Bells will be Ringing

Pink Martini Holidays!more photos

Ok, quick quick. Like that magician in the family holiday TV classic "Frosty the Snowman," I'm Busy, Busy, Busy. It's holiday time, and like many of you, there's lots to do. But, I wanted to make sure that those who want to be in the know, knew what to expect from this week's World Music "Holiday" Show (12/24). So, in honor of the Holiday Season, I'll skip the superfluous stuff and get right to it. 

The theme running in my on-air promo's for this week, say, "what does Holiday World Music sound like?"  Well, it'll sound like this: 

• Pink Martini: On their holiday CD, "Joy to the World," they really run the gamut of interesting and classic holiday tunes done with a World Music vibe. From Ukrainian Bell Caorls, to "White Christmas," sung partially in Japanese, Pink Martini delivers a great CD of music.
• Playing for Change: The organization takes a bunch of musicians from around the globe and morphs their takes into one song. To kick off the Holiday show, they cover The Beatles "All You Need is Love." A good way to start any holiday, right?
• U2: Ok, remember, these guys are an Irish band. But, they do a great version of "I Believe in Father Christmas."
• Papa Don Vappie's New Orleans Jazz Band: Accordions & Christmas? Absolutely. It's a perfect fit.
• New Birth Brass Band: it's a nice, different take to hear some Cajun Holiday Music. These guys do the song "Santa's Second Line."
• Kate Rusby: From England, Kate covers a 100-year-old, traditional English melody called "Here we come A-Wasseling," which means singing carols door-to-door.
• Esquivel!: This classic Mexican band leader was the leader of Space-Age lounge music. What do I mean? Well, tune in to find out.

In between all of those holiday songs, will be a nice mix of world mellow music from people such as: Zee Avi, Seu Jorge, Paul Simon, Taffetas, Domenico + 2, Ana Rita Simonka and Thomas Dutronc. So, if you happen to be around and want a different take on holiday music, I hope you tune Saturday night at 10:00 p.m. on WCVE Public Radio for The World Music Show. You can follow me on Twitter, @wcveworldmusic.