A Merry Christmas!

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.

A Merry Christmas!
Studio album by
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)

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[4]

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

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. Collar, Matt. A Merry Christmas! Review at AllMusic. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
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