Jose Melis - "Christmas with Melis" (1958) - Seeco Records
Hola Amigos,
We couldn't wait to hear what sort of magic was contained herein on these grooves when we found this little treasure on our annual Black Friday record store sojourn!
Early research (i.e. the liner notes on the back of the album) reveals that Jose Melis was a Cuban-born child prodigy who began playing music at a very early age. He attended conservatories in Havana and Boston, and later Julliard. He played percussion in a U.S. Navy band during World War II before eventually being recruited by Jack Paar to be the house musician on his "Tonight Show", essentially making Jose Melis an early version of ?uestlove!
From the looks of it Tiki T. and I were expecting some bombastic Space Age Pop not unlike that of the genre's grand wizard, Esquivel. But, while the songs on Christmas with Melis are very much in a late 50's lounge form, the album overall isn't as weird as we would like it to be!
Its actually very understated, subdued (two words that really don't really speak to late 1950's Latin artists in general) and listenable! There's some interesting sounds going throughout the record but the strength of the record is definitely his arrangements!
On "Jingle Bells", for instance, Melis breaks the song up into three distinct sections. He playfully starts out by adding a hint of Mozart to the familiar melody while a simple, understated organ provides playful counterpoint beneath the piano. The middle section of the piece changes the melody to in include more minor chords on the piano, which sounds more Beethoven-y. For the finale, things lighten up again and both the piano and the organ (probably a Wurlitzer) feverishly run to their conclusion. All this in 3 minutes & 40 seconds!
Probably the highlight of the record is the original composition, "The Christmas Story". Melis apparently performed this spoken-word Christmas gem (complete with his thick Cuban accent) on Jack Paar's "The Morning Show" during the Yuletide season four years prior to this release and got such an overwhelming response to it that he decided to record it for the album! link
The only other song with vocals on the album is another original, "Merry Christmas Music" which is also pretty good, but we can't help think of Ricky Ricardo when we listen to it!
The first side of the LP contains the more secular songs ("Sleigh Bells", "Winter Wonderland", "Jingle Bells", et cetera) while Side Two is home to the more religious ones ("Silent Night", "Adeste Fidelis", "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" and the like). Overall, a fun holiday record that pairs nicely with some rum punch!
RATING: 3.5 making spirits bright out of 5
From the looks of it Tiki T. and I were expecting some bombastic Space Age Pop not unlike that of the genre's grand wizard, Esquivel. But, while the songs on Christmas with Melis are very much in a late 50's lounge form, the album overall isn't as weird as we would like it to be!
Its actually very understated, subdued (two words that really don't really speak to late 1950's Latin artists in general) and listenable! There's some interesting sounds going throughout the record but the strength of the record is definitely his arrangements!
On "Jingle Bells", for instance, Melis breaks the song up into three distinct sections. He playfully starts out by adding a hint of Mozart to the familiar melody while a simple, understated organ provides playful counterpoint beneath the piano. The middle section of the piece changes the melody to in include more minor chords on the piano, which sounds more Beethoven-y. For the finale, things lighten up again and both the piano and the organ (probably a Wurlitzer) feverishly run to their conclusion. All this in 3 minutes & 40 seconds!
Probably the highlight of the record is the original composition, "The Christmas Story". Melis apparently performed this spoken-word Christmas gem (complete with his thick Cuban accent) on Jack Paar's "The Morning Show" during the Yuletide season four years prior to this release and got such an overwhelming response to it that he decided to record it for the album! link
The only other song with vocals on the album is another original, "Merry Christmas Music" which is also pretty good, but we can't help think of Ricky Ricardo when we listen to it!
The first side of the LP contains the more secular songs ("Sleigh Bells", "Winter Wonderland", "Jingle Bells", et cetera) while Side Two is home to the more religious ones ("Silent Night", "Adeste Fidelis", "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" and the like). Overall, a fun holiday record that pairs nicely with some rum punch!
RATING: 3.5 making spirits bright out of 5
