SFJAZZ presents An Appalachian Christmas featuring Mark O'Connor
2015-12-16
Miner Auditorium
SFJAZZ Center, 205 Franklin St, San Francisco, CA
7:30 PM, Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2015 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2015 event list! ☸ On to the next event!

[7:31 PM lights down, announcements]

1. [7:31 PM] Jingle Bells
2. [7:35 PM] Beautiful Star of Bethlehem (CC)
   [add Maggie O'Connor]
3. [7:40 PM] Now It Belongs to You (FO)
4. [7:50 PM] Carol of the Bells
5. [7:53 PM] Sleigh Ride
6. [7:58 PM] Slumber My Darling (CC)
   [drop Kate Lee, Maggie O'Connor; add Carrie Rodriguez]
7. [8:04 PM] Winter Wonderland (CR)
   [drop Cia Cherryholmes, Forrest O'Connor, Michael Rinne; add Kate Lee, Maggie O'Connor]
8. [8:08 PM] the Cherry Tree Carol
   [add Cia Cherryholmes, Forrest O'Connor, Michael Rinne]
9. [8:13 PM] Blue Christmas (CR)
10. [8:17 PM] Linus and Lucy
    [set ends 8:22 PM]

[8:40 PM lights down, announcements]

1. [8:41 PM] Appalachia Waltz »
2. [8:48 PM] Silent Night »
3. [8:50 PM] ? (unidentified Klezmer tune) »
4. [8:53 PM] Dreidel, Dreidel
5. [8:56 PM] Christmas Time is Comin'
6. [9:00 PM] Away in a Manger (CC)
7. [9:04 PM] Ol' Blue (FO)
8. [9:08 PM] One Winter's Night
   [all off but Cia Cherryholmes, Mark O'Connor]
9. [9:13 PM] Amazing Grace (CC)
   [all back, add Carrie Rodriguez]
10. [9:18 PM] the Christmas Song
11. [9:23 PM] Jingle Bell Rock
12. [9:28 PM] What Child Is This
13. [9:31 PM] Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring »
14. [9:37 PM] Amy's Jig
    [set ends 9:42 PM]
     
    Encore
15. [9:43 PM] Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
    [show ends 9:46 PM]

• Cia Cherryholmes: banjo, lead and harmony vox;
• Kate Lee: violin, lead and harmony vox;
• Forrest O'Connor: mandolin, lead and harmony vox;
• Maggie O'Connor: violin, harmony vox;
• Mark O'Connor: violin;
• Michael Rinne: contrabass, harmony vox;
• Carrie Rodriguez: violin, lead and harmony vox;
• Joe Smart: acoustic guitar, lead and harmony vox.

So tonight's show was pretty good for a Christmas-themed gig: small doses of holiday cheer, dispensed by virtuoso musicians makes for a nice experience. Would I do it again next time? Yeah, sure, in a year or two! I think I have one more holiday-appropriate show on the calendar, Saturday night's NCCO gig, and that will roast my Christmas buns just right until next year.

Anyway, it was a treat to listen to Mark's fiddling, and nice that the show offered a bit of variety beyond the standard caroling fare. Like, Linus and Lucy – must be something in the air to get folks thinking about Vince Guaraldi recently! And wow! I'd forgotten what a great singer Cia Cherryholmes is; with her show-stopping version of Amazing Grace she bumped herself way back up on my “go hear again” list.

Nice also to get a two set show at the jazz center again – seems more like a real night's entertainment that way, though I guess it's just as nice to get home a little early when the show is on a weeknight.

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2015 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2015 event list! ☸ On to the next event!