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A Night Before Christmas
''A Night Before Christmas'' is the thirtieth album (and first Christmas album) by Spyro Gyra, recorded and released in 2008. Janis Siegel of the Manhattan Transfer sings on "Baby, It's Cold Outside". The album peaked at No. 14 on the Holiday Albums chart at ''Billboard'' magazine. Track listing Personnel Spyro Gyra * Jay Beckenstein – saxophones * Tom Schuman – acoustic piano * Julio Fernández – guitars * Scott Ambush – bass * Bonny Bonnaparte – drums, vocals (5, 11) Additional musicians * Dave Samuels – vibraphone (3, 6) * Christine Ebersole – vocals (2) * Janis Siegel – vocals (5) Production * Dave Love – executive producer * Jay Beckenstein – producer * Spyro Gyra – arrangements * Kieran Paradis – engineer * Jeff Shreiner – engineer * Robert Harari – additional engineer * Mark Urselli – additional engineer * Doug Oberkircher – mixing * Greg Calbi Gregory Calbi (born April 3, 1949) is an American mastering engineer at S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spyro Gyra
Spyro Gyra is an American jazz fusion band that was formed in Buffalo, New York, in 1974. The band's music combines jazz, R&B, funk, and pop music. The band's name comes from ''Spirogyra'', a genus of green algae which founder Jay Beckenstein had learned about in college. History Early years Saxophonist Jay Beckenstein and keyboardist Jeremy Wall formed a band with jazz and rock musicians who were playing in the Buffalo bar and club circuit. In 1974, when a bar owner asked for the band's name, Beckenstein said, "spirogyra", a type of algae he had learned about in school. The bar owner wrote the name incorrectly, "Spyro Gyra", but it stuck. The founding members of the band were Beckenstein, Wall, bassist Jim Kurzdorfer, drummer Tom Walsh, and keyboardist Tom Schuman. In 1977, they released '' Spyro Gyra'' independently before making a deal with Amherst Records, which re-released the album with a different cover. It included "Shaker Song," which reached No. 90 on Billboard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baby It's Cold Outside
"Baby, It's Cold Outside" is a popular song written by Frank Loesser in 1944 and popularized in the 1949 film '' Neptune's Daughter''. While the lyrics make no mention of a holiday, it is commonly regarded as a Christmas song owing to its winter theme. The song was released in eight recordings in 1949—including well-known versions by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan, Hot Lips Page and Pearl Bailey, and by Dean Martin and Marilyn Maxwell—and has been covered numerous times since. History In 1944, Loesser wrote "Baby, It's Cold Outside" to sing with his wife, Lynn Garland, at their housewarming party in New York City at the Navarro Hotel. They sang the song to indicate to guests that it was time to leave. Garland has written that after the first performance, "We became instant parlor room stars. We got invited to all the best parties for years on the basis of 'Baby.' It was our ticket to caviar and truffles. Parties were built around our being the closing act." In 1948, aft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Schuman
Thomas William Schuman (born January 31, 1958) is an American jazz pianist, smooth jazz keyboardist and was the longtime co-leader, composer and arrangement, arranger of 13 Grammy nominated contemporary jazz group, Spyro Gyra. He has been the keyboardist for Spyro Gyra since he was 16 years old (before the release of their first album). He has performed on all of Spyro Gyra's albums to date and has written or co-written over sixty Spyro Gyra compositions since the album ''Catching the Sun (album), Catching the Sun'' (MCA Records, MCA, 1980). At the end of 2022, Schuman announced his resignation from Spyro Gyra, effective March 2023, in order to move to Europe. Tom also produced 7 solo albums on his own label http://jazzbridge.com. He also built and engineers his own recording studihttps://jazzbridge.com/schubox-bcn Discography Solo * ''Extremities'' (GRP Records, GRP, 1990) * ''Schuman Nature'' (JazzBridge, 2003) * ''Into Your Heart'' (JazzBridge, 2002) * ''Deep Chill'' (Jazz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Wells (songwriter)
Robert Wells (born Robert Levinson, October 15, 1922 – September 23, 1998) was an American songwriter, composer, screenwriter and television producer. During his early career, he collaborated with Mel Tormé, writing several hit songs, most notably "The Christmas Song" in 1945. Later, he became a prolific writer and producer for television, for such shows as '' The Dinah Shore Chevy Show'', as well as for numerous variety specials, such as ''If They Could See Me Now'', starring Shirley MacLaine. He was nominated for several Academy Awards and won six Emmys and a Peabody Award. Early life and career Robert Wells was born to a Jewish family in 1922 in Raymond, Washington, the son of Edna Irene (Bradford) and Nathan Levinson. He attended a local business college and later the University of Southern California, where he majored in speech and drama. He served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Both before and after the war, he worked as a scriptwrit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mel Tormé
Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "the Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arrangement, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire") and co-wrote the lyrics with Robert Wells (songwriter), Bob Wells. Tormé won two Grammy Awards and was nominated a total of 14 times. Early life and education Melvin Howard Tormé was born in Chicago, Illinois, to William David Tormé (born Wowe Torma, also spelled as Tarme or Tarmo), a History of the Jews in Poland, Polish Jewish immigrant from Brest, Belarus, Brest (now Belarus), and Sarah "Betty" Tormé (''née'' Sopkin), a New York City native. Named after the actor Melvyn Douglas, Tormé grew up in a home filled with music and entertainment. His father, whom he recalled as having the pure voice of a cantor, had been an amateur dancer in his youth. His aunt Faye Tormé had risen to local fame in Chicago, where, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Christmas Song
"The Christmas Song" (commonly subtitled "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" or, as it was originally subtitled, "Merry Christmas to You") is a Christmas song written in 1945 by Robert Wells (songwriter), Robert Wells and Mel Tormé. The Nat King Cole Trio first recorded the song in June 1946. At Cole's behestand over the objections of his label, Capitol Recordsa second recording was made in August utilizing a small string section. This version became a massive hit on both the Pop music, pop and R&B charts. Cole again recorded the song in 1953, using the same arrangement with a full orchestra arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle, and once more in 1961, in a stereophonic version with another full orchestra arranged and conducted by Ralph Carmichael. Cole's 1961 version is generally regarded as definitive, while the original 1946 recording was inducted into the List of Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients A-D, Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974. In 2022, the 1961 Nat King Cole record ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donny Hathaway
Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, backing vocalist, and arranger who ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto", " This Christmas", " Someday We'll All Be Free", and "Little Ghetto Boy". Hathaway is also renowned for his renditions of " A Song for You", "For All We Know", " Jealous Guy" and "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know", along with "Where Is the Love" and "The Closer I Get to You", two of many collaborations with Roberta Flack. He has been inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame and won one Grammy Award from four nominations. Hathaway was also posthumously honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. Dutch director David Kleijwegt made a documentary called ''Mister Soul – A Story About Donny Hathaway'', which premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam on January 28, 2020. Early life Hathaway, the son of Dr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
This Christmas (Donny Hathaway Song)
"This Christmas" is a song by American soul musician Donny Hathaway released in 1970 by Atco Records. The song gained renewed popularity when it was included in 1991 on Atco Records' revised edition of their 1968 ''Soul Christmas'' compilation album and has since become a modern Christmas standard, with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers reporting that it was the 30th most-performed holiday song of all time. Phil Upchurch said the song was "absolutely the premiere holiday song written by an African American". It was written by Hathaway and Nadine McKinnor. History "This Christmas" was recorded at Audio Finishers Studio on Ontario Street, Chicago in the fall of 1970. Ric Powell (see credits below) said that Hathaway was "very upbeat during the session" and that he "knew what he wanted to do musically and the impact he wanted to make with this song" regarding the representation of African Americans in Christmas music. On writing the song with Hathaway (who di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silent Night
"Silent Night" () is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ... in 2011. The song was first recorded in 1905 and has remained a popular success, appearing in films and multiple successful recordings, as well as being quoted in other musical compositions. It is one of the most recorded Christmas songs, with more than 137,000 known recordings. History "" was first performed on Christmas Eve, 1818, at the Nikolauskirche, Oberndorf, Nikolauskirche, the parish church of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Oberndorf, a village in the Austrian Empire on the Salzach river in present-day Austria. A youn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The First Noel
"The First Nowell" (or Nowel), modernised as "The First Noel" (or Noël), is a traditional English Christmas carol with Cornish origins most likely from the early modern period, although possibly earlier.. It is listed as number 682 in the Roud Folk Song Index. Origin and history "The First Nowell" is of Cornish origin. Its current form was first published in ''Carols Ancient and Modern'' (1823) and ''Gilbert and Sandys Carols'' (1833), both of which were edited by William Sandys and arranged and edited by Davies Gilbert (who also wrote extra lyrics) for ''Hymns and Carols of God''. ''Nowell'' is an Early Modern English synonym of "Christmas" from French ''Noël'', "the Christmas season", ultimately from Latin ''natalis ies' " ayof birth". The word was regularly used in the burden of carols in the Middle Ages towards the early modern period; Sir Christèmas ( Ritson Manuscript), "Nowell sing we now all and some" ( Trinity Carol Roll) and "Nowel – out of youre slepe ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hugh Martin
Hugh Martin (August 11, 1914 – March 11, 2011) was an American musical theater and film composer, arranger, vocal coach, and playwright. He was best known for his score for the 1944 MGM musical '' Meet Me in St. Louis'', in which Judy Garland sang three Martin songs, " The Boy Next Door", " The Trolley Song", and " Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". The last of these has become a Christmas season standard in the United States and around the English-speaking world. Martin became a close friend of Garland and was her accompanist at many of her concert performances in the 1950s, including her appearances at the Palace Theater. Early life Martin was born in Birmingham, Alabama, the son of Ellie Gordon (Robinson) and Hugh Martin, an architect. He attended Birmingham-Southern College, where he studied music. He was a member of the Beta Beta chapter of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. Career Martin wrote the music, and in some cases the lyrics, for five Broadway musica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ralph Blane
Ralph Blane (July 26, 1914 – November 13, 1995) was an American composer, lyricist, and performer. Life and career Blane was born Ralph Uriah Hunsecker in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. He attended Tulsa Central High School. He studied singing with Estelle Liebling in New York City. He began his career as a radio singer for NBC in the 1930s before turning to Broadway, where he was featured in ''New Faces of 1936'' (1936), '' Hooray for What!'' (1937), and ''Louisiana Purchase'' (1940). In 1940 he formed a vocal quartet ("The Martins") with his friend Hugh Martin which performed on radio and in nightclubs. Martin and Blane formed a songwriting partnership. Together they wrote music and lyrics to '' Best Foot Forward'' (1941) and '' Three Wishes for Jamie'' (1952). The duo penned many American standards for the stage and MGM musicals. The team's best-known songs include " The Boy Next Door", " Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and " The Trolley Song", all written for the 194 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
