There are about 10 Christmas songs that we here over and over. "Joy to the World", "Silent Night", "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"... you know the ones. Arrangers bend over backwards to try to find a new angle for "O Come All Ye Faithful" in their marching band/solo piano/pop single arrangements. Kids sing them at school concerts. They're in the background on radio ads. They're belted out by pop stars to try to re-start stalling music careers. By December 26, though, you're likely to get expired eggnog chucked at you if you start singing "Jingle Bells".
The secret is: there are other Christmas songs. My friend Jenny picked out several that I hadn't heard before for us to play at a church party recently. It was so much fun that we decided to record a few of them. This is "Rise Up, Shepherds, and Follow". It's Mallory Nuzman singing with Jenny Webb on piano and myself on bass. Merry Christmas!
