John Sheridan's Dream Band: Hooray for Christmas!

John Sheridan: piano
Warren Vache: cornet
Randy Reinhart: cornet
Dan Barrett: trombone
Russ Phillips: trombone
Ron Hockett: clarinet, alto sax
Scott Robinson: clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor sax
Dan Block: clarinet, alto sax, tenor sax, baritone sax
Eddie Erickson: guitar, vocals
Phil Flanigan: bass
Joe Ascione: drums

Rebecca Kilgore: vocals

This is not your usual Christmas album. There's no Jingle Bells. No Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. No Frosty the Snowman or any of the other over-roasted chestnuts that can summon forth the inner Scrooge in even the most ardent celebrant of the holidays. With a single happy exception, John Sheridan stays away from the pre-tested, tried and true Christmas songs, and drawing upon his vast knowledge of American popular music offers up a program of overlooked and under-appreciated gems that in their freshness, along with the joyful enthusiasm with which they are played, summon forth some of the fullness of good feeling that the holiday season was originally meant to convey.

—From the album notes by Ross Firestone, author of the award-winning Swing, Swing, Swing: The Life and Times of Benny Goodman

Selections:

Hooray for Christmas!
Pocketful of Miracles
The Holiday Season
Christmas Will Be a Little Lonely This Year
(Everybody's Waiting For) The Man With the Bag
The Christmas Blues
Cool Yule
I Know Why and So Do You
Plenty to Be Thankful For
A Song for Christmas
Little Jack Frost Get Lost
The Difficult Season
Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town