Big Band Holidays II (Blue Engine)
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Released in 2019
DownBeat Four-Star Review
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lXHMA6bu1vTtRlAkwuG-o_JW1trqtIBIY
Spotify:
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About:
Swing into the holiday spirit with BIG BAND HOLIDAYS II, the sequel to the critically acclaimed 2015 release from the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. Featuring original arrangements of holiday classics selected from Big Band Holiday concerts spanning from 2015 to 2018, nine-time GRAMMY Award winner and Pulitzer Prize winner Wynton Marsalis and the JLCO are joined by an all-star assortment of guest vocalists, including Veronica Swift, Denzal Sinclaire, Catherine Russell, Audrey Shakir, and the Queen of Soul herself, Aretha Franklin.
Franklin’s stirring solo piano rendition of “O Tannenbaum,” a surprise performance during the 2015 edition of Big Band Holidays, has never before been released. Other standout tracks include Veronica Swift’s vibrant recording of the classic “(Everybody’s Waitin’ For) The Man with the Bag” and Denzal Sinclaire’s jazzed-up version of “We Three Kings.” An instant classic that captures the magic of an annual NYC holiday tradition, BIG BAND HOLIDAYS II serves up timeless nostalgia just in time for the most wonderful time of the year.
Track Listing:
1. It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year (Edward Pola / George Wyle)
Arranged by Wynton Marsalis
Soloists: Wynton Marsalis (trumpet), Victor Goines (clarinet), Chris Crenshaw (trombone), Dan Nimmer (piano), Ted Nash (flute)
Recorded on December 19-23, 2018 at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall
2. Cool Yule (Steve Allen)
Arranged by Sherman Irby
Soloists: Walter Blanding (tenor saxophone), Sherman Irby (alto saxophone)
Recorded on December 13-17, 2017 at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall
3. We Three Kings (John Henry Hopkins, Jr.)
Arranged by Carlos Henriquez
Soloists: Dan Nimmer (piano), Paul Nedzela (baritone saxophone)
Recorded on December 17-19, 2015 at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall
4. O Tannenbaum (Ernst Anschütz)
Recorded on December 17-19, 2015 at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall
5. Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow (Traditional)
Arranged by Ted Nash
Soloist: Marcus Printup (trumpet)
Recorded on December 14-18, 2016 at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall
6. (Everybody’s Waitin’ for) The Man with the Bag (Harold Stanley / Irving Taylor / Dudley Brooks)
Arranged by Walter Blanding
Soloists: Veronica Swift (vocals), Vincent Gardner (trombone)
Recorded on December 19-23, 2018 at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall
7. What Will Santa Claus Say? (When He Finds Everybody Swingin’) (Louis Prima)
Arranged by Chris Crenshaw
Soloists: Paul Nedzela (baritone saxophone), Ali Jackson (drums)
Recorded on December 14-18, 2016 at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall
8. Brazilian Sleigh Bells (Percy Faith)
Arranged by Carlos Henriquez
Soloists: Wynton Marsalis (trumpet), Bruce Harris (trumpet), Sherman Irby (alto saxophone)
Recorded on December 14-18, 2016 at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall
9. Silver Bells (Ray Evans & Jay Livingston)
Arranged by Ali Jackson
Soloists: Vincent Gardner (trombone), Ted Nash (flute), Dan Nimmer (piano)
Recorded on December 14-18, 2016 at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall
10. Snowfall (Claude Thornhill)
Arranged by Sherman Irby
Soloist: Wynton Marsalis (trumpet)
Recorded on December 14-18, 2016 at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall
11. Silent Night (Franz Gruber & Joseph Mohr)
Arranged by Victor Goines
Soloists: James Chirillo (guitar), Kenny Rampton (trumpet)
Recorded on December 17-19, 2015 at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall
Personnel:
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Reeds
Sherman Irby: alto and soprano saxophones, clarinet, flute; music director (2015-2016)
Ted Nash: alto and soprano saxophones, clarinet, flute
Victor Goines: music director (2018); tenor and soprano saxophones, clarinet
Walter Blanding (2015–2017): tenor saxophone, clarinet, shaker
Paul Nedzela: baritone and soprano saxophones, bass clarinet Camille Thurman (2018): tenor and soprano saxophones
Trumpets
Marcus Printup
Kenny Rampton
Wynton Marsalis (music director, 2017/18)
*Ryan Kisor (2015, 2017-2018)
*Greg Gisbert (2016)
*Bruce Harris (2016)
*Tatum Greenblatt (2017)
Trombones
Vincent Gardner
Chris Crenshaw
Elliot Mason (2015-2016, 2018)
*Sam Chess (2017)
*Eric Miller (2018)
Rhythm Section
Dan Nimmer: piano
Carlos Henriquez: bass
Ali Jackson (2015-2016): drums
*Marion Felder (2017): drums
*Charles Goold (2018): drums
Featured Guests
Aretha Franklin: vocals and piano (4)
Audrey Shakir: vocals (11)
Denzal Sinclaire: vocals (3, 11)
Catherine Russell: vocals (2, 7, 9)
Veronica Swift: vocals (6)
James Chirillo: guitar
(*) indicates substitute orchestra member
Executive Producer: Wynton Marsalis
Front of House Engineer: David Robinson
Recording Engineers: Rob Macomber and James P. Nichols
Post Producer and Mixing Engineer: Todd Whitelock
Editor: Gloria Kaba
Production Assistant: Wes Whitelock
Mastering Engineer: Mark Wilder
Art Direction: Ron Jaramillo, Brian Welesko
Design: Iris Dai, Patricia Encarnación
Concert Line Producer: Justin Bias
Photography: Frank Stewart, Lawrence Sumulong, and Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images
Review:
Jazz at Lincoln Center Big Band Holiday concerts,
featuring the JALC Orchestra with Managing and Artistic Director Wynton
Marsalis and guests, are a welcome addition to New York City holiday jazz
traditions. Big Band Holidays II presents the second set of live
recordings from these concerts beginning from 2015, the year that the JALC
Orchestra released their first Big Band Holidays set on their own
Blue Engine Records label.
“Christmas brings the best and worst out of people,” explains
trombonist Chris Crenshaw in his booklet notes, “and we bring
those feelings to fruition when we perform on the road and in New York City.”
The most enduring snapshot from Holidays II is most
likely Aretha Franklin’s glorious “O Tannenbaum,” first in
English and then in the original German, accompanied only by her own piano—a
rapturous snapshot of the regal gospel sound that was rarely far from the Queen
of Soul’s vocals.
How good is the JALC Orchestra on Holidays II? So good that Marsalis might
not even be its best trumpet player. That honor on this set most likely goes
to Marcus Printup, who opens the 19th-century spiritual “Rise Up,
Shepherd, and Follow” with the song of a heralding angel, downshifts into
the grinding blues sound of “Old Man River,” then swings out a
mid-song solo as heavy as an elephant bearing an Oriental king. Marsalis’ solos
in the cheery opener certainly help keep “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of
the Year” bright, and his blasts through several unaccompanied passages
of Claude Thornhill’s “Snowfall” encapsulate the stylish
celebratory swing of his native New Orleans.
Pianist Dan Nimmer rolls out the “Silent Night” finale as a
rollicking stroll, leading Denzal Sinclaire into a gentleman’s blues
vocal that bows toward Nat King Cole, Lou Rawls, and Jimmy
Witherspoon, and shepherding the Orchestra into the powerhouse closing
“Sleep in heavenly peace” refrain.
Holidays II captures arrangements and performances vibrant enough to
overcome the familiarity of these holiday and gospel traditionals. Whether it’s
February or June or December, it’s simply fantastic music.
Chris M. Slawecki (All About Jazz)
