Season’s Swingin’ Greetings: Deluxe Edition (Cellar Live)
Benny Benack III with the Steven Feifke Big Band
Released in 2019
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=SqeywpYyobU&list=OLAK5uy_n_PZvRytZQKO92FhVD5X5pHOZz3esBJLc
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/3DyY4St6qVVl1ujv1cN6xo?si=dVvlcMU9TKuuhda3r_W4bQ
About:
Season’s Swinging Greetings: Deluxe Edition” is
the culmination of a 3-year long holiday vision between arranger/pianist Steven
Feifke and trumpeter/vocalist Benny Benack III. Recorded both in-person and
utilizing remote recording during the pandemic, the deluxe edition includes a
stellar string section on a number of tracks, as well as brand new holiday
classic original material, plus familiar favorites in big band form.
A bonus quartet track is included featuring a spirited romp through
“Sleigh Ride”. Mixed and mastered by Dave Darlington at Bass Hit
Studios in NYC, the full-length album features 10 tracks in total, including
two singles (Sleigh Ride & Maoz Tsur). The personnel is a veritable
who’s-who of New York’s finest musicians, including solo contributions from
rising star reedist Alexa Tarentino, a vocal duet ft. Alita Moses, and even a
special guest appearance by vibraphone master Warren Wolf, among others. The
repertoire is a mix between original material penned by both Benack and Feifke,
as well as an emphasis on re-energizing familiar holiday fare.
Track Listing:
1. My Girlfriend Is an Elf (Benny Benack III) 03:55
2. I’ll Be Home for Christmas (Walter Kent & Buck Ram / Kim Gannon) 05:04
3. My Wishlist Is You (Benny Benack III) 03:26
4. The Dreidel Song (Samuel Goldfrb / Samuel Schlomo Grossman) 04:04
5. What You Doing New Year’s Eve (Frank Loesser) 04:56
6. The Christmas Song (Robert Wells & Mel Tormé) 04:39
7. Sleigh Ride (Leroy Anderson & Mitchell Parrish) 03:40
8. When Christmas Time Comes Around (Steven Feifke / Steven Feifke & Benny Benack III) 04:53
9. Ma’oz Tzur (Mordecai ben Isaac ha-Levi) 04:49
10. A Midnight Wish (Elise Wiener, Benny Benack III, Keelan Dimick, Peter Bliss) 04:04
Personnel:
Benny Benack: trumpet and vocals
Steven Feifke: piano and conductor
Alita Moses: vocals (3)
Steven Feifke Big Band
Andrew Gould: alto saxophone 1, flute (1, 2, 3, 4, 6)
Alex LoRe: alto saxophone 2, flute (1, 2, 3, 4, 6)
Sam Dillon: tenor saxophone 1 (1, 2, 3, 4, 6)
Michael Stephenson: tenor saxophone 2 (1, 2, 3, 4, 6)
Andrew Guatauskas: baritone saxophone, bass clarinet (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9)
Max Darché: trumpet 1 (1, 2, 3, 4, 6)
John Lake: trumpet 2 (1, 2, 3, 4, 6)
Walter Cano: trumpet 3 (1, 2, 3, 4, 6)
Gabriel King Medd: trumpet 4 (1, 2, 3, 4, 6)
Robert Edwards: trombone 1 (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9)
Javier Nero: trombone 2 (1, 2, 3, 4, 6)
Armando Vergara: trombone 3 (1, 2, 3, 4, 6)
Gina Benalcazar: bass trombone (1, 2, 3, 4, 6)
Sasha Berliner: vibraphone (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9)
Dan Chmielinski: bass (1, 2, 3, 4, 6)
Joe Peri: drums (1, 2, 3, 4, 6)
Alexa Tarantino: alto saxophones, tenor saxophones, flutes (5, 8, 9, 10)
Lauren Sevian: baritone saxophone (5, 10)
Javier Nero: trombones (5, 10)
Warren Wolf: vibraphone (5, 10)
Emiliano Lasansky: bass (5, 8, 9, 10)
Bryan Carter: drums (8, 9)
Bijon Watson: trumpets (8, 9)
Charles Goold: drums (8, 9)
Lavinia Pavlish: violin 1 (8, 9)
Caroline Drexler: violin 2 (8, 9)
Laura Sacks: viola (8, 9)
Susan D Mandel: cello (8, 9)
Griffin Fink: bass (7)
TJ Reddick: drums (7)
Tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, & 6 Recorded at Bunker Studio April 2, 2019
Tracks 5 & 10 Recorded Remotely during the pandemic 2020
Tracks 8 & 9 Recorded Remotely during the pandemic 2021
Track 7 Recorded at John Kilgore Sound and Recording July 21, 2021
Review:
This engaging and well-played big-band session is, yes, swingin’, what with Benack, the charismatic trumpeter and singer, collaborating with pianist and bandleader Feifke. A few years in the making, it reminded me of those recordings of Frank Sinatra with the Count Basie Orchestra. Obviously, Benack is not a vocal icon like the Chairman, nor is Feifke’s band quite on the same level as the Count’s, but the sound and vibe are uncannily similar, which is no small feat. Plus, Benack is an accomplished trumpeter. Take that, Frank. Like several of the albums in this roundup, it contains several originals, including “My Girlfriend Is an Elf,” “When Christmas Time Comes Around,” and “My Wish List Is You,” the latter a duet with Alita Moses. The album also features cameos from emerging jazz talents like Alexa Tarantino, Sasha Berliner, Warren Wolf, Sam Dillon, and Javier Nero. Best of all, they do killing versions of two Hanukkah songs: “The Dreidel Song” and “Ma’oz Tzur.” I used both for this year’s Lee & Mergner Family Hanukkah music mix CDs. Sorry, guys, no mechanical-rights money coming your way, just a whole lotta love.
Lee Mergner (JazzTimes)
