Brian Setzer Boogie Woogie Christmas CD

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Brian Setzer Orchestra: Brian Setzer (vocals, arranger, guitar); Ann Margret (vocals); Don Roberts (baritone saxophone); Tim Misica, Ray Herrmann, Matt Zebley, Jim Youngstrom (saxophone); Dennis Farias, Kye Palmer, Kevin Norton, Will Murillo (trumpet); George McMullen, Alex Henderson, Craig Woods, Robbie Hioki (trombone); Hohn Hatton (bass); Bernie Dresel (drums); The Caroling Company (background vocals).
Recorded at Unit A, Palm Springs, California and Capitol Studios, Hollywood, California.
"The Nutcracker Suite" was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.
Brian Setzer: Brian Setzer; Kevin Norton , Will Murillo, Kyle Palmer (trumpet); Alex Henderson (trombone); John Hatton (bass instrument); Matthew Zebley, Dennis Farias, Bernie Dresel, Ray Herrmann, Jim Youngstrom, Tim Misica, Don Roberts, George McMullen, Craig Woods , Robbie Hioki.
Personnel: Brian Setzer (vocals, guitar); Matthew Zebley, Ray Herrmann, Jim Youngstrom, Tim Misica (saxophone); Don Roberts (baritone saxophone); Kevin Norton , Dennis Farias (trumpet); George McMullen, Craig Woods (trombone); Robbie Hioki (bass trombone); Bernie Dresel (drums); The Caroling Company (background vocals).
Recording information: Capitol Studios, Hollywood, CA; Unit A, Palm Springs, CA.
Director: Diane Burt.
Illustrator: Sir Richard Wentworth.
Photographer: Yoshika Horita.
Arrangers: Brian Setzer; Frank Comstock; Mark Anthony Jones.
Brian Setzer takes his horn-fueled big band on a sleigh ride into Christmas/holiday music with generally impressive results. Meshing his rockabilly guitar solos with brassy charts and a lounge/Vegas sensibility that is part tribute and part retro characterization, Setzer dusts off and polishes up obscure nuggets like Kay Starr's "(Everybody's Waitin' For) The Man With the Bag" and Lionel Hampton's swinging "Boogie Woogie Santa Claus." He rocks up played-out chestnuts "Winter Wonderland" and "Jingle Bells," slightly altering the latter's lyrics to, "Oh what fun it is to ride in a '57 Chevrolet." Elvis' "Blue Christmas" succeeds despite, or maybe because of, its obvious inclusion, narrowly missing a parody of the original due to Setzer's reverb-heavy guitar solo. A rough, blues-heavy "Santa Claus Is Back in Town" successfully kicks the tune into classic urban R&B territory, with the bandleader's guitar getting down and dirty and the horns blasting away like Doc Severinsen's orchestra. Ann Margaret sounds a little tentative playing the sultry sex kitten next to Setzer's slick Bobby Darin on a nevertheless frisky duet romp through "Baby It's Cold Outside." But the album's obvious highlight is an intricately rearranged, instrumental big band blowout of "The Nutcracker Suite," originally written for Les Brown's orchestra in the '50s. It displays the group's stop-on-a-dime chops and swings like mad. A 30-piece choir backs Setzer doing his best Presley mannerisms on a smarmy "O Holy Night" and closes the album on a serious note with a prayerful "The Amens." ~ Hal Horowitz
He wears a pompadour, hangs around with jazz musicians, and "vintage" may as well be his middle name, but Brian Setzer is a retro-king who now brings a jump-blues sensibility to the holiday of ole St. Nick with BOOGIE WOOGIE CHRISTMAS. Setzer's clearly having fun tearing into Elvis's perennial "Blue Christmas" and does equally well pumping up warhorses like "Jingle Bells" and "Winter Wonderland" as well as digging up the Leiber-Stoller nugget "Santa Claus Is Back In Town." Anther nod to Presley comes via the recruitment of EP's film co-star Ann-Margret for a seductive reading of "Baby It's Cold Outside."
Equally impressive is the range this Long Island native shows, whether utilizing an arrangement of Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite" influenced by Les Brown and his Band of Renown, or the cool jazz vibe dripping off the self-penned "So They Say It's Christmas." After all the high-flying heroics