OK, if you want Christmas music that’s going to get you into a mood of holiday cheer, Egg Nog, mistletoe and Rudolph, this is not for you. If you want some musicians that actually give some thought to the meaning of Christmas, as well as the importance of a musical statement, then this highly impressive release by leader/saxophonist Will Scruggs is just for you.
What Scruggs does is put together The Christmas Story, complete with Bible Verses and Latin text readings (don’t worry,it’s all instrumental) just to serve as a background for the story that each song, all traditionals, convey. So, you get a burning and flexible band of Scruggs, Brian Hogans/p, Dan Baraszu/g, Tommy Sauter/b, Marlon Patton/dr and Kinah Boto Ayah/perc along with an in and out horn ensemble delivering heartfelt, poignant and musically enthralling versions of material like “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.” Scruggs’ tenor is tenacious on a version of “Joy to the World” that climaxes in a percussive cataclysm of celebration, while his soprano on “Ideo Gloria” is as brilliant as an angelic light. Joe Gransden delivers a trumpet solo on “Go Down, Moses” that will split the red sea and call home the shepherds, while “Lo, How a rose E’er Blooming” is as gentle as a pastoral evening under a bright star. This is not for roasting chestnuts by an open fire, but for presenting the real music for a real REASON for the SEASON. After all, it’s just God in the flesh!
Willis I Music
www.willscruggs.com