Tony Bennett - A Swingin Christmas '2008

Artist	Tony Bennett Related artists
Album name	A Swingin Christmas
Country
Date	2008
Genre	Jazz
Play time	37:01
Format / Bitrate	Stereo 1420 Kbps / 44.1 kHz MP3 320 Kbps
Media	CD
Size	101 MB(+3\%)
Price	Download $0.95

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Tracks list

Tracklist

1. Ill Be Home For Christmas (2:12)
2. Silver Bells (3:17)
3. All I Want For Christmas Is You (4:18)
4. My Favorite Things (2:55)
5. Christmas Time Is Here (3:59)
6. Winter Wonderland (2:31)
7. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (4:36)
8. Santa Claus is Coming to Town (2:53)
9. Ive Got My Love To Keep Me Warm (Duet with Antonia Bennett) (3:31)
10. The Christmas Waltz (3:22)
11. O Christmas Tree (3:27)

Christmas is a time for many things, but musically, the favorite always seems to
be lowered standards. Too many times, bands or vocalists trot out the usual
chestnuts with few acknowledgements of their usual artistic capabilities. How
nice, then, to find Tony Bennett continuing to exercise his high quality control
with 2008s A Swingin Christmas, featuring the Count Basie Big Band. The
excellence on display begins with the charts, which on the big-band sides come
mostly from Bill Holman -- along with a beautiful arrangement on Ive Got My Love
to Keep Me Warm from the dearly departed Frank Foster (long a linchpin for the
Basie band). Holmans great accomplishment here is to treat standards -- like Ill
Be Home for Christmas and My Favorite Things -- as though they were ripe for the
reimagining (which, of course, they are). Producer Phil Ramone balances the
accompaniment well, moving from small group to big band with no speed bumps, and
the basic quartet is anchored by pianist Monty Alexander (who Bennett thanks for
sitting in and playing in a Basie style). Although Bennetts voice shows
increasing signs of age here, his interpretive gifts are untouched and
unimpeachable, especially when the material calls for sensitivity (the closing O
Christmas Tree, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas).~John Bush