Once again it is that time of year to post up your seasonal holiday performances for everyone to enjoy. If your piece is an X-mas tune, or holiday related, please post it up here in order to keep everyones submission in one place for easy access and listening.

So who's going first?

What a great idea ... how exciting. Thanks, Mr Super_hunky. I had already posted this in the December bar, but with encouragement, here it is again for the Christmas collection.

Grown Up Christmas List

The Holiday season is a great time to take stock of the progress (or lack thereof) that we've made over the years. I usually like to try to record two Christmas/holiday-related numbers around this time of year. Since this is my first year on the ABF, I will bore you with my whole holiday catalog. Fire sale - all songs must go!

2012

This one is hot off the presses. I will do one more before the season is over (hopefully).

Christmas Time Is Here

Here is the blog entry for it:
Christmas Time Is Here blog entry

2011

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen is a "free jazz" number which one would think should not appeal to most people. But this is by far my most downloaded number. I remember thinking that this was an advancement because the only advice that I got from my piano teacher on the arrangement was to consider using some fourths in the melody.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen blog entry

Auld Lang Syne was done as a solo piano arrangement. This is when I realized that I had hopelessly forgotten the little that
I had learned about improvising for solo piano. I
re-harmonized the beginning and end of this to be as dark as humanly possible, befitting the outlook for 2012.

Auld Lang Syne

Auld Lang Syne blog post

2010

I was really excited about My Favorite Things. This was way,way beyond what I was normally capable of in 2010. It sounds pretty raw now, and overly long. This is an uptempo jazz waltz. Hopefully we can entice Jazzwee to post his exceptionally beautiful version that is out on Soundcloud.

My Favorite Things

My Favorite Things blog entry

What Child Is This (aka Greensleeves) is done as a bossa nova.
This is old enough that the original backing instrumentation was MIDI, and I had to supply my own acoustic guitar embellishments. I was able to re-mix it to get rid of the MIDI, but I unfortunately had to keep myself on the guitar.

What Child Is This

What Child Is This blog entry

Wow, what an incredible way to start things off. Greener, I can't believe how quick you seem to be advancing. I'm glad you took the time to finish and performe this for us.

Kenjazz, I think you may be my new best friend. My X-mas play list is nearly EXACTLY the same as yours. You present your music in an such a full and rich way. Now I'm motivated to start doing something after hearing these tunes.

Thanks Mr. Super Hunky! The music is the best part of Christmas for me. I'm getting close to finalizing an arrangement for O Tannenbaum. I'm betting that is on your play list too! When I'm done, I've threatened the kids that I'm making them a CD with all of these called "Dad Hacks Christmas" and giving it to their friends. They said I'd better not, or there will be repercussions

We Three Kings (flashback from 3 years ago)



After I made this video, I thought I would do a Christmas video every year. After 3 Christmases, this is the first year I'm without a new video.

I made this after just 6 months on the piano. I had no idea what I was doing. I had a new complicated keyboard, extremely limited experience on the piano, and a guitar that I knew how to play a few chords on.

All of this was done thru the keyboard. I plugged my acoustic guitar into it and the other parts were made on it. The file is long gone, but it was all just bits and pieces I scraped together to make this.

Except for the guitar. The rhythm guitar track was played start to finish. I used to play a lot, but now I can count on one hand the number of times I've played my guitar since I started learning piano. (2 of which were Xmas videos for ABF ) Priorities change when one discovers something new, I guess.

The very last piano solo part was me playing live. It wasn't intentionally slow and encumbered - that's just how I played 3 years ago if I hadn't practiced the snot out of something. It turns out it worked OK for this video's ending.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this thing I threw together as a complete newb on the piano when I first started!

Ben, that's a fun We Three Kings.

Excellent, Ben! I loved the harmonic counterpoint between guitar and piano. very cool/sophisticated indeed. How did you get such a clean recording sound on the guitar? Whenever I try to record guitar I get clipping and noise all over the place. Did you have a direct plug-in to the recording device?

Here is a piano vocal of the great Irving Berlin Christmas song. I have included the original intro which didn't make it to the well known Bing Crosby version. I realize I'm no Bing Crosby but I hope you enjoy my contribution to the Holiday Performances thread.

White Christmas

I meant to post this here and posted it to the December Piano Bar by mistake. Only listen to it once unless you are a masochist:

The Christmas Song

My interpretation, loosely, of The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.)

Greener - Thanks to my wife who begins listening to Christmas music the day after Labor Day I thought I'd heard them all, but this was a pleasant surprise - A cool Christmas song that I haven't heard 1,000 times. Now only did I enjoy the piece very much, your performance is first rate.

kenjazz - A thoroughly enjoyable collection of Christmas tunes - definitely iTunes distribution ready. Although I liked them all, you really made My Favorite Things swing. Outstanding collection.

BenPiano - I remember this from 3 years ago (I checked and saw I'd left a comment under my old id). This is such an outstanding multi-media production! You are creative as well as talented. I hope you make posting this one an annual event.

Andy Platt - this is one that usually doesn't work for me as an instrumental as the lyrics are so well known and iconic this time of year. That being said, you really made this work. I love the way you were true to the melody but gave it your own very cool arrangement. In my opinion, this is the perfect tempo for this song - not to fast, not to slow, just right! Love the ending.

Greener: ABF'er Christmas List - I didn't think I knew this one, but it sounded familiar in a way. After listening again (and googling it), yes, I have heard this before. Upon the second listen, I was really able to better appreciate the musicality and feeling you put into this.

KenJazz: Christmas Time is Here - Nicely done and well played. I could easily have this on at any Christmas event, to everyone's enjoyment!

BillM: White Christmas - You're exactly right - Bing Crosby was no BillM. It's easy to hear your soul poured out in this.

Andy Platt: The Christmas Song - Wow, so nice! Have you ever considered learning more material from this era? It was so nice, like it already belonged on your fingertips.

Here's another arrangement of What Child is This. I added in some various instruments. Enjoy!

Well, I'm 0 for 4 in that department. No video for me this year either because Lumbergh keeps asking me to work on weekends these past few weeks.

Anyway, this was really great for a noob! Nice work on that stringed instrument too.

Bill, I enjoyed your White Christmas a good deal. I'm glad you included the verse. It isn't sung often enough. I remember playing a very simple version of this song my first year taking piano lessons about 45 years ago.

Andy, I thought this sounded familiar. I enjoyed listening the second time as well.

ladypayne, what a fun arrangement! Great job.

[quote=BillM]I realize I'm no Bing Crosby but I hope you enjoy my contribution to the Holiday Performances thread.
White Christmas

Good thing you are no Bing Crosby. I'm thinking I prefer your version a good deal better then Bing's. Or, did somebody already say that? If so, I agree with them then. Yes, enjoyed. What, you have a different piano depending on what mood you're in? This isn't the usual one is it? It is really great sound and great rendition here, Bill. It sets the mood for me.

Ladypayne - this was a treat to see and hear. The art you selected for your video was quite enjoyable and suited your rendition of What Child is This perfectly. This is a real piece of work.

Bing who?? Wow, Bill...that was awesome! Loved it.

Happy to be able to post a Christmas performance (from Tonight -- Live). Outstanding vocalist.

Christmas Song
https://www.box.com/s/3ztd4ekfm7jqy988a6pu

Forgive the roughness. This was a straight one shot play with no rehearsal and as you can hear, quite live. I didn't get to do a solo (was cut off) but that's ok.

jazzwee - what an excellent vocal! Sounds like a cross between Johnny Mathis and Tony Bennett. The pianist is also quite good. Cool guitar solo.

From last year's project files my layed-back, mellowed-out "fireside" version of a great Christmas classic:



Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas



May your Chrismases always be cheerful, bright and white and may your egg nog never be bland, dull & impotent...

Trap

jazzwee, that was a wonderful listen. A really talented singer, and the band was superb.

John, here's another fine version of the same song...this time without the singer. Great job playing this classic.

Bill and Dennis -- Thank You very much!

This singer was fabulous and I'm honored to get the chance to play with such a professional. You probably wouldn't mind another beautiful encore from him. These songs were unprepared and called on the spot so they're not clean. And I didn't even get to see the lead sheet(s) until 10 seconds before the count.

White Christmas
https://www.box.com/s/ei451h6iyqbtf2xad8dp

Billm - White Christmas. Great sound. Love that intro. I don't even remember it from the movie

Andy Platt - Christmas Song. You had a lot of nice chords in here. As you say, kind of in between playing it straight up and fully improvising. Very nice

Ladypayne - What Child is this. Very reverent but with the Greensleeves era feel to it. I really liked the extra instrumentation.

Jazzwee - That cat can sing the phone book! W.C. was out of this world. The Christmas song was a beautiful listen once it got going. Really nice Christmas combo.

Trapper John - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. This really did have the fireside ambiance. I could imagine the picture. You had just the right tempo and spacing for that effect. Sounded great.

BenPiano-I just put the audio from last years Christmas recording into my ipod. Hope that's OK. I'm just really still enjoying how beautiful it was and wanted to listen to it on my way to work.

jazzwee, your link does not take me to White Christmas, but rather to Windows. It's not bad, but White Christmas it ain't. Is it just me, or are others seeing that, too.

Sorry about that. I just did an upload and I guess it replaced that link. Weird.

I changed the link above and here it is as well.

White Christmas
https://www.box.com/s/ei451h6iyqbtf2xad8dp