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christmas for one - katie thiroux
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Christmas for One came to fruition very quickly! After (gratefully) being on the road and teaching non-stop since August 2021, I found myself back home for 2 days and feeling like I HAD to do SOMETHING useful with my time! I gave myself the task to record a few of my favorite Christmas songs with the idea and intention to not overthink anything. I allowed myself around 10 minutes to find the right key, chords and an arrangement and then clicked record! I recorded it in my bedroom with SM58 type mic simply plugged into my computer all in a single take…of course playing and singing simultaneously. And thanks to the mixing magic of my brother, it had the exact vibe that I intended!
The first song I started with was that classic “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” by Kent and Gannon. In my mind, I was going for simplicity, clarity, heart and the bass spirit of Charlie Haden! Melody, some bass solo and vocal improvising at the end with some authentic voice cracks…that’s MY instrument. The next Holiday favorite I tackled was the hymn, “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.” For this, I thought… “how would Ray Brown have played this?” and I had fun with it! Maybe a bit indulgent for bassists, but hey…I love my bass community!
Now, who doesn’t love the 1964 Claymation stalwart “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?” The melody that the young doe, Clarice, sings to a lovesick and grounded Rudolph, “There’s Always Tomorrow,” has stuck in my head since I first saw this so many years ago! While it’s not a traditional Christmas tune, it gets a pass because of the company it keeps. And, it is a sweet yet wistful melody that is sneakily depressing for the holidays! To finish off the foursome of songs I went with Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn’s “Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!” Does it get any more cheerful than that?
I think this album is the best recorded representation of what it is like in my head while I’m playing and singing. It has a raw quality that makes me truly feel like myself, I am not perfect and I love it all. I took the photo cover myself, no makeup, I don’t do my hair (mostly because I can’t!) – it is just me and that is why I called it, Christmas for One.
Mixed and Mastered by: Dominic Thiroux
Label: BassKat Music
Playing Time: 12 min 39 sec
There’s Always Tomorrow (2:55) – Johnny Marks
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (3:30) – Edmund Sears / Richard Storrs Willis
I’ll Be Home for Christmas (4:14) – Walter Kent / Kim Gannon
Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow! (1:58) – Jule Styne / Sammy Cahn
pHYSICAL CDS AVAILABLE
Introducing Katie Thiroux
Debut Record of the Year! NPR Jazz, Huffington Post, Jazz Journal Association
Katie Thiroux - bass/voice
Graham Dechter - guitar
Roger Neumann - tenor saxophone
Matt Witek - drums
Jeff Hamilton - producer
Introducing Katie Thiroux may be a first step for this young triple-threat talent, but it plays like the work of a well-seasoned veteran.
There's A Small Hotel; Don't Be On The Outside; A Beautiful Friendship; Wives And Lovers; I'm Old Fashioned; Ray's Kicks; The One I Love (Belongs To Somebody Else); Rosebird; Can't We Just Pretend; Shin Stockings; Oh What A Beautiful Morning.
Off Beat
Off Beat
Katie Thiroux - bass and voice
Roger Neumann - saxophones
Ken Peplowski - clarinet and saxophone
Justin Kauflin - piano
Matt Witek drums
"A highly recommended disc by a rising star in the jazz firmament."
- All About Jazz
"Following 2015's impressive Introducing Katie Thiroux , consider the vocalist-bassists Off Beat youthful promise wonderfully fulfilled."
- Jazz Times
“Off Beat,” Thiroux’s sophomore release, makes good on the promise of a multitasking talent who swings her bass with a Mack-truck-powered lilt that would make her hero Ray Brown proud, and who transforms her smallish voice into a thing of delight."
- The New Yorker