A Merry Christmas!
1961 studio album by Stan Kenton
A Merry Christmas! | ||||
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Studio album by Stan Kenton | ||||
Released | 1961 | |||
Recorded | February 21 and March 14 & 20, 1961 Goldwyn Studios, Hollywood, CA | |||
Genre | Jazz | |||
Label | Capitol T/ST 1621 | |||
Producer | Lee Gillette | |||
Stan Kenton chronology | ||||
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A Merry Christmas! is an album of Christmas music by the Stan Kenton Orchestra recorded in 1961 and released by Capitol Records.[1][2][3] It was reissued as Kenton's Christmas in 1970 by Kenton's own Creative World label.
Reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [4] |
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | [5] |
The Allmusic review by Matt Collar noted A Merry Christmas is a polyphonic masterpiece that is at once progressive and traditional. ...Featuring Kenton's idiosyncratic style of arranging piercing trumpets over a wooly blanket of trombones and mellophones, this is beautiful, forward-thinking and angular music that addresses both complex classical harmony and Basie-style swing".[4]
Track listing
- "O Tannenbaum" - 1:58
- "The Holly and the Ivy" - 1:52
- "We Three Kings of Orient Are" - 2:14
- "Good King Wenceslas" - 1:45
- "The Twelve Days of Christmas" - 4:07
- "Once in Royal David's City" - 2:04
- "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" - 1:46
- "O Come, All Ye Faithful" - 3:17
- "Angels We Have Heard on High" - 2:11
- "O Holy Night" - 2:10
- "Christmas Medley: Joy to the World/Away in a Manger/The First Noel/We Wish You A Merry Christmas/Silent Night/Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" - 8:24
- Recorded at Goldwyn Studios in Hollywood, CA on February 21, 1961 (tracks 7-11), March 14, 1961 (tracks 1, 3, 5 & 11) and March 20, 1961 (tracks 2, 4 & 6).
Personnel
- Stan Kenton - piano, celeste, conductor
- Ernie Bernhardt (tracks 1, 3, 5 & 11), Bud Brisbois, Larry McGuire (tracks 2, 4 & 6), Bob Rolfe, Dalton Smith, Sanford Skinner - trumpet
- Bob Fitzpatrick, Paul Heydorff (tracks 1-6 & 11), Tommy Shepard (tracks 7-11) - trombone
- Jim Amlotte, Bob Knight (tracks 7-11), Dave Wheeler (tracks 1-6 & 11) - bass trombone
- Joe Burnett (tracks 7-11), Dwight Carver, Keith LaMotte (tracks 1-6 & 11), Gene Roland, Gordon Davison - mellophone
- Clive Acker (tracks 1-6 & 11), Albert Pollan (tracks 7-11), - tuba
- Pete Chivily - bass
- Artie Anton (tracks 1-7), Jerry McKenzie (tracks 1-6 & 11) - drums
- Larry Bunker - percussion
- Emil Richards - bells, percussion, vibraphone (tracks 1, 3, 5 & 11)
- Ralph Carmichael (tracks 1-7 & 9-11), Stan Kenton (track 8) - arranger
References
- ^ Vosbein, P. Stan Kenton Discography accessed June 9, 2016
- ^ Watts, R., Edwards, D., Eyries, P. and Callahan, M. Capitol Album Discography, Part 5: 600-2999 (1955-1968) accessed June 8, 2016
- ^ The Capitol Sessions of Stan Kenton: 1961
- ^ a b Collar, Matt. A Merry Christmas! Review at AllMusic. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
- ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 819. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
- v
- t
- e
- Artistry in Rhythm (1946)
- Encores (1947)
- A Presentation of Progressive Jazz (1947)
- Innovations in Modern Music (1950)
- Stan Kenton Presents (1950)
- City of Glass (1951)
- New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm (1952)
- Sketches on Standards (1953)
- This Modern World (1953)
- Portraits on Standards (1953)
- Kenton Showcase (1954)
- Duet (1955)
- Contemporary Concepts (1955)
- Kenton in Hi-Fi (1956)
- Cuban Fire! (1956)
- Kenton with Voices (1957)
- Rendezvous with Kenton (1957)
- Back to Balboa (1958)
- The Ballad Style of Stan Kenton (1958)
- Lush Interlude (1958)
- The Stage Door Swings (1958)
- The Kenton Touch (1958)
- Viva Kenton! (1959)
- Standards in Silhouette (1959)
- Two Much! (1960)
- The Romantic Approach (1961)
- Kenton's West Side Story (1961)
- A Merry Christmas! (1961)
- Sophisticated Approach (1961)
- Adventures in Jazz (1961)
- Adventures in Blues (1961)
- Stan Kenton! Tex Ritter! (1962)
- Adventures in Time (1962)
- Artistry in Bossa Nova (1963)
- Artistry in Voices and Brass (1963)
- Stan Kenton / Jean Turner (1963)
- Kenton / Wagner (1964)
- Stan Kenton Conducts the Los Angeles Neophonic Orchestra (1966)
- Stan Kenton Plays for Today (1967)
- The World We Know (1967)
- The Jazz Compositions of Dee Barton (1967)
- Finian's Rainbow (1968)
- Hair (1969)
- Stan Kenton Plays Chicago (1974)
- Adventures in Standards (1975)
- Stan Kenton Presents Gabe Baltazar (1979)
- Stan Kenton's Milestones (1950)
- Stan Kenton Classics (1952)
- Popular Favorites by Stan Kenton (1953)
- The Kenton Era (1955)
- The Innovations Orchestra (1997)
- Kenton Live from the Las Vegas Tropicana (1959)
- Road Show (1959)
- Live at Redlands University (1970)