...very warm, very fresh, reminiscent of a smoky live performance.
The latest holiday collection from Origin Records, "The Cool Season" is a lovely, warm musical offering for the Christmas season. With pianist Bill Anschell, Thomas Marriott on trumpet, bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer John Bishop, the quartet journeys through all shades of winter with arrangements on such classics as "Christmas Time is Here," and "Winter Wonderland," season-themed standards like Alec Wilder's "Blackberry Winter," and even a remake of Willie Nelson's "Pretty Paper," adding a new twist to the holiday-country hit. A perfect stocking stuffer for anyone who needs their stockings stuffed!
Track Listing:
1. Christmas Time Is Here 6:23
2. The Christmas Song 7:33
3. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas 4:52
4. Winter Wonderland 5:59
5. Winter Solace 5:04
6. Pretty Paper 4:07
7. Skating 5:21
8. Sing We Now of Christmas 4:27
9. Blackberry Winter 4:59
Performers:
THOMAS MARRIOTT - trumpet/flugelhorn
BILL ANSCHELL - piano
JEFF JOHNSON - bass
JOHN BISHOP - drums
Various Artists
Production Info:
Produced by JOHN BISHOP
Recorded & mixed August 22nd, 2007 by FLOYD REITSMA
at Studio Litho, Seattle
Mastered by MARK GUENTHER at Seattle Disc Mastering
Cover photo by RAY WRONA
Inside photo by REBEKAH BROWNING
Snowflake photo by TODD BISHOP
Cover design by JOHN BISHOP
Reviews of The Cool Season: An Origin Records Holiday Collection, Vol. 2
www.jazzpolice.com (Andrea Canter)
One of the most prolific indie labels of recent years, Origin Records has helped raise awareness of the considerable jazz talents in the Northwest. The basis of their success is readily apparent on this collection of holiday standards and original compositions from a quartet of Seattle-area jazzers lead by rising trumpet star Thomas Marriott. Winne ...
All About Jazz (John Barron)
With no shortage of holiday music blasting through shopping malls and restaurants this time of year, it's easy to understand why some might want to escape the incessant bombardment of the overdone and out-of-date. If one looks hard enough, however, hope for Christmas music burnout can be found. One place to look is Origin Records' The Cool Season: ...
All Music Guide (Ken Dryden)
Christmas jazz albums are always a challenge because there is a relatively small repertoire of songs chosen and difficulty in finding fresh approaches to them. But this quartet that regularly records for the Origin label has risen to both tests.
Thomas Marriott, a fine trumpeter and flugelhornist, and pianist Bill Anschell make a strong front l ...
The Davis Enterprise (Derrick Bang)
I've saved on of the best [discs] for last, although not intentionally; Origin Records' "The Cool Season" (Origin82494) arrived literally as this column was being prepped for layout. It's a tasty collection from an extremely tight quartet - Thomas Marriott, trumpet and flugelhorn; Bill Anschell, piano; Jeff Johnson, bass; and John Bishop, durms- th ...
Cadence (David Dupont)
The Cool Season: Origins Records Holiday Collection, Vol. 2 sounds like a label sampler, but is rather the work of one quartet. Volume 1 (12/03) was a fine effort with distinctive arrangements of some lesser-known carols paired with swinging versions of holiday standards. The one drawback of that session was the way the two were mixed, creating som ...
