http://www.thenorthwestern.com/article/20081216/OSH04/312160007
By Gerry Grzyb (a.k.a. Dr. Christmas) • For The Northwestern • December 16, 2008
Neenah’s Gerry Grzyb, chairman of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh sociology department, begins to morph into Dr. Christmas in early October as the first of hundreds of new Christmas CDs arrive. With thousands in his collection, his “nice” list is tough to get on, but here are some of the best of ’08 that made the cut.
PIANO
The 14 carols on Minnesotan Bradley Joseph’s “Classic Christmas” clock in at an average of over 4 minutes, so you know he’s up to something. His usual approach is to play the carol straight, and then add his own twists. And he’s very effective at that—he doesn’t stray as far as a jazz or classical organ improviser might, but he does keep the interest up. The same applies to his earlier “Christmas Around the World”, which I found even more interesting because of the use of other instrumental sounds (added via keyboard, it seems).
The piano is always true to me. In times of despair, happiness, and joy, its mood is always my own. -- Bradley JosephThe object is to transport my listeners to another place, some place sacred and spiritual that will make them glad they took the ride. -- Bradley Joseph
