Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin wrote the songs that lodge in the ear and stay there: White Christmas, Easter Parade, Blue Skies, Puttin' on the Ritz. Simple, direct, and built for the heart, they still travel wherever melody is welcome.
He wrote both words and music in plain American speech, aiming past fashion at the tune you hum without trying. Ragtime fire, ballads of longing, showstoppers and holiday standards all came from the same gift for a line that feels inevitable once heard. Alexander's Ragtime Band set heels moving; later scores for Broadway and Hollywood poured out anthems and love songs that singers never tire of remaking. On these discs his melodies turn up as Christmas warmth, jazz standards and piano reflection, still carrying the ease and lift that made them public property in the first place.
Compositions by Irving Berlin appear on
The Art of Melody
Jazz legends Tony Gould (piano) and Graeme Lyall (saxophone) offer superb readings of well-known standards, joined by Ben Robertson on double bass and Joe Batrouney on drums.
Christmas Around the Piano
Tony Gould offers reflective improvised solo-piano versions of familiar Christmas songs and carols. Played without hurry and coloured by personal memory, each tune is treated as living music rather than seasonal decoration alone.
Mandolin Christmas
Christmas songs for mandolin orchestra. Arguably Australia’s most acclaimed mandolinist, Kurt Jensen leads an international programme of sparkling carols, from mediaeval favourites to modern classics.
A Golden Christmas: for Flute and Harp
Elizabeth Koch and Suzanne Handel. A superb collection of popular Christmas carols and songs, arranged for the charming combination of flute and harp.
Unanimity
Two grand pianos, one disc: Bob Sedergreen and Tony Gould, leading Australian jazz improvisers, in a rare live duo of spontaneous piano performance.
O Come All Ye Faithful
A Melbourne choir under Faye Dumont, whose Christmas programme shows variety and finesse as part of its charter.