by Matt Forbes

 

Before we dive into my new holiday release, ‘The Twelve Minutes of Christmas’, I have to extend my sincere thanks to Brad, Mother Miriam and Lauren for their unwavering support over this past year.  As it happens, it was almost exactly a year ago that I first met the Martini crew at the annual Ron Jones’ Christmas Show.  Whether it’s been introducing new music or promoting my live appearances here in Los Angeles, their enthusiasm and support towards me as a young new artist breaking into this genre has been nothing short of remarkable. 

 

Which brings us to ‘The Twelve Minutes of Christmas’ — my debut EP, which also just happens to be a Christmas album.  Of course, one of the great ironies of recording a Christmas album is that in order for it to be ready for the holiday season, you actually need to record it in the summer.  As such, the preparation for this album began in late May, when I began the daunting task of narrowing down my favorite Christmas songs to four selections.  After much deliberation, I began sketching out possible concepts for each track with my arranger, Callum Au — a brilliant, 24 year-old composer based in London, who’s arranged for the BBC Concert Orchestra and GRAMMY nominee, Jamie Cullum.  With the charts underway, I then set about assembling my ‘Big Little Band’ for the recording session — it’s here that a tremendous amount of credit must go to the great Ron Jones (composer of ‘Family Guy’).  From my recurring stints as guest vocalist with his 23-piece Influence Jazz Orchestra, I came to know — and was able to draw upon — a number of his legendary studio musicians to create my own little big band, including Alan Steinberger, Doug Webb, Steve Hughes and Ken Wild along with the insanely talented John Chiodini, Carl Saunders and Jake Reed. With the band in place, we recorded the EP over 2 sessions at the legendary Capitol Studios in Hollywood (you actually can watch us record “White Christmas” here)  Damon Tedesco went above and beyond with the engineering and mixing while Mike Wells infused the album with a classic warmth through his analogue mastering to tape.

 

We had an absolute ball recording the EP — so I wanted to share a little background on each of the four tracks…

 

For our opening track, I knew I wanted something bold and cheeky that really would start the album off with a bang.  Now “bold and cheeky” might seem like an odd way to approach Irving Berlin’s ‘White Christmas’ — a song traditionally done as a ballad.  However, knowing that Bing Crosby’s original reading would never be bettered, I knew a completely different approach was needed. Enter Count Basie and The Drifters!  I’ve always loved the explosive sound of the Basie band and thought that sound coupled with the spirit of The Drifters’ 1954 version could make for a winning combo.  So this is really my homage to both groups — aided tremendously by this incredible band (and Alan Steinberger doing a remarkable job of channeling The Count throughout!)

 

Of course no Christmas album would be complete without this immortal classic by Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin.  Over the years, the song has lent itself to many different approaches.  Because I wanted to bring a younger, more modern sensibility to the lyrics, I thought a more intimate, pared-back approach to the arrangement might reveal a different side of the song.  While Jeff Buckley’s cover of ‘Hallelujah’ began as an inspiration here, the masterful solo work by John Chiodini on guitar, Ken Wild on bass and Doug Webb on the sax quickly transformed it into something very different again.

 

This was one Christmas song I actually discovered a bit later in life (though at 26, I suppose it’s still quite early!) This lesser known Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn gem was originally written for Frank Sinatra as a B-side to his recording of ‘White Christmas’. The song has seen its share of covers over the years —  some lighter in spirit, some decidedly more wistful — but it’s simple, beautiful melody and evocative lyrics have made it one of my absolute favorites. Perhaps taking a nod from the Canadian Brass, I always envisioned my version of The Christmas Waltz as an understated horn feature. Steve Hughes contributes some truly beautiful solo work on the tenor trombone, while Jake Reed’s delicate brush work evokes the snowy, wintry landscape that Sammy Cahn writes of.

 

Truth be told, this may be my favorite Christmas song of the bunch. Originally introduced by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters in 1949, this cheeky ode to Hawaiian Christmas is one that I was introduced to in the early 90’s through National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.  Of course, we were without the Andrews Sisters, so Callum and I set about giving the song a different kind of build.  What you’re hopefully left with is a loving homage from a 26 year-old Canadian to that grandfather of all Christmas music (let alone American popular music) Bing Crosby.

 

The ’Twelve Minutes of Christmas’ is available worldwide through iTunes as well as the US Amazon.com website which will ship globally.  You can keep up on the latest with Matt via his Official Facebook Page.

 

Matt was in studio on November 4th and if you missed the interview, you can see it here.