New York Voices, the internationally acclaimed
vocal ensemble renowned for their seamless vocalizing and intricate
jazz-influenced arrangements, unveil their long-awaited Christmas CD, “Let It
Snow.” The disc also tops off a special year, one that commemorates the quartet’s
25th anniversary. The release finds Kim Nazarian, Lauren Kinhan,
Darmon Meader and Peter Eldridge celebrating a host of traditional and sacred holiday
classics as well as secular favorites. Settings vary, from a cappella
performances to robust arrangements featuring big band and studio orchestra
accompaniment.
Nnenna Freelon’s mother was a lover of Christmas—the
story, the anticipation, the excitement, but most of all, the gathering of her
family around her. In her passing, she left her daughter with a gift that has
resulted in a dream fulfilled and a holiday album that will extend a mother’s
love of Christmas to listeners everywhere. The venerated jazz vocalist and six-time
Grammy nominee had long wanted to do a holiday album, but couldn’t garner
enough interest from her label. So she did what most people do in need of a little
help, she turned to a loved one. With a small inheritance received from her
mother, she approached John Brown, a long-time member of her musical family, director
of Duke University’s jazz program and leader of John Brown’s Big Band. The two,
who have shared the stage and collaborated often during their twenty-year
friendship, have now joined together to release a selection of holiday songs on
“Christmas.”
Other
holiday offerings debuting this week include “Seasons Greetings from Dan Padley,” a project the local guitarist
has been working on for the past few years and who finally found the right
players to bring his ideas to fruition; singer Karrin Allyson offers up her first Christmas collection, “Yuletide
Hideaway”; and pianist Ted Rosenthal and
his trio are in a Winter “Wonderland.”
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