New York, NY (September 24, 2019) – Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Blue Engine Records celebrates the most wonderful time of the year with the release of Big Band Holidays II, a sequel to a beloved and festive album released in 2015 and performed live by the world-renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis.
Big Band Holidays II includes an electric, never-before-released solo piano performance of "O Tannenbaum" by Aretha Franklin. The Queen of Soul sang the holiday classic in English and German, while accompanying herself on piano, at a surprise performance at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2015 Big BandHolidays concert. "O Tannenbaum," exclusively on Big Band Holidays II, is one of only a handful of tracks to be released since Franklin’s passing on August 16, 2018.
New York, NY (September 24, 2019) – Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Blue Engine Records celebrates the most wonderful time of the year with the release of Big Band Holidays II, a sequel to a beloved and festive album released in 2015 and performed live by the world-renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis.
Big Band Holidays II includes an electric, never-before-released solo piano performance of "O Tannenbaum" by Aretha Franklin. The Queen of Soul sang the holiday classic in English and German, while accompanying herself on piano, at a surprise performance at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2015 Big BandHolidays concert. "O Tannenbaum," exclusively on Big Band Holidays II, is one of only a handful of tracks to be released since Franklin’s passing on August 16, 2018.
Additional guests on Big Band Holidays II include some of today’s commanding new voices in jazz: Catherine Russell, Veronica Swift, Denzal Sinclaire, andAudrey Shakir. This newest collection of holiday classics is now available for pre-order (see below) and will be available on all digital platforms on October 25, 2019, in stores as a CD on November 8, 2019, and available on 2xLP audiophile vinyl later in the holiday season.
The Big Band Holidays concerts have been a New York City holiday tradition among jazz lovers and families for more than a decade. Every December, the critically acclaimed Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and an all-star roster of guest vocalists explore the canon of holiday standards and perform both new and traditional arrangements of Yuletide favorites. Blue Engine Records has assembled highlights from these historical performances to make them available on record for the first time.
Big Band Holidays II tracks include holiday favorites “Silver Bells,” “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” and “Silent Night” and feature the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra’s signature sense of swing, New Orleans-flavored nuances, and deeply soulful and church-rooted grooves.
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra bassist Carlos Henriquez says, “The orchestra members work hard to arrange classic holiday songs that we then collaborate on with great singers. The holiday season is about family and soulful music—it doesn’t get any better!”
To celebrate this special Blue Engine Records release, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and guest vocalists Denzal Sinclaire and Alexis Morrast will embark on a 12-city Big Band Holidays U.S. Tour. Kicking off the holidayseason with messages of peace and good cheer, the Big Band Holidays tour commences on November 30 in Toronto, Canada and ends with four performances December 18-22, including a special matinee at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater at Frederick P. Rose Hall, located at Broadway at 60th Street in New York, New York.