The David Benoit Trio feat. Jane Monheit - Believe (2015) [Official Digital Download 24-bit/96kHz]

Smooth jazz pianist David Benoit and singer Jane Monheit, both Grammy nominees, reunite on this holiday album following a highly-celebrated collaboration entitled "2 In Love". Benoit, his trio and Monheit are joined by the All-American Boys Chorus on this collection of heartwarming, holiday-themed favourites comprising trio, choral and orchestral renditions of the music of Richard Rodgers, Mel Tormé, Sammy Cahn and legendary Charlie Brown composer Vince Guaraldi, along with an original composition from Benoit.

Just four months after 2 in Love, David Benoit's collaborative album with vocalist extraordinaire Jane Monheit, the pair deliver Believe, a Christmas album. Working with the pianist's trio of drummer Jamey Tate and bassist David Hughes, and the All-American Boys Chorus on a few numbers, they deliver holiday standards, new takes on Vince Guaraldi's classic A Charlie Brown Christmas material (on the 50th anniversary of its broadcast), and some surprises. Guaraldi's presence is felt throughout, including in the Benoit original "Just Like Me," co-written with Guaraldi's lyricist Lee Mendelson for the 2015 Peanuts film. Believe's title track comes from the film The Polar Express. Monheit's vocal on the track, underscored by the trio and chorus, is simultaneously warm and majestic. The chorus also backs Monheit on the ubiquitous yet always moving "Christmas Time Is Here." It precedes an inspired reading of the now familiar "Guaraldi Medley," which has been part of Benoit's Christmas concerts for years. "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" is a hot, cut-time read with Monheit's fleet scatting as the improvisational component. "My Favorite Things" is not normally associated with Christmas, but with Monheit's delivery at the fore, it becomes inseparable from the album's spirit. "My Little Drum" – Guaraldi's arrangement of "The Little Drummer Boy" – features the chorus with Hughes' bassline punctuating a gently swinging trap kit and Benoit's sparking pianism. Mel Tormé's "The Christmas Song" may be one of those nuggets that has been overdone, but Monheit and the chorus sing it like they mean it, closing this set with elegance. Believe is a classy contemporary jazz album that celebrates the Christmas season, not a generic volume for the holiday catalog. Of the three holiday recordings in Benoit's catalog, this is easily the best.

Tracklist:

01 - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
02 - Believe
03 - Christmas Waltz
04 - Christmas Time Is Here
05 - Guaraldi Medley: Air Music / Christmas Is Coming / What Child Is This? / O Tannenbaum
06 - My Favorite Things
07 - Just Like Me
08 - My Little Drum
09 - The Christmas Song

Produced by David Benoit and Clark Germain.
Recorded Live on January 22-23, 2015 at United Studio B.
Recorded and Mixed by Clark Germain.
Additional recording at Suburban Soul Studios and Wonderworld .
Studio Mastered by Paul Blakemore at CMG Mastering.

Musicians:
David Benoit - piano
David Hughes - acoustic & electric bass
Jamey Tate - drums
Jane Monheit - vocals
+ The All-American Boys Chorus


Thanks to the Original customer!