Christmas is just behind the corner so let’s try to catch up some mood without getting back to Bing Crosby or old good Satchmo all over again. Going modern Nils will fit the bill. He is well recognised musician, friend of many and down to the earth personality.
No surprise then here that the Man behind the Funk Unit comes back with his 4th edition of music for Christmas mix, not particularly Carrols, recorded as always with bunch of friends. As he also sings that makes sense even more, with his warm tenor. The way he sings is tonally is very close to his articulation when he plays his Red horn 😉
Opening song makes you feel immediately like you just got back home for the dinner. Following traditional The First Noel nicely sung by three female voices with a gentle guitar accompaniment keeps a listener in the same blissful mood.
Ellington’s Come Sunday is sung in lovely emotional way reminds me phrasing of Maria Muldar or Madeleine Peyroux. Nice to see like the mood is changing there. Most of the Carrols or “Christmas like” songs are played there in the very straight forward way, but unusual arrangement between Nils’ horn and Eva Kruse’s bass gives a nice touch (great to hear Eva again, first time since her maternity leave) .
So, all mix as always comes as an easy listening package, but certainly due to imagination of musicians involved it gains a personal touch, among which the flawless understanding of each other comes to the first plan.
Don’t get me wrong, it is a commercial recording on the one hand with an easy material to play, so no maestri is needed to get it right. On the other it proofs nicely that even most basic feelings, daily balancing on the border of kitsch, might come around as most welcome and demanded if they fit the right moment.
So here we are, again it’s just before Xmas. Media already started to attack us with hard core advertisement. It is hard to hide and avoid this sort of brutality. Also, watching like fooled people are constantly missing the plot, involved in silly shopping races, not being longer even aware what it is all about adds to the sod feeling. In one word – no shelter.
And now – watch out! In such a moment recording like this nicely calms you down and gives some break. It also moves the focus from meaningless behaviour to things which are really important in life. Just like friendship. Carrying for the others and common experience what the Love really means. At that time which is bless for ones and the hell for the others, if you watch the news here we got a rescue hand from Nils again. Just in time to judge how lucky we are.