A Merry Christmas!

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A Merry Christmas!
A Merry Christmas!.jpg
Studio album by
Stan Kenton
Released1961
RecordedFebruary 21 and March 14 & 20, 1961
Goldwyn Studios, Hollywood, CA
GenreJazz
LabelCapitol T/ST 1621
ProducerLee Gillette
Stan Kenton chronology
Kenton's West Side Story
(1961) 		A Merry Christmas!
(1961) 		The Sophisticated Approach
(1961)

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[]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic4.5/5 stars[4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings3/4 stars[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[]

  1. "O Tannenbaum" - 1:58
  2. "The Holly and the Ivy" - 1:52
  3. "We Three Kings of Orient Are" - 2:14
  4. "Good King Wenceslas" - 1:45
  5. "The Twelve Days of Christmas" - 4:07
  6. "Once in Royal David's City" - 2:04
  7. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" - 1:46
  8. "O Come, All Ye Faithful" - 3:17
  9. "Angels We Have Heard on High" - 2:11
  10. "O Holy Night" - 2:10
  11. "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[]

  1. ^ Vosbein, P. Stan Kenton Discography accessed June 9, 2016
  2. ^ Watts, R., Edwards, D., Eyries, P. and Callahan, M. Capitol Album Discography, Part 5: 600-2999 (1955-1968) accessed June 8, 2016
  3. ^ The Capitol Sessions of Stan Kenton: 1961
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Collar, Matt. A Merry Christmas! Review at AllMusic. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  5. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 819. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
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