Our Review
The tempo and overall richness of the guitar and piano got me involved with this record right away. Ken Navarro has some very thoughtful and engaging arrangements of holiday favorites. Angels We Have Heard on High quickly carried me into a very cheerful space.
Navarro's jazz style is quite accessible, and subtle. His rendition of O Christmas Tree put me more in mind of traditional jazz than any other song on the CD, but even here he shows a soft touch. My favorite cut was a very sentimental rendering of Silent Night. Here, I found the reenforcing sound of Jay Rowe's piano used to its best advantage, lending the song both authority and tenderness. Navarro's arrangement of this classic song is better than most I have heard.
I appreciate how he left the beaten path by including three unusual seasonal selections: Skating in Central Park, Rain on Christmas, and his own composition Skating on the C&O Canal. These three songs serve to reenforce the record's soft sell approach, which I liked.
Christmas Cheer is a very fun record!
--Richard Banks
(Reviewed in 1999)
No More
Ken Navarro
Christmas Cheer
Artist link
Label: Positive
Length: 44 minutes
Genre: Jazz
Release: 1996
Track List
| Song Title |
|---|
| Angels We Have Heard On High |
| Hark! The Herald Angels Sing |
| Skating In Central Park |
| We Three Kings Of Orient Are |
| The Christmas Song |
| Skating On The C&O Canal |
| O Christmas Tree |
| Silent Night |
| Rain On Christmas |
| We Wish You A Merry Christmas |