James Taylor at Christmas

by James Taylor

Overview

For the most part, holiday-themed albums are about as memorable as what you had for lunch a month ago. As humans continue to evolve, there's a very good chance that we'll develop some sort of yuletide audio bypass valve that will allow us to filter the three-and-a-half million versions of every Christmas song ever made into one solid rendition that either pleases or displeases us, and can be dealt with accordingly. That said, James Taylor's brilliantly titled James Taylor at Christmas is about as inoffensive a collection of seasonal classics as one could hope for. The legendary singer/songwriter's warm voice is the perfect vessel for "Winter Wonderland," "Jingle Bells," and the "Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" because it makes absolutely no impression on the listener.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/10/2006
Label:	Sony
UPC:	0886970032322

Tracks

1. Winter Wonderland
2. Go Tell It on the Mountain
3. Jingle Bells
4. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
5. Baby, It's Cold Outside
6. River
7. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
8. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)
9. Some Children See Him
10. Who Comes This Night
11. In the Bleak Midwinter
12. Auld Lang Syne

Album Credits

Performance Credits

James Taylor   Primary Artist,Vocals,Guitar
Natalie Cole   Primary Artist
Toots Thielemans   Primary Artist,Harmonica
Chris Botti   Primary Artist,Trumpet
Yo-Yo Ma   Primary Artist,Cello
Katia Popov   Violin
Alan Grunfeld   Violin
Ken Yerke   Violin
Ralph Williams   Clarinet (Bass)
Claudia Parducci   Violin
Karen Elaine Bakunin   Viola
Sara Parkins   Violin
Jimmy Johnson   Bass
Ralph Morrison III   Violin
Tamara Hatwan   Violin
Marlow Fisher   Viola
Clifford Carter   Synthesizer
Jacqueline Brand   Violin
Clayton Haslop   Violin
Dave Grusin   Celeste,Conductor,Piano
Margaret Wooten   Violin
Vinnie Colaiuta   Drums
Bill Liston   Clarinet
Gary Gray   Clarinet
David Lasley   Vocals
Kate Markowitz   Vocals
Caroline Taylor   Vocals
Victoria Miskolczy   Viola
Kenneth Yerke   Violin
Roland Kato   Viola
Andrea Zonn   Vocals
Steve Gadd   Drums
Brian Dembow   Viola
Bruce Dukov   Violin
James "J.T." Taylor   Guitar,Vocals
Larry Goldings   Organ,Piano,Melodica,Accordion,Harmonium,Glockenspiel
Robert Brophy   Viola
John Pizzarelli   Guitar
Cecilia Tsan   Celli
Luis Conte   Percussion
Michael Landau   Guitar
Stephen Erdody   Celli
Dan Higgins   Flute
George Doering   Guitar
Arnold McCuller   Vocals
Josefina Vergara   Violin
Phil Ayling   Oboe,Horn (English)
Paula Hochhalter   Celli
Julie Gigante   Violin
Dave Carpenter   Bass
Edward Meares   Bass
Natalie Leggett   Violin

Technical Credits

Russ Titelman   Audio Production,Producer
Charlie Paakkari   Audio Production,Mixing,Engineer,Producer,Assistant
Dave Grusin   Audio Production,Arranger,Composer,Producer
James Taylor   Audio Production,Arranger,Producer
Dick Smith   Composer
Robert Wells   Composer
David Bett   Art Direction
Christopher Austopchuk   Art Direction
Jo Ann Kane   Music Preparation
Rob Katz   Assistant
Eddie Jackson   Engineer
Doug Sax   Mastering
George Harrison   Composer
Wihla Hutson   Composer
Dave O'Donnell   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Steve Genewick   Assistant
Timothy White   Photography
Felix Bernard   Composer
Don Murray   Mixing,Engineer
Ralph Blane   Composer
Charles H. Witham   Adaptation
Charles Floyd   Cello Arrangement
Al Schmitt   Engineer
Wilha Hutson   Composer
Gary Borman   Management
Barbara Rose Granatt   Management
Mike Gilmes   Assistant Engineer
Alfred S. Burt   Composer
Jolie Levine   Contractor
Alfred Burt   Composer
Hugh Martin   Composer
Natalie Cole   Featured Artist
J. Fred Coots   Composer
James "J.T." Taylor   Arranger,Producer,Liner Notes
Larry Goldings   Arranger
Joni Mitchell   Composer
Sally Stevens   Composer
Mel Torm¿¿   Composer
Mike Glimes   Assistant Engineer
Sangwook "Sunny" Nam   Mastering
Haven Gillespie   Composer
Frank Loesser   Composer
Traditional   Composer

Editorial Reviews

A thoroughly engaging, warmhearted affair, James Taylor at Christmas trades on JT's friendly tenor and some low-key, jazz-tinged arrangements by producer/arranger Dave Grusin, wishing a mellow Yuletide season to all. A personable vocal trio joins woodwinds and strings for a fireside "Winter Wonderland" (which features trumpeter Chris Botti in an atmospheric solo turn) and a winsome "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." Natalie Cole drops by for a flirtatious "Baby, It's Cold Outside," and the great harmonica virtuoso Toots Thielemans adds angular, introspective solos to a string-rich arrangement of Mel Tormé's "The Christmas Song." For a change of pace, a folk trio of Taylor (on guitar), Grusin (on piano), and Dave Carpenter (on bass) offers Joni Mitchell's "River" as a spare, melancholic seasonal heartbreaker; and, backed by only pianist Grusin and a string section, Taylor is quietly commanding on a reverent musical interpretation of Alfred Burt's poem "Some Children See Him." That song launches a powerful four-tune climax to the album, as it's followed by the hymn-like "Who Comes This Night"; a somber, orchestrated treatment of the ages-old evergreen "In the Bleak Midwinter"; and a deliberate, poignant pop reading of "Auld Lang Syne," freshened up by JT's gentle reading. With Grusin on piano, John Pizzarelli on guitar, Carpenter on bass, and Vinnie Colaiuta on drums on most cuts, the band crafts a sympathetic backdrop as Taylor wends his way through the textures and timeless themes of his well-considered Christmas journey.