Richards’ arranging, with the help of Callum Au (on How Do You Fly and Turn on the Lights) and Evan Jolly (on It’s Christmas), reminds me of Vince Mendoza and Maria Schneider. A Christmas No 1 contender with a genuinely exhilarating final chorus, it also features top session trumpeter Tom Rees-Roberts on piccolo trumpet, a welcome surprise. The orchestration is cleverly written, so the song builds naturally, and the key change, rather than being a mere device, really lifts it. Turn on the Lights is the most pop-inspired track and portrays the excitement of Christmas. His lyric writing also is exceptional throughout. He sings with ease, even when the orchestration gets dense, floating above the luscious strings on the title track to spellbinding effect. The Jolly Fat Man, with its impressive shout chorus, harks back to arrangements by Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, as does Christmas Never Gets Old.Ĭullum’s vocals are consistently outstanding. The ensemble improvisation here not only emphasises the raucousness, but also shows how much fun the musicians were having. Cullum puts us in this sound world from track one, It’s Christmas, with pianist Ross Stanley’s classy fills adding sophistication here and on the following track, Beautiful, Altogether.Īs well as producing and arranging, Richards contributes saxophone on some tracks, including the raucous, swinging Hang Your Lights, where he plays a call and response with the band. When one thinks of Christmas albums, one thinks of a big band with luscious string writing. The album was co-produced by Cullum’s musical director, Tom Richards, one of the UK’s best arrangers who has worked with Quincy Jones, Metropole Orkest and Jules Buckley, and by Greg Wells, a Grammy-winning producer who has worked with Adele and on the soundtrack to The Greatest Showman.
#CHRISTMAS IN VIENNA 2011 CD FULL#
could return to the studio.įollowing a year full of sadness and uncertainty, Cullum’s wish is that “the care, attention to detail and sheer joy that we put into this record will bring a little magic this Christmas.” It certainly delivers the magic. Comprising ten original songs, it was begun before the first Covid-19 lockdown and completed as soon as Cullum & Co. CD Review by Ciaran Carter) This is Jamie Cullum’s 10th Studio release.
( 2 Comments ) Jamie Cullum – The Pianoman at Christmas (Island.
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