A Child Is Born

• Original Release Date: January 1, 1992
• Label: MusicMasters
• Copyright: (c) 1992 Amerco, LLC.
• Song Length: 3:55 minutes
• Genres: Miscellaneous/General, Miscellaneous/Holiday
• ASIN: B001CPT1XO

A Child Is Born is one of my favorite tracks on this album, Hot Jazz For A Cool Night: A Jazz Christmas. This is one of those sleeper tracks with a very smooth and easy melody that lulls you into complacency. Benny Carter is wonderful as always. But it's the incredible virtuousity of Hank Jones that creates several *wow* moments. Here with only his two hands he provides an entire rhythm section. Even though this track is relatively short, the impact is noticeable. The uninitiated may not even realize that what they are hearing is only a piano playing beneath the melody. It really sounds like he has 12 fingers at times.

This track is one of the more mellow ones on this release. The soft and gentle playing and beautiful flourishes are both accessible and technically impressive.

If I could lodge one complaint about this track, it's that I wish there was 10 more minutes of this duet.

Definitely check this out if you get a chance. This is one of the highlights of this hard to find album along with the "We Three Kings" track from Dave Brubeck, Jim Hall's "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" and Stanley Turrentine and Cedar Walton's "Christmas Waltz."