Merry Ole Soul Explained

Merry Ole Soul
Type:	Album
Artist:	Duke Pearson
Cover:	Merry Ole Soul.jpg
Released:	1969
Recorded:	February 25 & August 19, 1969
Studio:	Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
Genre:	Jazz, Christmas
Label:	Blue Note
Producer:	Duke Pearson
Chronology:	Duke Pearson
Prev Title:	How Insensitive
Prev Year:	1969
Next Title:	I Don't Care Who Knows It
Next Year:	1968-70

Merry Ole Soul is a Christmas album by jazz pianist and arranger Duke Pearson, featuring performances recorded in 1969 and originally released on the Blue Note label.^[1]

Reception

The AllMusic review awarded the album 2 out of 5 stars.^[2]

Track listing

1. "Sleigh Ride" (Leroy Anderson, Mitchell Parish) - 6:25
2. "The Little Drummer Boy" (Katherine K. Davis, Henry Onorati, Harry Simeone) - 5:47
3. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin) - 2:00
4. "Jingle Bells" (James Pierpont) - 5:10
5. "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie) - 4:07
6. "Go Tell It on the Mountain" (Traditional) - 3:44
7. "Wassail Song" (Traditional) - 3:04
8. "Silent Night" (Franz Gruber, Joseph Mohr) - 4:12
9. "O Little Town of Bethlehem" (Phillips Brooks, Lewis Redner) - 1:14

• Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on February 25 (track 1) & August 19 (tracks 2-9), 1969

• A 2004 import CD reissue of the album on Toshiba EMI includes an outtake from the sessions, "Old Fashioned Christmas", as a bonus track.

Personnel

• Duke Pearson - piano, celeste (tracks 1, 3)
• Bob Cranshaw - bass (tracks 1–8)
• Mickey Roker - drums (tracks 1–8)
• Airto Moreira - percussion (tracks 4, 5, & 7)

Notes and References

1. http://www.jazzdisco.org/duke-pearson/catalog/#blue-note-bst-84323 Duke Pearson discography
2. Allmusic Review