Pumpkin Carving and Playful Percussives
When your work and social calendars are packed, it can seem like a pain in the neck to organize a pumpkin-carving activity. You have to go to the pumpkin patch, buy the pumpkins, bring them home, set up a carving station, have the right knives and carving utensils, and then get candles to put inside! But trust me, the payoff is so worth it. I mean, what even is autumn without a ghoulish pumpkin on your porch or balcony?!
To help motivate you and get you in the pumpkin-carving mood, Night is Alive has curated a playlist of jazz songs that include playful percussives. Nod your head, or tap your toes, along to these fun rhythms while you create the scariest and spookiest pumpkins this October!
Harry Allen Trio – “Runnin’ Wild”
From the Night is Alive album It Takes 3, this track sets an instantly breathless, high-velocity pace. Driven by Bryan Carter’s crisp, scampering drum work, the song feels like a frantic dash down a moonlit, leaf-strewn street on a crisp autumn night. The traded phrases between the saxophone and piano dance playfully over the rhythm section, matching the jittery anticipation of carving out jagged, toothy grins into your gourds. It’s an infectious, swinging tune that makes scraping out fibrous pumpkin pulp feel like a total breeze.
Lorca Hart Trio – “Discoveries”
Featured on the Night is Alive album Colors of Jazz, this selection brings an intricate, exploratory percussive pulse to your pumpkin-carving session. Lorca Hart’s dynamic cymbal work and nimble snare accents ripple underneath the melody like a sudden gust of October wind rustling through dry branches. As you map out the eyes and nose of your jack-o’-lantern with a paring knife, the shifting drum textures provide a brilliant soundtrack that keeps your hands steady and focused. Every accent on the kit feels like another candle flickering to life inside a dark, hollowed-out shell.
WJ3 All-Stars – “Jitterbug Waltz”
This track, from Night is Alive’s album Lover and Love Songs, infuses the room with a wonderfully whimsical, bobbing cadence. The playful beat of the rhythm section captures that exact feeling of lighthearted clumsiness when you’re trying to scoop out stubborn seeds without making a mess on the table. Its eccentric, swaying beat encourages you to nod along while carefully detailing a crooked, spooktacular grin. It is impossible to stay frustrated with a slipping carving knife when this track is bouncing through your speakers.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet – “Take Five”
Transitioning to iconic jazz standards, this timeless 1959 piece is an absolute must-have for any rhythm-forward seasonal playlist. Joe Morello’s legendary, mesmerizing drum intro opens the door, establishing an unorthodox 5/4 time signature that feels wonderfully off-kilter and mysterious. That hypnotic percussion pattern provides an eerie, sophisticated backdrop as you lean over your workspace to shave down the thick outer shell of the pumpkin. It is a masterclass in rhythm that keeps your carving strokes synchronized to an effortlessly cool pulse.
Dizzy Gillespie – “A Night in Tunisia”
Finally, this staple of classic jazz brings an exotic, driving intensity that matches the theatrical drama of Halloween night. The tune’s famous, galloping conga-infused rhythm and stop-time breaks deliver a cascade of percussive textures that heighten the suspense in the room. As you finally drop a lit tea candle inside your finished creation and turn off the overhead lights, this song’s soaring melodies and rhythmic punch provide the ultimate cinematic reveal. Your porch is officially ready to welcome any trick-or-treaters brave enough to walk your way!
Check out this music and more on Night is Alive’s albums page.
written by Jacqueline Knirnschild
Photo by 🇸🇮 Janko Ferlič on Unsplash
