends: Linda Ronstadt's Xmas Album

Listened to Linda Ronstadt's Christmas album, A Merry Little Christmas this season for the first time in a couple years. Here's the review I wrote for the recording on Amazon back in 2002:

Let me begin by saying that this is now one of my favorite Christmas CDs. I actually bought it a couple of years ago and must say that it was not what I expected. Well, that's not quite true. The first four songs were EXACTLY what I expected.
Ms. Ronstadt gives both The Christmas Song and I'll Be Home for Christmas very cozy treatments. She may as well be standing in your living room next to the fireplace and singing right to you and yours. White Christmas is a lovely addition due to the fact that Linda sings it with Rosemary Clooney (who better?). Linda embellishes Rosie's lovely burnished vocals and the end result is one of my favorite renditions of the venerable standard.
The gears begin to shift with Joni Mitchell's River. I've heard this lovely song before but not in a Christmas setting (Holly Cole and Dianne Reeves both have strong versions). The lyrics only make a passing reference to Christmas but it works well here. Christmas albums don't often include songs dealing with the meloncholy aspect of the Holidays. This song gives this collection that chance. After River, a touching selection dealing with lost love, the album slides into sacred mode.
O Come, O Come Emmanuel has Linda prominently featured along with a Tuscon choir. Xicochi, Xiochi is actually arranged by Linda and has Kris Karge providing a lovely harmony vocal.
The next two songs, I Wonder As I Wander and Away in a Manger, are credited to "The Choir from Los Angeles" and do not feature Ms. Ronstadt -- at least according to the liner notes. I Wonder As I Wander does not appear on Christmas collections enough so I really appreciate its inclusion here. Away in a Manger has a Richard White adaptation and arrangement that is different than the two versions I am familiar with. I enjoy it quite a bit.
The next five songs are credited to "Linda and the Choir from Tuscon". She sings along with the choir and her voice is not easily distinguishable from the rest of the choir. These final five songs are: Lo, How a Rose E're Blooming (also not heard enough on holiday recordings -- at least in my book), Welsh Carol, Past Three O'clock, O Magnum Mysterium, and Silent Night. All are incredibly lovely and very well done.
My only critisism of the album is that Linda's voice is not prominently featured on most of the sacred selections. She is the reason I bought the CD after all. Never the less, this has grown into one of my favorite collections of holiday songs. I highly recommend it.

Christmas Season 2015/2016 - Odds 'n Ends: White Christmas

Dale and I watched it this year. It was just as fun as always. Dale and I have seen Rosemary Clooney perform a holiday show two times. Both times at Orchestra Hall and both times with our friend Noel, and one of those times with our friend Julie.

Irving Berlin's White Christmas

Dale and I finished watching White Christmas tonight. We started it last night but I fell asleep about two-thirds of the way through it (due to last nights martinis).  Dale and I have fond memories of seeing Rosemary Clooney doing a Christmas concert at Orchestra Hall in the late 1990s. She showed clips from the movie, sang songs from it and told funny stories about the making of it.