Christmas Music, FVS-Style

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat; here's Facel Vega Soul and the tunes are always phat -

We should warn you up front that if you’re looking for the usual holiday-flavoured confections by the likes of Michael Bolton, Susan Boyle and Sting:
You've come to the wrong place.
We spend a lot of time on this site dissecting songs about love, sex, cheating, and even knocking people out (ahem). Well, we like our Christmas songs too – as long as they’re a short walk from John Lee Hooker or Big Mama Thornton. Save Amy Grant for the in-laws (and don’t get us started on that holly-jolly hairball Burle Ives).

Eddie Floyd - Doo-Wop Christmas (2012)

f you ever wondered what Santa sounds like surrounded by Soul and Doo Wop then you better grab this Christmas Album by Eddie Floyd, oops I meant Santa! From the Harmonica to the Bass and the Baritone Sax, this album says "Merry Christmas" like no other.

Carla Thomas - Gee Whiz, It's Christmas (1963)

My favourite Stax Christmas record. A understated beauty from Rufus Thomas's daughter Carla.

And despite the title, nothing to do with her hit Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes).

Dave Brubeck 1920-2012

Arguably the last true jazz legend has left us.
Dave Brubeck passed away on 5th December aged 91. We here at Facel Vega Soul are great jazz fans, so although we are hard at work on other projects, we are absolutely honour-bound to down tools and salute an absolute great.
If Brubeck had only ever bought out three tracks and they were Take 5, Blue Rondo a la Turk, and Unsquare Dance, he and the Dave Brubeck Quartet would have been remembered forever, but his talent went far, far deeper than that. We'll leave the in-depth story of his career to others, as they will no doubt be more eloquent than us, but we'd like to take five, sit upon the ground and show you three examples of his genius, as well as his cohorts.

Unsquare Dance; this version is from the Burghausen jazz festival in 2001:

 

And of course, Take Five, probably his signature tune and one of those tracks that the general public have hummed the melody to without actually knowing who it's by, always the sign of a piece of music that has passed into popular culture. The track is actually written by his long-time composing partner Paul Desmond, who passed away in 1977 at the age of just 52.

Take five, Mr. Brubeck. You've earned it.

-FVS