Track Listing

1. O Tannenbaum
2. Holly and the Ivy
3. We Three Kings of Orient Are
4. Good King Wenceslas
5. Twelve Days of Christmas
6. Once in Royal David's City
7. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
8. O Come All Ye Faithful
9. Angels, We Have Heard on High
10. O Holy Night
11. Christmas Medley: Joy to the World/Away in a Manger/The First Noel
12. What Is a Santa Claus?
13. Christmas for Moderns: The First Noel/White Christmas/O Come All ...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #109404 in Music
• Released on: 2003-09-16
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered

Customer Reviews

The All-Time BEST Big-Band Christmas Album!!!
Okay, I'm trying to be "subjective" here, but it's pretty tough for this album, since it's a very special favorite of mine!...The analogy would be if there were an album like, for example, "John Coltrane Plays The All-Time Great Sax Solos," or "Elvis Sings The Greatest Country Songs Ever." Stan Kenton does a whole album of great instrumental Christmas music here with the famed "Mellophonium Band" of the early 60's.

The band is dynamite: Bud Brisbois, Dalton Smith, Sanford Skinner, Ernie Bernhardt, Larry McGuire & Bob Rolfe, trumpets; Joe Burnett, Dwight Carver, Gordon Davison, Keith LaMotte & Gene Roland on mellophones; Bob Fitzpatrick, Bob Knight, Tom Shepard, Paul Heydorff, Jim Amlotte & Dave Wheeler on trombones; Clive Acker & Albert Pollan, tuba, with Jerry McKenzie on drums; Pete Chivily, bass; Art Anton & Larry Bunker on percussion; and of course, Stan on piano!! (This was written stictly for brass, rhythm & extra percussion, no saxophones).

The arrangements are absolutely stellar,too, done by Stan Kenton and Ralph Carmichael (yes, the very same Ralph Carmichael who 10 years later would lend his talents to a new gospel record label and help propel Bill Gaither and others to fame as gospel artists with Word Records). Some of them swing, and some are pretty traditional, but all with that Kenton harmony, that is best described by the words of my late father, "The guys that wrote these carols never heard those chords!" Carmichael was already well-known for his writing for radio and studio recordings, and his collaboration with Stan Kenton made for a really great session. I still can't listen to anyone else do these Christmas songs without hearing these arrangements going through my mind...blowing away someone else's idea of what they thought they should sound like...these charts are timeless and classic. I had to settle for a used LP to replace my own worn-out copy a few years back, because this was out of print. Luckily, it's available again right now, and The Capitol Bones Big Band has also re-recorded these gems on their Christmas album, "A Stan Kenton Christmas" (directed by ex-Kentonite Mark Taylor). You should add that one to your collection also...it has a couple of bonus tracks you'll dig!

Tony Scodwell, who led the 1962-63 mellophone section, still has these arrangements, and the "West Side Story" charts as well, and lives here in Las Vegas, so one of my fondest wishes is to do a "Stan Kenton West Side Story Christmas" concert with all of the Kenton alumni and fans here and include all of the music from the Christmas and West Side Story albums. (I'm working on him--even for a labor of love, it's a huge proposition!)

So grab your own copy of this quick, while it's still in print!! If you don't, you'll have those indelible footprints on your backside!! Even if you're a Hindu or Buddhist, you'll still be playing this every year for the holidays and thrilling your family and friends with the some of the absolute best instrumental music that was ever recorded. You're gonna love this one!!

I've been trying to get this for years!
I grew up with this album. I made a cassette tape about 25 years ago from the album my mother played every year and my kids have grown up hearing it too. I have searched for the CD every year and now all of a sudden here it is again. The arrangements, rich jazz harmony, and ambiance mean Christmas is here when I hear it. I have two degrees in music and love most styles and this is my favorite Christmas CD other than the complete Nutcracker!

Music from my childhood
Like many others here, I grew up listening to this album every Christmas as far back as I can remember. It's as much a part of my family Christmas tradition as anything else we do for the holiday. My only problem is that it has problems playing back on my PC (the 1st disc I've ever had problems with), but plays just fine on my CD player in the living room. A must have for Christmas.