The Brian Setzer Orchestra - Boogie Woogie Christmas (2002)

…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, Setzer ends on a calm note with a one-two punch of "O Holy Night" and an a cappella rendition of the traditional "The Amens", both of which would have fit perfectly on one of the King's reverential gospel albums…

Tracklist:

01. Jingle Bells
02. Boogie Woogie Santa Claus
03. Winter Wonderland
04. Blue Christmas
05. Santa Claus Is Back In Town
06. Baby It's Cold Outside (Duet with Ann-Margret)
07. The Nutcracker Suite
08. (Everybody's Waitin' For) The Man With The Bag
09. Sleigh Ride
10. So They Say It's Christmas
11. O Holy Night
12. The Amens

"The Nutcracker Suite" was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.

Produced by David Darling
Recorded at Unit A, Palm Springs, California and Capitol Studios, Hollywood, California.

Brian Setzer Orchestra: Brian Setzer (vocals, arranger, guitar); 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); John Hatton (bass); Bernie Dresel (drums).
Additional personnel includes: Ann Margret (vocals on "6"); the members of The Caroling Company (background vocals on "11-12", directed by Diane Burt, vocal arrangement by N.M. D'Amico).

Release Date: October 22, 2002
Label: Surfdog Records