Track Listing

1. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town - Big Al Carson
2. Christmas In New Orleans - James Andrews
3. 'Zat You, Santa Claus? - Ingrid Lucia
4. Silver Bells - Heritage Hall Jazz Band
5. I'll Be Home For Christmas - Banu Gibson & The New Orleans Hot Jazz
6. Please Come Home For Christmas - Papa Don Vappie's New Orleans Jazz Band
7. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Ellis Marsalis
8. White Christmas - John Boutte
9. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Topsy Chapman
10. Santa's Second Line - New Birth Brass Band
11. Holiday Time In New Orleans - Dukes Of Dixieland

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3711 in Music
• Released on: 2006-10-03
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Album Description
New Orleans Christmas captures the unique and vibrant voice of this city with a collection of holiday favorites decked in the blues, jazz and swing flavors the Crescent City is famous for.

The album opens with a familiar favorite as Big Al Carson and Academy Award-winning Lars Edegran put a big band twist on Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Home-town favorite James Andrews summons up the spirit of New Orleans Christmas past, as the gravelly tones of his voice and trumpet evoke the raspy vocals of the great Louis Armstrong on Christmas in New Orleans. Other tunes get new twists as a bevy of notable musicians put their signature touches on the holiday classics: Ellis Marsalis tickles the ivories to bring new life into God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen, while the internationally-known John Boutte dreams for snow to fall on the usually-warm city of his birth on his version of White Christmas, recording especially for this collection. Trumpeter and bandleader Gregg Stafford leads the Heritage Hall Jazz Band on their respectful and understated treatment of Silver Bells.

Not to be forgotten, the new school of New Orleans music is also helping to get the jingle bells rockin'. The New Birth Brass Band gets the big guy dancing on Santa's Second Line, while Ingrid Lucia, a recent settler in the New Orleans area, teases the chords and the man in red on the playful Zat You, Santa Claus? Papa Don Vappie, The Dukes of Dixieland, Banu Gibson, and Topsy Chapman round out this musical feast of holiday proportions.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of New Orleans Christmas will be donated to New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity in support of their Musicians Village Project.

New York Daily News, November 26, 2006
The year's most spirited and lively new CD.

New York Times, December 1, 2006
"The incomparable New Orleans swagger runs through all the songs..."

Customer Reviews

The Ultimate New Orleans Christmas CD
My yearly tradition is to buy one new Christmas CD each year. This year, New Orleans Christmas was my choice. Just received today, I've already played it a half dozen times. If you love the Crescent City, Dixieland jazz, the spirit of Mardi Gras then this is the CD for you. Your toes will be tapping and you will want to be second lining. There are some of the old standards done New Orleans style and some tunes I have never heard before. My favorites are the last two tracks but they are all good. It's rare to find a CD where every song is a winner, this CD is one of those rarities.

Music for every holiday party
This CD is perfect for any Christmas party. The music is upbeat and will put a smile on the face of the most jaded Scrooge in the group.

Mood music for the holidays with a southern flavor
You don't have to be from the South to appreciate the regional flavor of elegant New Orleans. Putumayo's collections are wonderful mood and background music. New Orleans Christmas, with its smooth, big band sounds is ideal for this season's Christmas parties, especially if the hosts happen to be serving gumbo or jambalaya.

New Orleans Christmas includes 11 classic Christmas songs that have been spiced up by the best from the Crescent City. Most of the tracks are in the older New Orleans music style with "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and "White Christmas" bringing a modern feel to the swingy collection. New Orleans Christmas also includes traditional New Orleans songs that have been warmed with a holiday vibe, such as "Santa's Second Line" where tambourines and trumpets blend Christmas flavor into a New Orleans marching song.

Throughout New Orleans Christmas the equilibrium between holiday music and regional sounds is harmonious and seamless. James Andrews' trumpet version of "Christmas in New Orleans" is reminiscent of Louis Armstrong, and pianist Ellis Marsalis and his son, drummer Jason Marsalis, contribute a bebop departure from early sounds in "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." The whole collection delivers variety, one of New Orleans' finest artistic hallmarks, with sounds that switch effortlessly between R&B, country, swing, blues, and jazz influences.

There are many reasons why listeners will enjoy this collection of traditional Christmas songs, but one of the most rewarding may not be a matter of music. A portion of the proceeds from New Orleans Christmas will be donated to the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity's Musicians Village Project, a construction of 81 homes for New Orleans musicians who were affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Not only is this a timely act of charity, but it also enables listeners to support the future production of New Orleans jazz. After all, it is the season for giving, and there is so much reason to give! -Elizabeth Whitmore