Christmas is, perhaps unsurprisingly, my favourite holiday.

No look, I go BIG. The decorations, the overfeeding, the sobbing credit card…everything. i’m usually away with work so Christmas time is when I manage to recharge and really lean into the merry-making. I look at it as the reward for the year that has past. If that is the case, this Christmas has it’s work cut out for it. Also, there is no Christmas Card for Corona.

One of my fondest memories of Christmas is listening to Christmas Carols on the radio whilst my mother cooked the feast of feasts. Over time carols were replaced with Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and the King of Yule Cool, Bing Crosby. Festive Swing music was the perfect embodiment of the feeling I had from 13 – 25 December. As time has gone by, the holiday has become richly important to me and I wanted a project in order for more people to feel that way first hand.

Over the years I have recorded various albums, mostly in the Musical Theatre vein. Almost every single one was recorded at Howard Audio in Johannesburg. The owner, Adam Howard, and I became good “mates” and often would chat about new ideas and projects. The stars truly aligned one day when he casually remarked that I should consider a Christmas album with the Johannesburg Big Band. His reasoning was that this particular music is timeless and, therefore, endlessly “listenable”. Oh, did I not mention that he is also the conductor of that? Yes. He is…

So here we are. Offhand whatsapp conversations and passing comments have created our Chirstmas Swing Album, Swingle Bells! This is something i have wanted for as long as I can remember. An album of timeless songs played by kickass musicians having a good ol’ time. May this be an album you enjoy with your family every Festive Season or any other time you deem appropriate.

TRACK LIST