Happy Holidays from A Train!

Deck the Halls
What Child is This
Oh Come All Ye Faithful
Joy to the World
Blue Christmas
Sleighride
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Frosty the Snowman
Winter Wonderland
Jingle Bells
The Christmas Song

Charlie Hunter & Bobby Previte re-imagine the classic carols as surf, country, metal, jazz, and beyond. Tightly and beautifully arranged, each of these classic tunes is brilliantly played and like no other version of these great songs. With the exception of guest trombone player Curtis Fowlkes (who performs on "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing", "The First Noel" and "Oh Come All Ye Faithful"), Previte and Hunter play all the instruments – guitars, basses, drums, pianos, organs, and all manner of percussion. We Two Kings is a stunning tour-de-force recording that captures the spirit of each song perfectly, taking the listener on a w fun, and sometimes hilarious musical journey of joy. A Christmas record from two master musicians that will shake, rattle, and roll your holiday, We Two Kings is one that you will never want to be without during the holiday season.

"[We Two Kings] treads close to rock territory throughout... offer[ing] some very non-jazzy treats like the surf-laden 'Joy To The World'," - Hip Christmas Music

Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra bring their popular holiday show into the studio with great results. "If you're keen to spruce up the holiday season with appetizing big-band fare," says All About Jazz, "you couldn't do better than inviting the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra into your living room for a bounteous serving of Joyful Jazz".

The Wall Street Journal names Joyful Jazz one of the Top 6 Holiday Albums of 2015!


 

"[Ann Hampton Callaway's] The Hope of Christmas is a new collection of Christmas songs interpreted by multi-platinum-selling singer, Tony nominated actress, pianist and leading champion of the American songbook, Ann Hampton Callaway, with lyrics by two-time Emmy Award winner William Schermerhorn, and featuring twenty-nine of the world's best jazz musicians, including Five Play, New York Voices, Hubert Laws, Claudio Roditi, Gerald Albright, The Ted Rosenthal Trio and more.." - Broadway World

"The album is jazzy, hopeful, modern, and infused with the dark golden honey of one of the finest voices in jazz today. The pure heart and the hope that Christmas feelings will last all year." - Q on Stage

"This disc captures the cool holiday magic [Peter White, Rick Braun, and Mindi Abair] share on-stage. It's a great mix of styles, from the vibrant straight-ahead jazz vibe of 'Jingle Jangle Blues' (a Braun-composed refashioning of 'Jingle Bells' featuring a brilliant piano solo by Ron Reinhardt), to the big-band era vibes of 'Santa Claus Is Coming to Town'/'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,' the cool soul of 'Silent Night' (with Jeffrey Osborne on lead vocals) and a brassy pop take on 'What Child Is This?'... [Abair] shines here on the sly original 'I Can't Wait for Christmas,' a tender take on 'River,' and the romantic 'The Best Part of Christmas.' It's a tasty stocking stuffer for fans of these artists whether they've been to the live show or not, but it's just a sampling of the spontaneity and fun they create on-stage." - AMG

The Holiday’s On, Joyce Cooling’s second, original holiday single, following It's Feeling Like Christmas, reminds us of everything there is to enjoy about the season – family, friends, and most of all, living life to the fullest. Written with producer, Jay Wagner, the song is reminiscent of a 40s-style swing tune with an irresistible, toe-tapping, dance groove. So… "Lace up your shoes, Away with the blues, Let’s Go, The Holiday’s On!"
 

The Duke Boys are back together again, but this time with a big band and Christmas songs! Since the ending of Dukes of Hazzard the boys have spent some time building impressive resumes. Tom Wopat became a Broadway mainstay earning himself Tony Nominations for "Annie Get Your Gun" and "A Catered Affair." He's also proven to be a superior jazz singer releasing four outstanding albums, the latest being I've Got Your Number. John Schneider, on the other hand, also delved into a music career after the Dukes, but in the likes of country music, topping the charts with a handful of tunes. He has also been involved in film making and has been staying active in television with his most notable role playing Clark Kent's dad on "Smallville." Home for Christmas is an impressive homecoming for the boys - with between track interludes that ring in nostalgia and that playfulness that we always loved. Watch out Boss Hog, they may just tour the old stompin' grounds in the General Lee.

A Tale of Two White Christmases

Christmas With The Stars

Christmas With The Stars - Volume 1

Christmas With The Stars - Volume 2

Something for the Aussies

Feeling Traditional?

Aching for a Silent Night?

*And More Holiday Tunes to Spin*

Bruno Hubert Trio & B3 Kings
A Cellar Live Christmas

"Alternating tracks (the B3 Kings take the odd ones and the Bruno Hubert Trio takes the even ones), this Christmas album gets a jump start on the holiday season. They're familiar songs, but they come to us with fresh sounds. Denzal Sinclaire sits in with each ensemble as a singer, too, interpreting "Little Drummer Boy" and "We Three Kings"... Each familiar holiday favorite is interpreted in a straightforward manner; however, jazz is always jazz. There's improvisation in each selection... This season should also include adventure and room for the joy of finding a positive glow in change. A Cellar Live Christmas takes us one step in that direction. It's up to us now to reach out and realize as much of that positive change as we can." - Jim Santella / AAJ

Marc Freeman
Christmas Piano Moods - Winter Wonderland

A Yuletide collection of wonderful piano moments from the very talented Marc Freeman. Winter Wonderland brings refinement to Christmas revelry, and is a treat to be enjoyed by the whole family.

This enchanting album from talented musician Tony Vandermeer brings a softer side to the festive season with gentle guitar renditions of classics and favorites, this Christmas collection employs soothing piano keys to open your heart to the sounds of the holiday season.

Serve some joie de vivre at your table this festive season with superb performances from acclaimed string and flute ensemble, Viva la Musica, perfect for light background music.

The Rockin' Santas
Christmas Party Songs

Get Ready for a great Christmas with 25 sing-a-long party favorites. Enjoy songs like "Jingle Bell Rock", "Winter Wonderland", "I'll be Home for Christmas" and many more. So turn up the stereo and start the party!

"Sweet-spirited and gently eclectic as you'd expect...Wilson manages to keep things both interesting and fun. The fact that her voice remains as powerful and nuanced as ever doesn't hurt, either," says Rick Anderson of AMG. The album was also positively reviewed in Billboard (where it charted at #5) by Melinda Newman who commented that "The party to attend this year is at Wilson's house...just a collection of traditional tunes delivered with beautiful understatement by Wilson..."

Joe Negri
Guitars For Christmas

"A splendid convergence of handcrafted jazz and holiday cheer, Guitars For Christmas possesses a timeless quality that's sure to make it a favorite of jazz fans for years to come. Not unlike Negri himself". - All About Jazz

Deuter
Celebration of Light: Music for Winter and the Christmas Season

Celebration of Light features international holiday selections that Deuter found to be both very heartfelt, simple, and sung throughout the centuries. On this album there are songs from the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. We have one piece of Johann Sebastian Bach, one part of the Vivaldi four seasons, and one dance song from Praetorius, an original composition, as well as additional unknown composers. Deuter's sincere offering for the holiday season.

Jaclyn Guillou
Winter for Beginners

Jaclyn Guillou's Winter For Beginners is more than just a soothing listening session with hot cocoa in front of the fire. All About Jazz says it's "The sound of crossover jazz at its most successful." So let's play some of Jaclyn's tunes as we crossover to a most successful new year! Oh! And don't forget the marshmallows!

Scott Wilkie
The Wonder of Christmas

Solo piano performances of 17 Christmas carols… a beautiful, intimate recording. An instant classic. We were excited to discover that The Wonder of Christmas is now one of the bestselling holiday albums, EVER, on iTunes… right alongside some classics by artists like Nat King Cole, Mel Torme, Diana Krall, Vince Guaraldi and others.

Chris Standring & Kathrin Shorr
Send Me Some Snow

Dreaming of a white Christmas but looking for something more musically hip and adventurous than another tired twist on the Irving Berlin standard? You can make a special request of Chris Standring and Kathrin Shorr: Send Me Some Snow. On their warm and inviting first collaborative collection on Ultimate Vibe Recordings, the renowned contemporary jazz guitarist and award winning folk/pop singer/songwriter celebrate “the most wonderful time of the year” with a unique vintage pop/jazz vibe that draws on traditions of the past while blazing new trails for the ever-popular genre.

Rick Braun
Swingin' In the Snow

With old friends and special guests like Peter White, Dave Koz, David Benoit, Mindi Abair, Kirk Whalum and Jeffrey Osborne, Rick Braun enlivens the holidays with a rich mixture of singing and trumpet swinging on Swingin’ In The Snow - an iTunes favorite for two consecutive years now.  Rick will be touring across the country with Peter White and Mindi Abair as part of Peter White Christmas again this year, performing many of the songs found on Swingin’ In The Snow...

Joyce Cooling
It's Feeling Like Christmas

"It's Feeling Like Christmas", the new holiday tune by Bay Area's premier guitarist Joyce Cooling was named Song of the Month for the International Review of Music in December of 2009. Don Heckman, former music critic for the Los Angeles Times, calls it a song that transcends any particular style or genre – a song that will always sound both contemporary and timeless...as soon as I heard “It’s Feeling Like Christmas.” I knew it was exactly the kind of song we’re continually looking for. To read the full review and watch the video click here.

Various
Share the Gifts

Wishing you all the holly and jolly of the season, A Train Digital presents Share the Gifts, the latest installment of the A Train Tracks series, highlighting the best of our catalog. Share the Gifts compiles 12 holiday-themed tracks, including new takes on traditional favorites like "Feliz Navidad" and "The Little Drummer Boy"" Also included are two originals, Joyce Cooling's "It's Feeling Like Christmas" and the world debut of "Send Me Some Snow" written and performed by Chris Standring and Kathrin Shorr.

Marcus Anderson
"TLC" Tender Loving Christmas

Jazz up your Christmas season with Marcus Anderson’s newest CD release Tender Loving Christmas! Blissful yet explosive, this CD is a must have for all family holiday dinners. It’s the "Winter Wonderland" of smooth jazz. Classic holiday favorites are given a modern saxy tune. Anderson turns a "Silent Night" into an inspirational evening filled with music and TLC.

Viva La Musica
Jingle Bells - Santa's Favorite Songs

Santa should know the best songs for Christmas and it seems that his tastes are refined. All the songs you would imagine to find on Saint Nick's playlist are here (including some Aussie picks) featuring soloists Ruth Donovin, Amanda Merritt, Jocelyn Merritt, Michael Crellin with special guest vocalist Ross Bogart singing "Happy Christmas". Eggnog required to complete the evening.

Various
Christmas Crooners

The names and faces speak for themselves in this collection of holiday classics sung by the great legends. If you want a little swing and style to your holiday, then this album is a must for your Christmas collection. Once a classic, always a classic!

Todi Neesh Zhee Singers
Navajo Christmas

Christmas comes to Navajoland as the Todi Neesh Zhee Singers present five Christmas songs done in traditional song and dance style interspersed with four social dance songs. These popular singers are joined by Roger Begay, Radmilla Cody, Socie Saltwater and Consuela Chacon in Christmas standards sung in both Navajo and English.

Dred Scott
Dred Xmas

Dred Scott grew up in St. Louis, but honed his chops in the San Francisco Bay Area where he gained a reputation as an innovator and as a leader of the ground-breaking jazz / hip-hop band Alphabet Soup. He has also recorded on nearly 40 albums with the likes of Don Byron, Anthony Braxton, John Adams, Cecil McBee, and Andrew Cyrille, and has performed with Levon Helm, Joe Henderson, Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Bob Weir, Ricky Lee Jones, Moby, the Berkeley Symphony (Kent Nagano) and many more. On Dred Xmas, Dred Scott plays all the instruments on this holiday classic.

R. Carlos Nakai and William Eaton
Winter Dreams for Christmas

R. Carlos Nakai and guitarist William Eaton have arranged these beautiful Christmas songs from Europe. It is as if these melodies carried themselves from the Old World across the New...to the southwestern deserts where the wind and solitude imbued them with a new enchantment. It is the dream of Nakai and Eaton that the peace and goodwill expressed in these timeless melodies lives throughout the year for people of all cultures and faiths.

Gregg Karukas with Shelby Flint
Home For The Holidays

Popular contemporary jazz keyboardist Gregg Karukas captures all the warmth of being "Home For The Holidays" with this exquisite collection of seasonal classics, recorded live in studio in an intimate, acoustical setting featuring fresh, inventive piano trio arrangements of some of the best-loved holiday songs ever recorded. Gregg teams up with longtime musical partner Shelby Flint, whose singing and songwriting talents are featured in unforgettable, heartfelt performances of original and familiar holiday music.

Jeff Golub
Six String Santa

Combing a rich love for blues, rock and pop with potent jazz chops, Jeff Golub and his band recorded their first Christmas record, Six String Santa. "I’ve always wanted to do a record of Christmas music…" Golub says. "I went in the studio, and we came up with some very spirited arrangements of these classic songs that I love so much. " On this lively holiday CD, Golub lays down his own smooth and funky interpretations of holiday classics, backed by the stellar line up of saxophonist Warren Hill, Chris Palmaro on keyboards, Lincoln Goines on bass, Stephen Ferrone and Shawn Pelton on drums, and Roger Squitero on percussion. A great accompaniment for any holiday party, sure to get your guests in the spirit!

Silver Wave Artists
A Winter Celebration

A Winter Celebration features traditional and original instrumentals and vocals from these extraordinary artists: Peter Kater, R. Carlos Nakai, Joanne Shenandoah, Flesh & Bone, Tom & Susan Wasinger, Trio Globo, Fowler & Branca, Margot Krimmel and Mark Miller, Eugene Friesen, Chris White, Danny Heines and Curandero. The glory of summer gives way to harvest, to solstice and to the preparation for the slumbering earth. The Silver Wave artists give us a gorgeous grouping of music in celebration of this time of year.

Peter Kater
X-Mas Ecstasy

The most recent of GRAMMY nominee Peter Kater’s holiday classics, Xmas Ecstasy displays the visionary and evocative interpretations of Peter's favorite Christmas songs as they transport us around the world to experience the soul of the season in a wholly timeless and universal canopy of sound. Velvety smooth percussion and celebratory rhythms playfully dance with the Native American flute, Middle Eastern duduk, Irish penny whistle, woodwinds, guitar, bass and piano; all resounding deeply, joyfully and reverently, exposing layer after layer of Xmas ecstasy.

Radhika Miller
Blossoms in the Snow

Holiday minstrel magic with delightful renditions of familiar favorites on traditional medieval and renaissance instruments plus refreshing originals for flute and recorders (Radhika Miller), harp (Michelle Sell and Cheryl Ann Fulton), piano (Louis Magor), cello (David Darling), vielle and rebec (Shira Kammen), mandola (Peter Rowan), kalimba and dulcimer (Tony D'Anna). CD Review gave it their highest rating. "Simply the most striking Christmas album of any year." Great holiday gift item!

Southern Scratch
Chicken Scratch Christmas

Chicken Scratch, the social dance music of the Tohono O'odham ("Desert People"), also known as waila music, evolved from the earlier acoustic fiddle bands that adapted European and Mexican tunes heard in Northern Sonora. Twelve popular Christmas carols are done in the happy go lucky chicken scratch style by one of the premiere bands of the Tohono O'odham. Includes “Frosty the Snowman”, “Silent Night”, “Feliz Navidad” and “Jingle Bells”.

Warscout
Red Christmas

For the Plains Cree, winter brings the season of the Round Dance. A social dance of happiness and harmony, its songs contain often amusing lyrics about love and courtship. Inspired by this tradition, Warscout has crafted these songs infused with the spirit of Christmas. Joyful and touching, Red Christmas is a heartfelt Native American yuletide celebration that will warm the soul on the frostiest winter night.