Yellowjackets

Peace Round - A Christmas Celebration
Heads Up

When I grow up I want to be Jimmy Haslip. I'm not even a bass player but that guy does stuff to you. Maybe he learned that voodoo thing from cohorts Russell Ferrante, Bob Mintzer, Marcus Baylor or Mr. Claus who's pictured with the boys inside their latest CD "Peace Round." Listening to a Yellowjackets album is always a lesson in humility. It's not that other Smooth Jazzers can't play at that Yellowjackets level but that many of them won't. Smooth Jazz is not as homogenized as some critics claim but it does need to dig a little deeper and no one makes that clearer than bands like Spyro Gyra or the Yellowjackets. Both have maintained strong audiences by paying more attention to their own bag of tricks than what's hip on radio. Are they rich for doing it? Hell probably not but I can't even imagine the satisfaction Ferrante and the boys feel when their heads hit the pillow. Though there has been loads of Christmas Jazz albums throughout the years one that constantly makes it to the top 10 in peoples hearts is the classic 1965 Vince Guaraldi album "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Without the association of the cartoon it probably would have disappeared but the fact remains that it's well played, has a nice breezy Jazz feel and it captures the spirit of the season. That's what the Yellowjackets do on "Peace Round - A Christmas Celebration" but in a more convincing manner. The album was actually released last year and was only available on the bands website www.yellowjackets.com but 2004 marks its wide release. "Little Drummer Boy" kicks off the album with more power under the hood than that song is used to - from the opening purr of Haslip's bass to Mintzer's Sax you know you're in new territory here. The tune is given a light-hearted treatment that's as catchy as it is adventurous without getting all freeform. "Silent Night" sounds like a lullaby thanks to Ferrante's piano and Mintzer has that warm cuddly Christmas feel that shines through his sax on "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas." There's a sense of mystery on the old English canon "Peace Round" - it's moody and very quiet. Jean Baylor handles the vocals beautifully on the only vocal "The First Noel," I can see this one getting airplay. There are two atmospheric almost ECM sounding tunes on the album that just sort of glide by with Ambient New Age feel. First "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem" sounds like a soundtrack for a good Christmas dream - the kind where Santa gives you that little wink and you feel connected to it all. The last song on the album, in the same category as "Bethlehem" is Joe Zawinul's rework of "Silent Night" called 'In a Silent Night" - it serves as a friendly respecting nod to another giant of Jazz who put more horsepower in the machine. Hey, maybe Santa's sick of the same old demands every year so use your imagination when you get him cornered- the Yellowjackets did! - by John Beaudin  - November 19, 2004