In celebration of the most wonderful time of the year, Blue Engine Records—Jazz at Lincoln Center’s (JALC) in-house record label—proudly presents the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO) with Wynton Marsalis’ new collection of holiday music: Big Band Holidays III, streaming everywhere now. Produced and arranged by acclaimed JLCO member, trumpeter and composer Marcus Printup, the eight-song album features music recorded over the past decade during Jazz at Lincoln Center’s titular holiday series and spotlights an intergenerational roster of guest vocalists, including Kim Burrell, Alita Moses, Catherine Russell, Denzal Sinclaire, and Vuyo Sotashe. Listen today at jazz.org/bbh3
Big Band Holidays concerts have been a New York City tradition among jazz lovers and families for more than a decade. Every December, the critically acclaimed Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and an all-star roster of guest vocalists explore the canon of holiday standards and perform both new and traditional arrangements of Yuletide favorites. Blue Engine Records has assembled highlights from these historical performances to make them available for digital streaming.
Producer and arranger Marcus Printup says, “The holidays are a time when all generations come together, and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra’s annual Big Band Holidays represents that unity and community.” Reflecting on “Christmas Time Is Here,” he says, “I remember watching A Charlie Brown Christmas as a child and always loving this song. It has a somber, yet optimistic feeling which I tried to portray in this arrangement. The unison cup muted trumpet melody represents the choir singing on the original recording by Vince Guaraldi in 1965. Victor Goines takes a masterful and virtuosic solo on the clarinet, followed by a deeply soulful and introspective trombone solo by Vincent Gardner. I added an interlude (before the outgoing bridge and melody are restated) that represents optimism and hope.”
BIG BAND HOLIDAYS III TRACKLISTING:
01. Go Tell it On The Mountain
02. Christmas Time is Here
03. Caroling, Caroling (featuring vocalist Denzal Sinclaire)
04. What Child is This (featuring vocalist Vuyo Sotashe)
05. All I want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth (featuring vocalist Denzal Sinclaire)
06. This Christmas (featuring vocalist Kim Burrell)
07. I’m Still Here This Christmas (featuring vocalist Alita Moses)
08. No Room at The Inn (featuring vocalist Catherine Russell)
BIG BAND HOLIDAYS III PERSONNEL:
THE JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA WITH WYNTON MARSALIS
REEDS
Sherman Irby (alto saxophone, alto flute)
Ted Nash (alto saxophone, piccolo)
Victor Goines (tenor saxophone, clarinet)
Walter Blanding (tenor saxophone)
*Camille Thurman (tenor saxophone)
Joe Temperley (baritone saxophone)
Paul Nedzela (baritone saxophone, bass clarinet)
TRUMPETS
Ryan Kisor
Marcus Printup
Kenny Rampton
Wynton Marsalis
*Bruce Harris
*Greg Gisbert
TROMBONES
Vincent Gardner
Christopher Crenshaw
Elliot Mason
*Jacob Melsha
RHYTHM SECTION
Dan Nimmer (piano)
Carlos Henriquez (bass)
*James Chirillo (guitar)
*Ali Jackson (drums)
*Willie Jones III (drums)
*Charles Goold (drums)
FEATURED GUESTS
Kim Burrell
Alita Moses
Catherine Russell
Denzal Sinclaire
Vuyo Sotashe
*Indicates substitute orchestra member