CD: Swinging Christmas

Oh, what has not been done to good old Christmas music. Year after year, it serves as an acoustic mood enhancer, adorns sentimental commercials and is used as trivial background music at Christmas markets, without the original beauty of the Christmas melodies still being perceived. But now there is the ultimate musical refutation: The Martin Sasse Trio is passionately dedicated to both American Christmas carols and the German heritage of Christmas folk and church songs - the result is simply stunning: a sound experience that will have an impact far beyond the Christmas season.

"Swinging Christmas" makes the repertoire of Christmas carols confidently accessible for jazz. Martin Sasse, Martin Gjakonovski and Joost van Schaik turn the simple Christmas carols, which are often touching in their natural beauty, into sensitive arrangements and spirited, grooving improvisations. They stroll through moods, sounds and situations both elegantly and intelligently, allowing themselves to be guided by the familiar melodies with palpable and audible joy and celebrating them sometimes with infectious cheerfulness, sometimes with sublime festivity. After the great album "Longing" (2023), Martin Sasse has succeeded in creating another great moment of contemporary trio jazz art: "Swinging Christmas" invites you on an exhilarating sound journey far from the usual easy-listening paths - as a jazzy replica of 'Driving Home for Christmas'...