A Visit from St. Nicholas - David Tanner
O Holy Night - Adolphe Adam (Arr. David Tanner)
Rocket Sleigh - Delvyn Case
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy - Tchaikovsky
A Winter's Rime - L Peter Deutsch
The Holly and the Ivy - L Peter Deutsch
Hodie Christus Natus Est - L Peter Deutsch
Balulalow - James Shrader
In the Bleak Midwinter - James Shrader
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Henry Wolking
Behold That Star - Christopher J. Hoh
Come Now and Celebrate - Christopher J. Hoh
A Lullaby for the Nativity - Phillip Rhodes
A Christmas Celebration - Timothy Lee Miller

I spent a good 30 years of my life working in music retail and every year we had to play Christmas music for at least six weeks leading up to the holidays. I worked in the store on average six days a week so you can imagine how repetitive and monotonous the music got to be. So one of my Christmas wishes was always hoping that some record label would release something new, something different, that I could throw into the mix to prevent losing my mind from listening to Bing Crosby, Pavarotti, and the King's College Choir over and over again. Were I still working the music retail floor this year, this new release from Navona Records would certainly have seen more than its fair share of turns in the CD player as this is definitely one of those "different" discs featuring holiday fare.

For starters, even from track to track the differences are at times like night and day. The cover art and design look retro, but the music isn't. And even though most of the titles sound "sacred", they're not. For example O Holy Night which is always heard in practically every church on Christmas Eve, is given a somewhat more secular rendition here on saxophone, beautifully played by David Tanner. Then the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra, the main ensemble featured throughout this disc, offers up a traditional account of the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from the perennial favorite The Nutcracker. And if that's not different enough, you get the Salt Lake City Jazz Orchestra featuring Kevin Stout on trombone, dishing out the Henry Wolking jazz arrangement of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen which itself within a time span of five minutes reworks the tune in differing jazz styles. And way at the other end of the spectrum sits a beautifully evocative choral piece by James Shrader titled Balulalow which I've already added to my list of Christmas favorites.

So this year go for a dashing Christmas party, and play something different for your guests.

Jean-Yves Duperron - October 2016