Big Band Wonderland Explained
| Big Band Wonderland |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Gary Williams |
| Cover: | Gary Williams - Big Band Wonderland.jpeg |
| Border: | yes |
| Released: | September 14, 2015 |
| Recorded: | Kenilworth Studios |
| Genre: | big band |
| Length: | 39:33 |
| Label: | BOS Records |
| Prev Title: | Live in Brazil |
| Prev Year: | 2013 |
Big Band Wonderland is jazz vocalist Gary Williams's eighth album, recorded in Kenilworth Studios in 2015. It is a collection of Christmas classics, recorded with full big band and featuring duets with Clare Teal and Michael Feinstein. More than half of the money for the album was raised with a crowd-funding appeal.[1]
This is how Williams described his love of Christmas: "I was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, so I didn't celebrate Christmas till I was sixteen years old. When all my mates where out singing carols I was sitting at home cataloguing my stamp collection! Maybe that's why I love Christmas so much now, I'm making up for lost time."[2]
His live Christmas show was given five stars by the London Evening Standard which described Gary as "…the UK's leading standard bearer for the supercool era".[3]
Personnel
Performers
- Gary Williams – vocals
- Matt Regan – piano
- Joe Pettitt – bass
- Kevin Campbell – drums
- Jon Russell – guitar
- Tom Walsh – trumpets
- Simon Marsh and Jay Craig – saxes
- Chris Traves – trombone
- Anthony Kerr – vibes
- The Patriot Girls (Jo Gibb, Joanne Pullen, Marissa Dunlop)
- Backing Singers: Luke Evered, David Hilton, Victoria Keal, Iain Mackenzie, India Moynihan, Andy Playfoot, Patrick Smyth.
Technical
- Producer and Studio Engineer: Chris Traves
- Executive Producer: Gary Williams
- Backing vocals arranged, directed and produced by Clive Dunstall
- Backing vocals recorded and mixed at Big Al’s studio by Alex Bourne, and Tileyard Studios by Sean Hargreaves
- Arrangers: Phil Steel (tracks 1, 2, 3); Paul Campbell (tracks 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12); Andrew Cottee (tracks 7, 13); Callum Au (tracks 6, 9)
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Gary Williams and Big Band Wonderland . February 26, 2015 . October 20, 2015.
- Web site: Official Gary Williams web site: Big Band Wonderland . garywilliams.co.uk. October 26, 2015.
- Web site: Ben Walters . Christmas cabaret in London – Theatre – Going Out . London Evening Standard . December 18, 2013.
