Goldie the magical Christmas elf Goldie was no ordinary elf. She had a special gift - the power of magic. While all the other elves in the North Pole worked hard to make toys for Santa Claus, Goldie was responsible for spreading the magic of Christmas all around the world. Every year, as December approached, Goldie would gather all her magical tools and set out on her adventure. She would visit different cities and towns, spreading joy and happiness wherever she went. One of Goldie's favorite things to do was to sprinkle her special Christmas dust on Christmas trees.
One of Goldie's favorite things to do was to sprinkle her special Christmas dust on Christmas trees. As the dust fell on the trees, they would instantly sparkle and glow, creating a magical wonderland. Goldie's magic didn't stop at just Christmas trees.
Chad McCullough's Atlantic Road Trip
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BlueStem Jazz Presents
Atlantic Road Trip is an international project combining prominent musical voices from Europe and America, exploring the evolution and fusion of traditional indigenous folk musics from Scotland, Ireland and Slovakia, and their historical coalescence through the medium of contemporary jazz and improvised music. The project also draws upon intertwined musical paths of European folk traditions and their historical interplay with music from Africa, South America, and beyond. Co-led by Chad McCullough (USA), Miro Herak (NED), and Paul Towndrow (SCO), the band’s international journey began with a virtual concert at the 2021 Glasgow Jazz Festival, and continued with subsequent European tours in 2022 and 2023 with performances in Edinburgh, Glasgow, The Hague, Rotterdam, Leiden and Antwerp. Their debut album ONE (released internationally on Calligram Records) explores folk traditions filtered through the lens of 21-Century improvising musicians. Recorded in Glasgow during a 2023 tour, the band will tour in support of the release with a three week long tour through the United States. During that tour, the band will also premier their first large-scale work Over Mountain, Under Sky, featuring Miro, Paul, and Chad with a full jazz band and string orchestra.
Each musician has their own story to tell, both musically and culturally. Compositions, arrangements and improvisation distil into a story-telling musical narrative that reflects and combines music’s evolutionary journey and its ability to shine an honest light on the history of humanity as well as the present day human experience As such, Atlantic Road Trip presents a unique, ‘multi-angle’ take upon historical world events including Colonialism, the Transatlantic Slave Trade, The Highland Clearances, World Wars, and the rise and fall of the Iron Curtain - all of this reflected in the melding of folk music traditions within, and outside of the jazz idiom. Indeed, the importance of cities such as Chicago as a cultural crucible in both the conservation and evolution of Celtic music, is to be recognised and celebrated. One can point to the efforts of people like Francis O’Neill, Chicago’s Chief of Police at the turn of the 20th Century, whose efforts in writing down and obsessively documenting the music played by Irish and Scottish immigrants, played a huge role not only in cementing the traditions into American culture, but in making the music, and it’s associated folklore available on the worldwide stage.
PAUL TOWNDROW alto saxophone, whistles, flute Saxophonist Paul Towndrow is best known as a bandleader of ensembles ranging from duo to sextet. From 2001-2021 he was a member of Scotland’s flagship jazz orchestra, The SNJO, before leaving the organisation to focus on solo pursuits. More recently he has worked as a composer and saxophonist for the groundbreaking Grit Orchestra. Performing professionally since the age of 15, Towndrow has become one the UK’s busiest musicians. Paul has released six solo albums and has appeared as a sideman on many others. Much of his output is released on his own label, Keywork Records which was founded in 2005. His live credentials include appearances with a diverse range of artists from jazz greats Branford Marsalis, Randy Brecker, and John Scofield, to Motown stars Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, soul legend Ben E King, and rock icons The Fratellis. Once described in The Guardian as “A turbo-charged amalgam of all your saxophone heroes”, Towndrow has toured and recorded extensively in the UK and abroad, both under his own-name projects and others, such as with sensational US group The Bad Plus, New York based pianist David Berkman, Venezualan piano virtuoso Leo Blanco, jazz vocalist Kurt Elling, and jazz legend Benny Golson. In 2008 he was selected to tour Europe as part of the new European Colours Jazz Orchestra, a project comprising top jazz musicians from all over Europe. As composer and arranger, Towndrow has written for ensembles of all shapes and sizes including music for TV and radio and arranging commissions for the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra. He has also developed compositional work with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra as part of Serious Productions' Air Time scheme. In 2013 he was commissioned to write music to celebrate 21 years of the London Jazz Festival. In 2014 he was commissioned to compose 'Pro-Am', his debut suite for double big band, to celebrate the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Towndrow was commissioned in 2018 to compose a new work for Glasgow's Festival 2018. The result was 'Deepening The River', a 60 minute work for extended multi-genre big band. 'Deepening The River' was subsequently included in the 2019 programme for Celtic Connections Festival, with a studio recording of the suite released in 2020, and subsequently longlisted for the 2021 Scottish Album of The Year Awards. In 2023 he received a commission to compose for string quartet Glisk, as part of a project entitled Stories Of People & Trees. in 2020 Paul premiered his first symphonic work 'Declaration' with the Grit Orchestra. In 2022, Paul co-founded the international crossover touring group, Atlantic Road Trip, with Chicago based trumpeter Chad McCullough and Slovakian vibraphone master Miro Herak. In the same year he released the critically acclaimed album "Outwith The Circle" One of Scotland’s foremost jazz educators, Paul is a former lecturer in Jazz Studies at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and RCS Junior Conservatoire (2009 - 2021). In 2008, he launched Jazz Futures, a performance platform and for aspiring young jazz musicians. The scheme was nominated for ‘Best New Project’ at the inaugural Scottish Jazz Awards.
MIRO HERAK vibraphone. Award winning vibraphonist and composer Miro Herak was born in former Czechoslovakia, raised since early childhood in Bratislava. Miro studied percussion and was a member of the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra for five years. After discovering the passion for jazz and improvised music he enrolled at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague, where he obtained his master's degree. Based in The Hague since, he has enjoyed a career as a performer, composer and educator. Miro is founder of an award winning group AsGuests and multi genre ensemble The Hague Ethospheric Orchestra as well as the latest project KuVenda and group Atlantic Road Trip. Miro had the opportunity to work with artists such as Norma Winstone, Alex Sipiagin, Yuri Honing, Eric Vloeimans, Anton Goudsmit, John Ruocco among others. Miro is a versatile and passionate performer and can be heard on albums of AsGuests, The Hague Ethospheric Orchestra, Vinsent Planjer's Natural Selection, Paul Towndrow's Deepening the River or with the newest project KuVenda. Miro is a faculty member of the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague, where he teaches jazz vibraphone and ensemble classes.
CHAD MCCULLOUGH trumpet. Heralded for his “solos of mercurial poetry and high craft.” (Chicago Tribune) Chicago-based trumpeter/composer Chad McCullough is active throughout the world. Dan McClenaghan writes, “He is a rare instrumentalist who makes each note sound as if it were imbued with a deeper meaning. Certainly a player with great chops, his approach is one that is measured and deliberate, often introspective, sometimes gorgeously melancholic, and one that employs a continuity of mood and atmosphere …” His latest album, The Charm of Impossibilities is an introspective work based on the compositional concepts of Olivier Messiaen, and features Jon Irabagon, Larry Kohut, and Jon Deitemyer. He has also recently released an international collaboration ONE by the band Atlantic Road Trip. He is co-owner of the Chicago-based record label Calligram Records, a professor at two major universities, graphic designer, and regularly tours internationally. His bands have performed at many festivals, including the Festival of New Trumpet Music (New York), the GG Jazz Festival (Russia), Chicago Jazz Festival, The Earshot Jazz Festival (Seattle), Halifax Jazz Festival, and The Appeltuin Jazz Festival (Belgium). His albums have been released internationally on Calligram Records, Origin Records, ears&eyes records, Monks and Thieves, and Shifting Paradigm. He’s a frequent collaborator with many musicians/ensembles, including groups with; Atlantic Road Trip, Bram Weijters, Matt Ulery, Roger Ingram, Dana Hall, Ryan Shultz, Luke Malewicz, James Davis, Rob Clearfield, and Tim Hagans and has performed with Maria Schneider, Miguel Zenon, Stafford James, Michael Shrieve, Avishai Cohen, Kendrick Scott, Claudio Roditi, Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, Charles Tolliver, Ambrose Akinmuserie, Steve Coleman, Dave Douglas, and many more.
LAWRENCE KOHUT bass. Bassist Larry Kohut, based in Chicago, is among the most in demand bass players. Equally fluent on both upright and electric bass, he’s a first call studio musician as well as a favourite with jazz musicians. His discography includes more than 100 albums, as well as several major movie soundtracks and hundreds of commercial jingles.
More impressive than that is his history, having played with countless greats including Kenny Werner, Ramsey Lewis, Bruce Barth, Benny Golson, Michael Brecker, George Coleman, George Garzone, Javan Jackson, Phil Woods, Chris Potter, Steve Wilson, Charles Macpherson, David Fathead Newman, Larry Coryell, Ben Monder, Slide Hampton, Steve Nelson, Randy Brecker, Kurt Elling, Karrin Allyson, Patricia Barber, Little Jimmy Scott, Vinnie Colaiuta, Kenwood Dennard, Adam Nussbaum, Joe LaBarbera, Michael McDonald, Jewel, Sara Bereillies, Elvin Bishop, Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.
JON DEITEMYER drums. Jon Deitemyer has established himself as a unique and versatile voice in modern jazz drumming. After graduating from the esteemed University of North Texas where he studied with Ed Soph and Lynn Seaton, Jon settled in Chicago and quickly became a fixture in the city's expansive creative music community. Jon has been a member of Greenleaf artist Matt Ulery’s various ensembles since 2006, and currently performs with ArtistShare recording artist Patricia Barber. In addition, Jon has performed and recorded with Zach Brock, Phil Markowitz, Ben Paterson (MaxJazz), Grazyna Auguscik (EMI), Renee Fleming, Lynne Arriale, and American Public Media’s “Prairie Home Companion”. Jon is also an active educator, with positions at Northwestern University and Loyola University Chicago.
JON DEITEMYER drums. Jon Deitemyer has established himself as a unique and versatile voice in modern jazz drumming. After graduating from the esteemed University of North Texas where he studied with Ed Soph and Lynn Seaton, Jon settled in Chicago and quickly became a fixture in the city's expansive creative music community. Jon has been a member of Greenleaf artist Matt Ulery’s various ensembles since 2006, and currently performs with ArtistShare recording artist Patricia Barber. In addition, Jon has performed and recorded with Zach Brock, Phil Markowitz, Ben Paterson (MaxJazz), Grazyna Auguscik (EMI), Renee Fleming, Lynne Arriale, and American Public Media’s “Prairie Home Companion”. Jon is also an active educator, with positions at Northwestern University and Loyola University Chicago.
She would also visit hospitals and sprinkle her dust on the beds of sick children. Suddenly, the children would feel better, and their eyes would light up with happiness. But Goldie's magic wasn't just about bringing joy to others. She also loved to spread kindness and love. She would visit orphanages and bring toys and gifts for the children. The smiles on their faces made Goldie's heart warm with happiness. One night, as Goldie was flying back to the North Pole, she noticed a sad little girl sitting alone in a park. She was staring at the stars, with tears in her eyes. Goldie couldn't bear to see someone sad during the most wonderful time of the year. Using her magic, Goldie created a small star in the sky just for the little girl. As the star twinkled brightly, the girl looked up in amazement. It was a sign that she was not alone, and that there was magic and hope all around her. Goldie's adventures continued year after year, and her magic brought joy, love, and hope to millions of people. She became a beloved symbol of Christmas, and people would look forward to her visits, eagerly awaiting the magic she would bring. Goldie knew that her purpose was to make the world a better place, one sprinkle of magic at a time. And as long as there was Christmas, there would always be a little bit of Goldie's magic in the air..
Reviews for "The Charm of Goldie: A Magical Christmas Elf Story"
1. John - 2 out of 5 stars - I was really disappointed with "Goldie the magical Christmas elf". The storyline was cliché and predictable, with no surprises or originality. The characters felt one-dimensional and lacked depth, making it difficult for me to connect or care about their journey. Additionally, the animation quality was subpar and lacked the charming and magical elements I was expecting from a Christmas film. Overall, this movie failed to capture my attention or bring any joy during the holiday season.
2. Sarah - 1 out of 5 stars - "Goldie the magical Christmas elf" was a complete letdown. The plot was incredibly weak and poorly developed, leaving me confused and uninterested throughout the entire film. The dialogue was uninspired and lacked any humor or heart, making it forgettable and dull. The animation was also subpar, with stiff character movements and unappealing visual design. I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone looking for a fun and enjoyable Christmas film.
3. Michael - 2 out of 5 stars - I found "Goldie the magical Christmas elf" to be extremely cliché and unoriginal. The plot followed the typical formula of a holiday movie without bringing anything new or exciting to the table. The characters lacked depth and development, resulting in a lack of emotional connection for the audience. Additionally, the animation quality was mediocre and failed to capture the magic and wonder of Christmas. Overall, this film felt like a cheap and uninspired attempt to cash in on the holiday season.