Christmas with Kaempfert

Records by the German arranger-composer Bert Kaempfert (1923-80) are by no means unusual, but I did want to present this one because it is a favorite of mine.

Admittedly, it's a nostalgic choice. Bert became popular when I was 11 with "Wonderland by Night," and continued with the hits for several more years.

Bert Kaempfert recording at Polydor

His stylized approach is not to everyone's taste. Most songs contain some combination of growl trumpet, the so-called "knack" bass, brass and woodwind choirs, an occasional organ, wordless choral singing, and/or ethereal soprano. The songs are perfectly assembled like a music box from the Black Forest - except that Kaempfert was from Hamburg, at the other end of Germany.

Today we have Bert's 1963 Christmas record Christmastide with Kaempfert, and, as a bonus, his first LP, Wonderland by Night, from 1960.

Christmastide with Kaempfert

If the album cover above and its title are unfamiliar to you, it's because it is a release from German Polydor. In this country, the LP is mostly seen in its Decca incarnation, Christmas Wonderland. That alternate title comes from one of Kaempfert's songs on the album, and also is a nod to his first hit.

Decca ad, showing the US cover

So why the two labels? The story is that the bandleader could not get the Hamburg label Polydor to record "Wonderland by Night," so be took the song to Milt Gabler at its American affiliate, Decca, who was happy to cooperate, much to the delight of Decca's coffers. So from then on, Decca released Bert's material in the US, and Polydor in Europe.

The trouble with this theory is that some of the Polydors were produced in the US. The Wonderland by Night LP below, for example, was pressed in America. So I have as many Polydors as Deccas in my own Kaempfert collection.

Decca ad for "Jingo Jango"

But on to the contents of the LP, which are identical between the labels. The album is notable for the presence of five Kaempfert compositions, two with his longtime collaborator Herbert Rehbein. The best known are probably Bert's "Holiday for Bells" and the Bert-Herbert "Jingo Jango," both issued as singles. If you were around at the time, these will likely be familiar to you.

The other originals are "Children's Christmas Dream," "Toy Parade" and "Christmas Wonderland," all excellent.

In the studio: Herbert Rehbein, Kaempfert, engineer Peter Klemt, trumpeter Manfred Moch, Milt Gabler of Decca

By 1963, the elements of the Kaempfert sound were firmly in place. The growl trumpet for this record was provided, I believe, by Manfred Moch. His work is in the tradition of such Ellington trumpeters as Bubber Miley and Cootie Williams, although the material is much different. That said, Kaempfert may have been an Ellingtonian - some of his writing for reeds is reminiscent of early Duke.

Ladi Geisler

Perhaps the most distinctive element of the Kaempfert music sound was provided by Ladislav "Ladi" Geisler, with his "knack-bass" (that is, crack-bass) sound. Geisler produced it by plucking the bass guitar in its high register without any sustain. I remember hearing the resulting "ka-thump" sound through the huge Voice-of-the-Theater speakers that were common in the big movies palaces of the day. Bert and his music were popular fare before the film began in the days before endless ads and trailers. 

The knack-bass and the superb production by Polydor made Kaempfert records sonically arresting. (They still are.)

LINK to Christmastide with Kaempfert

Wonderland by Night

Kaempfert had been a Polydor producer and bandleader for several years before "Wonderland by Night" came along in 1959.

It's not clear if the song had been recorded at the time Bert met with Decca's Milt Gabler. It had been arranged, however. 

For the US audience, Gabler turned "Wunderland bei Nacht" into "Wonderland by Night" and Berthold Kämpfert into Bert Kaempfert. It worked, and the song became a huge hit, first in America and then in other countries.

Bert gets his gold record for "Wonderland by Night"

"Wonderland by Night" is not a Christmas song, but with its peaceful, radiant feel, it well could be. Kaempfert did not write it; it is by Klaus Günter Neumann and Willi Stanke.

Charly Tabor

The song already bears the Kaempfert hallmarks as discussed above - the knack-bass, the prominent trumpet (here played by the spectacular Charly Tabor), wordless vocals from groups and soprano, an organ, and so on.

Billboard ad showing the Decca cover

Kaempfert himself wrote several of the songs on the LP - "Stay with Me," "Lullaby for Lovers," "Happiness Never Comes Too Late," "Dreaming the Blues" and "This Song is Yours Alone."

This 1960 LP is not quite as polished sonically as the 1963 album above - but it still sounds very good.

LINK to Wonderland by Night