Isaiah J. Thompson | A Guaraldi Holiday | Album
Acclaimed pianist and composer Isaiah J. Thompson offers jazz lovers a spirit-lifting gift this holiday season, announcing the release of A Guaraldi Holiday (Outside In Music/Jazz Bird Records) on December 1st, 2023.
A tribute to the eclectic music of Vince Guaraldi – work which served as a both an introduction to jazz, and as a childhood soundtrack for generations of music lovers, Thompson included – the invigorating set was co-produced by Thompson with John Pizzarelli and features 12 fresh tracks, each one an exercise in nostalgic expressionism.
Filled with adventurous and spirited full band performances, the album is led by Thompson’s crisp piano and warmed by a contemporary creative fire – yet harkens back to the iconic holiday TV specials of mid-century America. For many families, those music-filled shows turned into annual traditions, and for Thompson, they helped inspire the beginnings of a fast-rising career.
“To this day, any time I hear ‘Christmas Time Is Here,’ ‘Thanksgiving Theme’ or ‘Linus and Lucy,’ I’m reminded how much Guaraldi’s music has shaped who I am today,” he says. “The holidays carry so many of my most precious memories and I can’t imagine them without Guaraldi. I want to pay tribute to him because for so many people I believe Vince Guaraldi may have been their introduction to great music and to jazz.”
New from Outside In Music:
