September 27 is the first big seasonal release day on this year's calendar, with holiday sets from Ricky Scaggs, Harry Connick Jr., and Amy Grant hitting the shelves along with the latest 2-disc WOW Christmas set. The month to come will feature even bigger names and many many more holiday collections. We mentioned yesterday that, rumors aside, announcements of definite Christmas releases just keep on coming. Not a Bieber in the bunch but here's a few new to chew.
Jigsaw Seen has been around for better than 20 Alt Rockin' years. Described as "cool and eclectic", their debut single was "Jim Is The Devil" in 1989. But, for their second single, the band went right to the Christmas music--tracking a wonderful version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" that remains a staple of college and Alt Rock holiday playlists to this day. Jigsaw Seen was bitten by the Christmas bug again in 2006, when they released the "What About Christmas?" EP. For 2011, they opted for a full album and chose a Winter theme rather than a strictly Christmas theme.
"Winterland" is nearly all original material, save for the cover of Gordon Lightfoot's "Circle Of Steel", and, for that one, the band recruited Dave Davies of the Kinks for vocal contributions. "Winterland" will be released on both CD and vinyl on November 15. And, if you're having trouble deciding between the two formats, you can get a CD/LP combo set exclusively from the Jigsaw Seen web store.
01. What About Christmas?
02. December
03. Snow Angels Of Pigtown
04. Woman Loves The Season
05. Candy Cane
06. Circle Of Steel
07. Christmas Behind Me
08. First Day Of The New Year
09. Dreams Of Spring
10. Winterland's Gone
Jigsaw Seen has been around for better than 20 Alt Rockin' years. Described as "cool and eclectic", their debut single was "Jim Is The Devil" in 1989. But, for their second single, the band went right to the Christmas music--tracking a wonderful version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" that remains a staple of college and Alt Rock holiday playlists to this day. Jigsaw Seen was bitten by the Christmas bug again in 2006, when they released the "What About Christmas?" EP. For 2011, they opted for a full album and chose a Winter theme rather than a strictly Christmas theme.
"Winterland" is nearly all original material, save for the cover of Gordon Lightfoot's "Circle Of Steel", and, for that one, the band recruited Dave Davies of the Kinks for vocal contributions. "Winterland" will be released on both CD and vinyl on November 15. And, if you're having trouble deciding between the two formats, you can get a CD/LP combo set exclusively from the Jigsaw Seen web store.
01. What About Christmas?
02. December
03. Snow Angels Of Pigtown
04. Woman Loves The Season
05. Candy Cane
06. Circle Of Steel
07. Christmas Behind Me
08. First Day Of The New Year
09. Dreams Of Spring
10. Winterland's Gone
The name "David Ian" might not mean anything to you, but the name Dave Ghazarian might. The longtime guitarist for rock band Superchick is trading his guitar for piano and going all classic jazz for his solo Christmas effort.
"Vintage Christmas", due November 15, features classic holiday tunes presented in relaxed, warm, and swinging arrangements. I haven't heard any song samples yet, but I'm guessing this will be a nice addition to the collections of folks who enjoyed the lounge sound of the "Christmas Cocktails" series.
Ian went with a jazz trio formula for the album, though some of the tracks feature vocals from Acacia (of the sister duo Tal and Acacia) and Andre Miguel Mayo.
There's also one David Ian original on the set, "Christmas Time With You", which was inspired by a long-distance relationship with the woman he eventually married.
Pre-order through Amazon or through other on-line retailers.
1. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
2. Let it Snow
3. Santa Claus is Coming to Town
4. The Christmas Waltz
5. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
6. The Christmas Song
7. Home for the Holidays
8. Christmas Time With You
9. I'll Be Home for Christmas
10. Silent Night
11. Christmas Time With You (duet)
"Vintage Christmas", due November 15, features classic holiday tunes presented in relaxed, warm, and swinging arrangements. I haven't heard any song samples yet, but I'm guessing this will be a nice addition to the collections of folks who enjoyed the lounge sound of the "Christmas Cocktails" series.
Ian went with a jazz trio formula for the album, though some of the tracks feature vocals from Acacia (of the sister duo Tal and Acacia) and Andre Miguel Mayo.
There's also one David Ian original on the set, "Christmas Time With You", which was inspired by a long-distance relationship with the woman he eventually married.
Pre-order through Amazon or through other on-line retailers.
1. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
2. Let it Snow
3. Santa Claus is Coming to Town
4. The Christmas Waltz
5. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
6. The Christmas Song
7. Home for the Holidays
8. Christmas Time With You
9. I'll Be Home for Christmas
10. Silent Night
11. Christmas Time With You (duet)
Dana Jorgensen has a nice upbeat pop/rock sound, tailor made for today's chart scene. His debut album, "Everything Is Beautiful", was released in April and has been critically well received and been a hit with Contemporary Christian audiences world wide.
For his second project, Dana has just finished recording a Christmas EP called "Christmas And Hymns". The set includes traditional Christmas carols "O Holy Night", "O Come, O Come Emmanuel", "Come Thou Font Of Every Blessing" and "O Come All Ye Faithful" plus the original song "When Love First Cried".
I'm personally curious to see what approach Jorgensen took with the ancient carols. I'd like to see him give those songs a contemporary workout, but I suspect that's not the direction he took them. The set will be available on line and in select stores October 15.
For his second project, Dana has just finished recording a Christmas EP called "Christmas And Hymns". The set includes traditional Christmas carols "O Holy Night", "O Come, O Come Emmanuel", "Come Thou Font Of Every Blessing" and "O Come All Ye Faithful" plus the original song "When Love First Cried".
I'm personally curious to see what approach Jorgensen took with the ancient carols. I'd like to see him give those songs a contemporary workout, but I suspect that's not the direction he took them. The set will be available on line and in select stores October 15.
And, finally today, I've said before and I'll say again, you can never have too much Christmas Blues. I'm not entirely sure, but I'm hoping Nancy Wenstrom will be bringing us some holiday Blues this year.
San Francisco's Nancy Wenstrom has been singing and rocking the guitar for something like 30 years, including a stint as the guitarist for the Zasu Pitts Memorial Orchestra (that name is going to mean something to some of you, as it did to me). Of late, she's been leading her own band, Blues Kitchen. Listen to what Nancy and Blues Kitchen cooked up last year.
In July, Nancy started work on a Christmas CD that's expected to be available on December 1 at all the usual spots. "Come In To Christmas" will feature 7 Nancy Wenstrom originals and 4 Christmas classics. The classics will be performed as Jazz instrumentals. The originals will feature the backing of members of Blues Kitchen and, on four of them, The Centerville Presbyterian Church Choir. I'm asking Santa for at least a couple of the tracks to be seriously bluesy, but then I'm not sure I've been all that good this year.
Anyway, stop by Nancy's web site and say hello sometime. Tell, her Stubby sent you.
San Francisco's Nancy Wenstrom has been singing and rocking the guitar for something like 30 years, including a stint as the guitarist for the Zasu Pitts Memorial Orchestra (that name is going to mean something to some of you, as it did to me). Of late, she's been leading her own band, Blues Kitchen. Listen to what Nancy and Blues Kitchen cooked up last year.
In July, Nancy started work on a Christmas CD that's expected to be available on December 1 at all the usual spots. "Come In To Christmas" will feature 7 Nancy Wenstrom originals and 4 Christmas classics. The classics will be performed as Jazz instrumentals. The originals will feature the backing of members of Blues Kitchen and, on four of them, The Centerville Presbyterian Church Choir. I'm asking Santa for at least a couple of the tracks to be seriously bluesy, but then I'm not sure I've been all that good this year.
Anyway, stop by Nancy's web site and say hello sometime. Tell, her Stubby sent you.
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