Stubbys House of Christmas       
 
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1.  Let It Snow - Hilary Kole
2.  It Came Upon A Midnight Clear - Oliver Jones
3.  Christmas Calypso Medley - Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir
4.  Little Drummer Boy - Taurey Butler
5.  Jingle Bells - Diana Krall
6.  The Christmas Song - Hank Jones
7.  A Christmas Day - Ranee Lee & Oliver Jones
8.  Minuit Chretien/O Holy Night - Quartango
9.  Mon Beau Sapin - Johanne Blouin
10. You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch - Coral Egan
11. The Christmas Medley - Rob McConnell Tentet
12. The Christmas Song - Diana Krall
13. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Hilary Kole

AMAZON
iTUNES
LABEL WEB SITE
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas  is a beautiful new seasonal collection from Canada's premiere jazz label. Not your typical run of the mill Christmas compilation it features both standards and new compositions as well as previously unreleased tunes, masterfully portrayed by such artists as Hilary Kole, Oliver Jones & Ranee Lee, Johanne Blouin, Taurey Butler and the late Hank Jones.  Sure to become a holiday favorite! 
Justin Time is probably the #1 Jazz label in Canada and that's a good thing for Christmas music collectors because the label has released more than their share of holiday hip and seasonal smooth.  If you've collected Christmas Jazz at all, you had to have run across at least one of the "Justin Time For Christmas" collections (there were 4, unless I missed one), Oliver Jones had his own "Yuletide Swing" set in 1994, and the label's original three--Jones, Ranee Lee, and the Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir--recently got together for a superlative album I hope to say more about shortly, "A Celebration In Time".  So its no surprise this label sampler is cool and tight, top to bottom.  You simply can't go wrong with Diana Krall or Hank Jones, and Coral Egan's "You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch" would be a highlight of any album on which it appeared.  But I think you'll also be amazed at the energy of the Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir's "Christmas Calypso Medley" and, on one of the album's newly recorded pieces, Taurey Butler's terrific take on "Little Drummer Boy".  "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" is a fine and diverse Jazz compilation, worthy of a place in anyone's holiday library.  Release date is November 1, though hard copy CDs of the Canadian import won't reach Amazon (US) until the following week.
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1.  Christmas Must Be Tonight
2.  White Christmas
3.  Mary Did You Know
4.  It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
5.  Mary Had A Baby
6.  He Came Here For Me
7.  Immanuel/O Come All Ye Faithful
8.  It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
9.  Noel
10.  Louisiana Christmas Day


CHRISTIAN BOOK
ARTIST SITE
Southern Gospel's Three Bridges are, for the most part, a traditional Southern Gospel group.  But, by folding in some elements of Black Gospel, they've achieved a more energetic and dynamic sound that has served them well on the charts and in concert.  

Three Bridges did release a Christmas album just 4 years ago--and you can still purchase "Christmas" in the band's web shop--but there has been a change in the group since then.  In 2010, Shannon Smith joined Three Bridges as lead vocalist.  If you think of music like pro sports, it would be fair to say that, in Shannon Smith, Three Bridges signed the top free agent in Gospel music.  Smith was previously the lead vocalist with the Imperials, one of the most legendary of Southern Gospel Groups (albeit the Imperials: The Second Generation).  He had also released 4 solo albums.

Shannon's influence on Three Bridges is evident in a side-by-side comparison of the two Christmas outings.  The 2007 album was fairly straight forward Southern Gospel and stuck pretty much with the tried and true.  For "Christmas Must Be Tonight", it appears that Three Bridges thought a little bit more outside the box.  3 of the tracks, here, could be described as secular, the title track is the song written by the Band's Robbie Robertson, and it's clear from the teaser video that the group had a lot of fun...most especially with "Louisiana Christmas Day", a bit of holiday gumbo written by Jim Cox and most closely associated with Araon Neville.
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1.  Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
2.  The Gift
3.  O Holy Night
4.  Little Drummer Boy
5.  Ave Maria
6.  Do You Hear What I Hear?
7.  O Come All Ye Faithful
8.  It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
9.  Angels We Have Heard On High
10. What Are You Gonna Name Your Baby
11. What Child Is This?
12. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
13. Giving And Sharing
14. We Three Kings
15. O Christmas Tree

AMAZON
ARTIST SITE
This 15-song collection features Shirley Caesar, the Queen of Gospel, singing her favorite Christmas songs and carols. Taken from her highly successful holiday albums, this project of Christmas favorites features "O Holy Night," "O Come All Ye Faithful," "What Child Is This " and many more!

When you've been singing Gospel music for as many years as Shirley Caesar, you're bound to build up a bit of a catalog of Christmas music.  Born in Durham, North Carolina (and still calling the triangle home), Ms. Shirley Caesar has been recording Gospel music for 60 years.  That's not a misprint.  60.  S-I-X-T-Y.  By the time she turned ten, she was already known as "Baby Shirley, The Gospel Singer".  

Shirley is currently the Pastor at Raleigh's Mount Calvary Word of Faith Holy Church.  She's recorded over 30 albums as a solo artist, at least a few of which were Christmas albums (not even including her work with the Caravans back in the 60s), and has nearly a dozen Grammys and almost twice as many Dove awards.  She's performed at the White House, been inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, and received an NAACP Achievement Award.  And she's still going strong.  "Giving & Sharing" (titled after one of Shirley's original compositions, btw) gives Ms. Caesar the opportunity to pick some of her favorite holiday performances and bring them together in one inspirational package.
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