Track Listing

1. Cool Yule - Louis Armstrong & The Commanders,
2. Santa Done Got Hip - The Marquees
3. Santa Baby - Eartha Kitt
4. Jingle Bells - Leo Watson
5. Deck Us All With Boston Charlie - Lambert, Hendricks & Ross,
6. Dig That Crazy Santa Claus - Oscar McLollie & His Honey Jumpers
7. Boogie Woogie Santa Claus - Mabel Scott
8. Blue Christmas - Miles Davis
9. Silent Night - Tim Fuller,
10. 'Zat You, Santa Claus? - Louis Armstrong & The Commanders, Louis Armstrong
11. Merry Christmas, Baby - Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra
12. (We Wanna See) Santa Do the Mambo - Big John Greer
13. Five Pound Box of Money - Pearl Bailey
14. Be-Bop Santa Claus - Babs Gonzales
15. Jingle All the Way [#] - Lena Horne
16. Christmas Spirit [#] - Julia Lee & Her Boy Friends, Julia Lee & Her Boy Friends
17. Christmas Night in Harlem [#] - Louis Armstrong & His All-Stars
18. Hello Mr. New Year [#]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7423 in Music
• Released on: 1989-07-31
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Amazon.com
Listen to Hipster's Holiday and you'll feel like you just spent Christmas in the coolest nightclub on Earth. "Silent Night" swings in Tim Fuller's Vegas-lounge setting while Lambert, Hendricks & Ross lay on the playful jazz vocals in "Deck Us All with Boston Charlie" and John Greer dictates that "We Wanna See Santa Claus Do the Mambo." And so it goes, 18 totally hip tracks with lots of dancing opportunities--and some comic relief from Pearl Bailey with "Five Pound Box of Money" and Eartha Kitt from 1953, making history with her now classic "Santa Baby." The showstopper, however, in a lineup that exudes cool, from Miles Davis and Lionel Hampton to the Marquees, Lena Horne, and Mabel Scott, comes from Louis Armstrong and his Commanders. Their romping versions of "Cool Yule" and "'Zat You, Santa Claus" are must-hears for any kid. Armstrong again conquers with his All Stars in a lively panoramic view of "Christmas Night in Harlem." If this dynamo set can't jump-start your holiday season, your battery might be dead for good. --Martin Keller

Customer Reviews

Something for everybody in this collection of rarities
Rhino deserves a hand for reviving these rare sides. "Hipsters' Holiday" is an eclectic Christmas package; so individual selections will be a matter of taste. The slower, melancholy cuts will appeal to blues addicts, while other listeners will probably use the "skip" button and go right to the upbeat stuff. This writer's top three are Oscar McLollie's "Dig That Crazy Santa Claus" (an early doo-wop masterpiece that really jumps); Leo Watson's manic, fascinating scat singing on "Jingle Bells," and Louis Armstrong's bravura vocal on the spooky "Zat You, Santy Claus?" Sure to generate some holiday cheer. Sound quality is excellent.

Have a crazy cool Christmas, but don't get knocked out.
This is a collection of jazzy Christmas songs. But don't be scared, it's vocal jazz, which is more accessible than instrumental jazz (some of the tracks actually lean more towards R&B than jazz). There are a lot of cool songs here. But I have to question why Tim Fuller's "Silent Night" from 1989 is here, when the rest of the songs are from the 40s, 50s and 60s. It seems a bit out of place here (it's good, though). I also should mention that the sound quality is not that great on a few tracks, which sound like they were recorded from scratchy old 78s. Despite that, this is a fun collection which should inspire you to have a "cool" Christmas.

Damn fine
Great, fun stuff. Play it at a party -- the Satchmo tracks will please everybody, Pearl Bailey's track is a stone classic, "Blue Xmas" will please your misanthrope friends and the mistreatment the Tim Fuller Experience gives to "Silent Night" will empty *any* room. One of my favorite holiday records.