Roger Crane, L.A. Jazz Scene 'Annie Sellick is very much a jazz singer, who focuses on the music, but she is also a storyteller and her rendition of emotionally complex songs is masterful...she is also a stunning visual performer.' Ok, if you can't make it to the show, or if you've been and now you want the album, this is your corner. And finally a Christmas Album is here. And it's the jazz you'd expect from this singer...and some. Annie Sellick has established herself nationally and internationally in the jazz world, having performed or recorded with artists such as Eddie Higgins, Mark O'Connor's Hot Swing, Joey DeFrancesco, Bruce Forman, Akira Tana, David Hazeltine, Grant Stewart, Beegie Adair, Bela Fleck, Tommy Emmanuel, Howard Alden, Jeff Hamilton, Gerald Clayton, Tamir Hendelman, & Jeff Coffin and many others. During an era of regular appearances on the west coast, jazz writer Don Heckman Los Angeles Times printed,'...her own utterly unique musical personality...Sellick concentrates on standards known and lesser known...finding the gold in each. She sings everything with an ineffable perky enthusiasm. But Sellick's most attractive quality may be the manner in which she has transformed her influences into her own immediately identifiable style.' ?After the release of Street of Dreams, Christopher Louden printed for Jazz Times in an article: ?'Plenty of solid vocalists join the jazz sorority every year. But every once in a while along comes a contender so uniquely gifted that preeminence seems a foregone conclusion....Annie Sellick can be added to that elite circle.' ? 'Annie, when are you going to release a Christmas Album?' you have asked me since I was twenty-one. It seemed to me that a Christmas project should be earned and one must first deposit several CD projects into their career bank. I'm sure that with this, you all agree. Actually, I have no idea where I got that notion, but I'm coming up on twenty years of singing jazz professionally (I KNOW, right?) therefore this rite of passage into Christmas-project-deservedness - however infantile in my steps across the threshold - has indeed arrived. There's plenty in there for your jazz purists. Pianist Joe Davidian really delivers on his solos, as well as perfectly complimentary chord work behind two intimate piano / vocal Christmas standards. You'll especially love The Christmas Waltz. But I want to hear strings at Christmas too! The opening track was recorded with members of the Nashville Symphony, and violins and cello embellish three other songs on the album, including an Annie original. It's an eclectic mix of jazz trio, orchestra, gospel-blues, Nashville & hot club swing, but it's got Christmas all over it. I'm proud to include the new christmas hit 'Let's Make a Christmas Memory'. Memories, Tune by Tune: Bring a Torch Jeanette Isabella - I watched an entire symphony orchestra move elbows in 3/4 time while the dreamy sounds came live through my headphones. Closing my eyes, I sent myself ice skating across a silver lake, and I sang. Let's Make a Christmas Memory - At my neighborhood pub decorated for Christmas, I wrote the words and melody to this song on a beverage napkin. That month my husband proposed, and we later walked down the aisle to a slow instrumental version. Winter Wonderland - To me it's 'strutting' in a Winter Wonderland; attitude, swagger, making a snowman, not taking life too seriously. Mental music video: I'm with friends and a bass player keeps appearing in the pine trees. The track was recorded with friends. The Christmas Waltz - For the rest of my life when I hear the gorgeous intro on this song, I will remember Joe at his piano and the way it feels to make meaningful music with a good friend. Sometimes I just listen to the intro and the rubato section over and over again, and clutch my chest. Baby It's Cold Outside (Bonus track on CD) - This appears on Matt Belsante's White Christmas Album. From separate booths, through microphones and headphones, we conjured a cold-night-steamy-love-affair that had the entire production team cracking up at the end of the song. To Those Who Believe - Last Christmas, my husband and I made this song and looked at one another, our eyes saying: oh-my-gosh-we-have-something-here. We recorded it immediately and enjoyed it 150 times in the car on the night snowy drive to be with his family in Illinois. That's What I Want for Christmas - 'When I walk through a room, let them SEE you need me...that's what I want for Christmas' she whispers. Ouch! I'm a lover of lyrics, and these kill me. A jazz ballad of the finest, most heart-wrenching sort. Hurry Home for Christmas - My husband's family will die when they hear we recreated this Steve & Eydie cult classic, a particularly precious surprise for them. They will surely tear up & relive past Christmases; swarm of parties, children, and minefields of crumpled wrapping paper. A Marshmallow World - My inner child loves these cute & clever lyrics, which I have sung acapella many times while grabbing the hand and swinging the arm of various friends or family as the season arrives. White Christmas - My mother was a folk singer in her youth, but gave it up when she 'grew up'. Last Christmas, my husband, my Dad, Mama and I 'jammed' (believe it or not) for the first time. This Christmas Album gave me a chance to make it official. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - My favorite Christmas standard - it bitter-sweetly says life ain't perfect and we don't know what's coming, but right now it's Christmas...we're together...and I want you to cherish that somewhere in your heart and in your moment. We Are One In The Spirit - The Hot Club of Nashville band is a total-joy project for me. We performed this live in an ornate cathedral - a benefit concert for the homeless - and we DUG 'digging in' to this chant-like Christian anthem, making it Christmas, making it swing, making it ours.