Traditional/Chapman –
After incurring some issues with certain instruments and equipment, the decision was made to record a (mostly) acoustic version this year, providing the opportunity to use numerous instruments that have been collected from various places around the globe. Some were put back on the shelf, while others were featured enthusiastically.
Pierpont/Chapman –
Pity the poor bell ringer, stuck outside in the wind and cold, hoping someone will drop a few coins into their donation bucket…
Artwork design by Schunnin.
Traditional/Chapman –
Throughout history, imagery has been created showing angels in the clouds. What other interpretation can we take from this than to conclude that angels are high…
Traditional/Chapman –
After a particularly hectic year, I’m keeping it simple this time around, with a set of improvisations on a very traditional Christmas melody…
Axton/Watts/Mason/Chapman –
The seeds of this mashup have been rattling around in my head for going on 40 years at this point. Back when Three Dog Night had their big hit, I was thinking about ways to superimpose the one over the other. I guess it was only a matter of time before I let it loose on the rest of the world. And for your further listening pleasure, there’s also an instrumental version…
Special Guest: Steven Shayle Rhodes on Vocals
Gillespie/Coots/Chapman –
We teach this song to our kids to get them excited? Have you listened to the lyrics? It should be treated more like a Grimm’s Fairy Tale, warning kids about the creepy old man who offers them candy and wants them to sit on his lap…
Gannon/Kent/Chapman –
A Christmas song for all those that dread the holiday season, with the requisite dysfunctional family gatherings, and everything else that comes along. The idea for this came from a joking remark a friend made in an email discussion.
Although I already had a rough cut of this arrangement in the works before the death of Richard Wright, I hope that it can be considered a suitable tribute to the legacy of musical works that he was a part of creating.
Artwork design by Judson Cowan.
Davis/Onorati/Simeone –
One of my least favorite Christmas songs (ok, I admit it, I hate this song), so what better to get the twisted treatment. Take a bunch of musicians and ply them with drinks, and see what you get.
Special Guests: Baba Kwasi, Nana Kweku, and Diabate Moussa on African Drums
Tchaikovsky/Chapman –
Ah yes, the classic ballet of a child’s dreams about toys coming to life in a Victorian mansion. Now, transport it to the outback of Australia, and transform the Sugar Plum Fairy into an Aboriginal Shaman…
Bernstein/Schubert/Chapman –
Take one of the favorite Christmas songs of Operatically trained singers and stir in a little Broadway, then mix in a lot of attitude…
Oh yeah, special guest Rick Smith on Drums!