MULTI-PLATINUM RECORDING ARTIST & AMERICAN SONGBOOK CHAMPION
ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY
SINGS THE LYRICS OF TWO-TIME EMMY® AWARD WINNER WILLIAM SCHERMERHORN
Featured artists include
FIVE PLAY, NEW YORK VOICES, HUBERT LAWS, CLAUDIO RODITI, GERALD ALBRIGHT, THE TED ROSENTHAL TRIO & MORE Proceeds from the recording to benefit MANCHESTER CRAFTSMEN’S GUILD
and its mission to preserve, present and promote Jazz.
THE HOPE OF CHRISTMAS is a new collection of Christmas songs interpreted by multiplatinum- selling singer, Tony nominated actress, pianist and leading champion of the American songbook, Ann Hampton Callaway, with lyrics by two-time Emmy® Award winner William Schermerhorn, and featuring twenty-nine of the world’s best jazz musicians, including Five Play, New York Voices, Hubert Laws, Claudio Roditi, Gerald Albright, The Ted Rosenthal Trio and more. The recording will be released on Friday, October 9 by the MCG Jazz record label (Marty Ashby, producer).
Composers for the twelve songs on the recording are Ann Hampton Callaway; Milton Delugg (Orange Colored Sky, Just Another Polka); Mary Ehlinger; two-time Emmy® and five-time Grammy® Award- nominated entertainer Michael Feinstein; Stephen Fox; Emmy® & Tony® Award-nominated composer Matthew Sklar (Elf, The Wedding Singer); and Emmy® Award-winning composer Wesley Whatley (Yes, Virginia, There’s A Santa Claus).
Featured tracks to include the title song The Hope of Christmas with music by Ann Hampton Callaway and lyrics by William Schermerhorn. Performed by Ann Hampton Callaway and New York Voices.
All proceeds from the sale of this CD to go directly to support the MCG Jazz program and its mission to preserve, present and promote jazz. MCG Jazz, mcgjazz.org, is a social enterprise of Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild, a subsidiary of Manchester Bidwell Corporation, a non-profit arts and learning center.
Background Info
The eighteen-month collaboration between singer, lyricist and record producer to bring THE HOPE OF CHRISTMAS to the public has kept the holiday season and its inspiring message at the forefront for the many artists involved. Starting with a list of approximately thirty songs, the Ashby-Callaway- Schermerhorn team ultimately came up with the dozen songs (including two brand-new compositions by Callaway/Schermerhorn) that make up the playlist.
With the exception of the Emmy® nominated song I BELIEVE, which was first performed by Kermit the Frog and released as a single with Kermit the Frog and Disney star Tiffany Thornton, the songs on THE HOPE OF CHRISTMAS recording will be available to the public for the first time in these dynamic, all- new jazz arrangements by Jay Ashby, Marty Ashby, Callaway and Mike Tomaro.
“Christmas music, in all its styles, touches the heart like no other music I know,” says William Schermerhorn. “For over two decades, I have been blessed to have the opportunity to tell new Christmas stories for a wide variety of events through the lyrics of my songs. It’s a gift to now hear these songs interpreted by Ann Hampton Callaway and the extraordinary jazz musicians that Marty Ashby has assembled for this recording. Knowing that proceeds from the sale of this recording benefit MCG Jazz to carry out its mission is like having extra tinsel to make the holiday season shine even brighter.”
“MCG Jazz is honored to be a part of this important project,” says Marty Ashby. “Bill Schermerhorn’s lyrics are such a powerful representation of the spirit of the holiday season and there is no one more elegant than Ann Hampton Callaway to deliver the message in a most profound way.”
Reflecting on this collaboration, Ann Hampton Callaway comments that “Singing and composing music for this collection of Bill Schermerhorn’s new holiday songs has been a joy and an honor. Since music has the power to open hearts and unite us, may the spirit of this record inspire each listening heart to bring more love to each day, so that the season of love can last all year round!”
Reviews
“Sung with her impeccable intonation and perfect pitch, Ann takes each song to untold heights”
“It’s classic Ann Hampton Callaway, sung in a voice that just gains in substance the deeper she digs into a phrase. Those vocals and her definitive phrasing on every note, along with a quickening vibrato on drawn-out notes as she expresses emotion as only she can, make her the one-of-a-kind artist she remains.”
“Ann Hampton Callaway has given followers a special gift. Order it before it sells out.”
“The album is jazzy, hopeful, modern, and infused with the dark golden honey of one of the finest voices in jazz today. The pure heart and the hope that Christmas feelings will last all year.”
“From the title track to “One Star” to “I Believe,” the musical selections will kick off the season on just the right note.”
There’s fun songs, there’s straight songs, there’s serious songs and there’s a killer crew of jazzbos bringing up the rear. A totally new album from top to bottom, Killer stuff that’s going to become part of the ages.”