Monday Music: Christmas Time is Here

"Christmas Time Is Here, by Vince Guaraldi, performed by pianist George Winston. The song was featured in cartoonist Charles Shulz's first television special, "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown."

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Monday Music: "Thanksgiving" by George Winston

"Thanksgiving" first appeared on George Winston's December album (Windham Hill). My first time to hear this was on the Windham Hill 1984 Sampler.That album remains one of my favorites, and George Winston has continued to display and artistic, emotive touch on the keyboard in his subsequent recordings.

Monday Music: No Ke Ano Ahiahi

Recently I was listening to George Winston's Plains CD while driving to work. A beautiful melody unfolded on one of the tracks and I said to myself, "I have heard that before!" The song was "No Ke Ano Ahiahi." The first time I heard the melody was in church. There is a hymn, "Song of the Body of Christ" in the Catholic Gather hymnal. A beautiful contemporary composition, the words are by David Haas. I had heard it often as a communion hymn. It is a Hawaiian chant that, like many other Hawaiian melodies has made its way into the American songbook.

Here are three versions. You can pick either one, or listen to all three. The first is George Winston's beautiful piano arrangement. Following that is the Hawaiian song with it's Hawaiian lyrics. Third in the line up is the version I first came to enjoy during the Mass.