Christmas Jazz Jam is a Christmas album by Wynton Marsalis that was released in 2009 by Compass Productions. Musicians on the album include Wessell Anderson on alto saxophone, Vincent Gardner and Wycliffe Gordon on trombone, Victor Goines on tenor & soprano saxophone and clarinet, and Herlin Riley on drums.
Background and composition Christmas Jazz Jam marked Marsalis' first holiday album in twenty years. For the album, Marsalis assembled a group of ten musicians to perform uncredited arrangements of twelve holiday standards. Following "Mary Had a Baby" are traditional New Orleans jazz-style renditions of "Jingle Bells" (James Pierpont) and "Blue Christmas" (Billy Hayes, Jay W. Johnson).
Reception
Kirk Silsbee of the Los Angeles Times awarded the album three of four stars and called the arrangements "smart yet not ostentatious".
In 2009, the album reached peak positions of number six on Billboard Jazz Albums chart, number nine on the Top Holiday Albums chart, and number nineteen on the Top Independent Albums chart. In 2010 the album reached number 125 on the Billboard 200.
Track listing
"Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (John Frederick Coots, Haven Gillespie) – 4:50 "Mary Had a Baby" – 4:03 "Jingle Bells" (James Pierpont) – 4:43 "Blue Christmas" (Billy Hayes, Jay W. Johnson) – 5:24 "Go Tell It on the Mountain" (John Wesley Work Jr.) – 7:08 "O Christmas Tree" (Ernst Anschutz) – 7:25 "O Little Town of Bethlehem" (Phillips Brooks) – 7:21 "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (Johnny Marks) – 6:05 "The Christmas Song" (Mel Torme, Robert Wells) – 5:30 "Good King Wenceslas" (Thomas Helmore, John Mason Neale) – 6:49 "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane) – 7:08 "Greensleeves" (traditional) – 2:05
Charts In 2009 Christmas Jazz Jam reached peak positions of number six on Billboard Jazz Albums chart, number nine on the Top Holiday Albums chart, and number nineteen on the Top Independent Albums chart. In 2010 the album reached number 125 on the Billboard 200. Chart (2009)Peakposition Billboard Jazz Albums6 Billboard Top Holiday Albums9 Billboard Top Independent Albums19 Chart (2010) Peak position Billboard 200125
Personnel
Wynton Marsalis – trumpet Victor Goines – soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, clarinet Walter Blanding – soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone Wessell Anderson – alto saxophone Paul Nedzela – baritone saxophone, bass clarinet Vincent Gardner – trombone Wycliffe Gordon – trombone, tuba Reginald Veal – double bass Herlin Riley – drums Dan Nimmer – piano Don Vappie – banjo, guitar; vocals (tracks 4 & 9) Roberta Gumbel – vocals (tracks 2 & 7)
Technical Jeff Jones – producer Joanne Levey – assistant producer Jason Dale – engineer Justin Gerrish – assistant engineer Fernando Lodeiro – assistant engineer Evan Manners – assistant engineer Shinobu Mitsuoka – assistant engineer
See also
Best-selling Christmas/holiday albums in the United States Christmas carol List of Christmas carols Wynton Marsalis discography
References