Stream the entire album on Spotify.
Overall Impression: A Fantastic And Unique Addition To The Christmas Music Genre.
In the midst of the tired, over-produced, and auto-tuned genre that is modern Christmas music comes a refreshing, authentic, and passionate new addition in the Rick Gallagher Project’s latest release, “Upright Sketches: Holiday Classics.”
Started a few years ago by Pittsburgh-based musician Rick Gallagher, the mission of the Project is to “[combine] soulful jazz roots and soft touch with the simple beauty of modern neoclassical music recorded on a warm felt piano.” With a discography spanning traditional hymnody, holiday classics, and original composition, the Rick Gallagher Project is a truly cross-genre endeavor from one of Pittsburgh’s most respected Jazz musicians.
As with previous Project albums, this most recent endeavor encourages the listener to actively listen to each track to find things they may have missed in the more traditional radio versions. More than “just” a cover album, Upright Sketches: Holiday Classics breathes new life into some of the most popular Christmas music of our day. Indeed, the very nature of the felt piano hearkens back to a simpler time when musicians leaned into the uniqueness of their instruments rather than electronically modifying everything to sound “perfect,” with the slightly muffled tones of the felt piano coupled with the smooth clicks of the keys combining to make a warm and cozy auditory experience for the Christmas season.
Album Review
The album art by Mike Meulstee is lovely (as always) and immediately sets the expectation for an album that will warm the soul as a fire warms a frosty December night.
As a whole, the album’s 12 tracks fit together like cookies left out for Santa: Taken one-by-one, each track challenges our musical stereotypes and subverts our initial expectations, especially in traditionally over-covered carols like “Let It Snow” and “I’ll Be Home For Christmas,” while the collective experience is a delightful re-voicing of a dozen Christmas favorites that provide the perfect soundtrack to the season.
From a layout perspective, the track order draws the listener in right away, with “Sleigh Ride” setting the stage for the 38-minute musical journey that is to follow. Especially for those unfamiliar with the Rick Gallagher Project, the initial tracks represent a solid sampling of the depth and variety that is the felt piano, and prepare the listener for the lead-up to the grand finale of “White Christmas” and its long-forgotten introduction.
Track-By-Track Review
01. Sleigh Ride
In the opening track, Gallagher makes clear the creative direction for the entire album. Soft arpeggios in the introduction lead to a mellow arrangement of the classic melody, and Gallagher does an admirable job holding back from a jazzier rendition of the traditionally up-tempo chorus to let the felt piano shine at a more subdued pace. Overall, this track encourages the listener to pause and reflect on the melody and sets the stage for what is to come.
02. I’ll Be Home For Christmas
The felt piano captures the longing in this song like few other instruments can. Gallagher himself as the pianist is almost an afterthought in this arrangement as the piano transports the listener to a higher plane of thought and emotional experience. Indeed, of all the tracks on the album, this one more than any other brings a tear to the eye as we remember those who won’t be home for the holidays, and we let the warm tones of the felt piano wash over us in a stunning arrangement of a soulful holiday classic.
03. Christmas Time Is Here
Gallagher lets his jazz roots shine through on this Vince Guaraldi cover. Giving himself some tempo wiggle-room, the pianist leans into the tight harmonies and punchy higher-octave melodies that have made this piece a holiday staple. While staying true to the original piece, Gallagher still finds room to bring his unique felt-piano style to the cover, resulting in a masterful work that pays a respectful tribute to a jazz legend without minimizing the musical talents of the covering artist.
04. The Christmas Song
Of all the pieces on the album, this track is the one I am sure most listeners will find the most refreshing. In a welcoming departure from the traditional ballad, Gallagher’s arrangement artfully takes the tempo down and lets his felt piano guide the listener through a lovely melody peppered with tasteful harmonies. The soft crackling of hammer-on-felt reminds me of the chestnuts roasting on that open fire – this track was practically begging to be played on felt piano and including it in the first third was an excellent editorial decision.
05. Little Drummer Boy
As a transitional melody between the two halves of the album, this moving and heartfelt arrangement of an oft-covered selection weaves a melodic tapestry built around the drum-like “pa rum pum pum pums.” Although this piece (arguably more than the rest of the album’s selections) is hard to arrange in a wildly different manner than it was originally written, Gallagher’s skillful instrumentation provides a uniquely contemplative take that segues beautifully into the back half of the album.
06. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
One can hear the anticipation in the first 15 seconds of Gallagher’s cover – a simple arpeggio, barely discernable, left hanging for a few moments until the familiar melody makes its appearance and begins a lovely 3-minute musical journey through this classic Christmas piece. Channeling all the dexterity learned over decades of playing and teaching jazz, Gallagher re-works this normally up-tempo melody into a soothing lullaby as he artfully weaves the piano’s tones into an auditory tapestry rarely heard with this particular piece.
07. Let It Snow
If one knew little about the Rick Gallagher Project, and even less about felt piano in general, this would perhaps be the one piece where they could say “oh yes – this song is made for the felt piano.” With blissful arpeggiation and the warmly muted tones of the felt piano, this classic carol shines bright with new life in Gallagher’s cover, and makes one fondly dream of those white flakes covering a rolling hillside on Christmas morn.
08. Winter Wonderland
After holding himself back for 7 tracks, Gallagher lets his inner jazz musician come out to play in this masterful arrangement of Winter Wonderland. With a slight bounce to the rhythm and blink-and-you-miss-them harmonies, the track provides an opportune transition to the final few selections and reminds the listener that there is still a jazz master at the helm of this felt piano ship.
09. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
There’s a scene in the 2014 film “The Monuments Men” where the titular cast is in Europe around Christmastime, and one of the soldiers receives a record from his wife and children with their rendition of this piece. Nora Sagal provides the vocals on the film’s soundtrack, and from a stylistic perspective, Gallagher’s arrangement could have been featured in that scene if vocals were not required. The masterful tones of the felt piano emphasize the song’s wish for a celebration in spite of life’s circumstances, and the contemplative down-tempo rendition really pulls at the heartstrings. If it wasn’t for the rediscovered introduction on White Christmas giving it the title of “best” song on the album, this arrangement would most definitely have earned that achievement in this reviewer’s opinion.
10. This Christmas
After half an hour of masterfully-covered (yet not entirely unexpected) Christmas pieces, Gallagher pulls a true cross-genre surprise out of his hat as he leads into the final quarter of the album. Traditionally an electronics-forward (or at least Rockabilly) ballad, “This Christmas” when covered by Gallagher takes on an entirely different meaning. By letting the piano take the lead, Gallagher highlights the harmonies which have always existed on the radio versions, but are harder to hear due to the various levels of instrumentation and production inherent in the genre. The melodically muted echoes of the felt piano play to the song’s strengths, and once again our jazz arranger allows himself a few bars of more traditional jazz inside this more mellow arrangement.
11. Silver Bells
With the warm tones of the lower octaves providing a solid foundation for the higher octaves to soar like jingle bells on a Christmas Eve breeze, the felt piano is the unsung hero of this arrangement. By leaning into the echoing chorus of “silver bells, silver bells,” Gallagher proves once again he is the master of his instrument as the listener is caught up into a few minutes of melodic bliss before the album comes to a close with the final track.
12. White Christmas
As has been mentioned, Gallagher’s final show-stopping arrangement of White Christmas includes a long-forgotten introductory melody. While the song was originally written with this introduction, neither of its two most famous film renditions (1942’s Holiday Inn and 1954’s White Christmas) included it, and as a result many of the most popular covers also neglected to feature the introduction. Leaning into his music education background, Gallagher presents the introduction in a new light, and his felt piano takes us through the entire song as it was intended to be played, with the soulful tones from the piano perfectly matching the inherent longing of this nostalgic serenade. Rounding out a splendid collection of holiday favorites, White Christmas a la The Rick Gallagher Project takes the spot as the album’s top track and provides a magnificent conclusion to the album.
Final Thoughts
Do yourself a favor and listen to Rick’s newest album. Then do yourself another favor and listen to it again. Find somewhere you can be alone for a half hour to focus on this unique musical offering, then share it with your friends and family to spread some felt piano warmth and cheer this holiday season. If you like what you’ve heard on this album, be sure to follow Rick Gallagher and the Rick Gallagher Project on Facebook and Instagram, check out his website RickGallagher.com, and follow him on Spotify.
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