Winter Sequence
Winter Sequence is a 1954 Christmas jazz album from American pianist Ralph Burns and British music critic Leonard Feather with an ad hoc ensemble of musicians, released on MGM Records.
| Winter Sequence | |
|---|---|
![]() The initial American release (catalog number: E270) features the musicians in red, while the British release (MGM D-135) has them in blue.  | |
| Studio album by  Ralph Burns, Leonard Feather, and their orchestra  | |
| Released | December 1954[1] | 
| Genre | Christmas jazz | 
| Length | 24:35 | 
| Language | Instrumental | 
| Label | MGM | 
Recording, release, and reception
    
Feather composed the tracks as a musical suite that would allow one musician per track to serve as a soloist, with the orchestra arranged by Burns.[2] A contemporary review for Billboard called the album an "unusual" blend of jazz and pop and concludes that "jazz aficiandos will like it most".[3] The album was released as a 10" LP, followed in 1958 by a 12" LP entitled The Swinging Seasons (catalog number E 3613) that also included Dick Hyman's "The Swingin' Seasons", "Sounds of Spring", "Summer Sequence", and "Early Autumn".[4]
Track listing
    
All songs written by Ralph Burns and Leonard Feather
- "Dasher" (solo by Herbie Mann) – 2:42
 - "Dancer" (solo by Danny Bank) – 3:11
 - "Prancer" (solo by Ralph Burns) – 2:54
 - "Vixen" (solo by Kai Winding) – 4:08
 - "Comet" (solo by Oscar Pettiford) – 2:52
 - "Cupid" (solo by Billy Bauer) – 3:12
 - "Donner" (solo by Osie Johnson) – 3:16
 - "Blitzen" (solo by Joe Wilder) – 2:20
 
Personnel
    
- Danny Bank – saxophone
 - Billy Bauer – guitar
 - Ralph Burns – piano, arrangement
 - Osie Johnson – drums
 - Herbie Mann – flute
 - Oscar Pettiford – double bass
 - Joe Wilder – trumpet
 - Kai Winding – trombone
 
References
    
- "Music as Written". Billboard. Vol. 114, no. 47. November 27, 1954. p. 18. ISSN 0006-2510.
 - Feather, Leonard (June 21, 1987). Feather Jazz Yrs Ear. Da Capo Press. p. 201. ISBN 9780306794681.
 - "Reviews and Ratings of New Popular Albums". Billboard. Vol. 114, no. 48. December 4, 1954. p. 30. ISSN 0006-2510.
 - "Reviews and Ratings of New Jazz Albums". Billboard. Vol. 118, no. 17. April 28, 1958. p. 22. ISSN 0006-2510.
 
External links
    
- Winter Sequence at Discogs (list of releases)
 
