Click for larger Image!
Download Free Real Player
All Samples are in Real Audio Format.

Nominated for "Best Holiday Album", Just Plain Folks 2001 Music Awards

Thinking of Christmas brings fond memories of family gatherings and the bringing together of loved ones who are apart the rest of the year. While growing up, my dad's side of the family would all go to my Grandma's upstairs apartment for Christmas Eve dinner. This couldn't have been an easy undertaking for Grandma, since the family at that time consisted of her own three children and their spouses, and 12 grandchildren (Grandma now has 30+ great-grandchildren!) but the place was always filled with lots of love. I can still see the piles of presents everywhere, and Grandma's silver Christmas tree that slowly turned, with the spinning color wheel providing a light show. That will always be Grandma's tree. We still talk of the impromptu Christmas pageants the kids would put together and our fathers all falling asleep in a chair after dinner and the games in the hall.

These are the kinds of memories evoked when I think of Christmas. I know I have been blessed with such memories and I wouldn't trade them for the world. It is my wish that this selection of holiday music can, in some way, help to make new memories for everyone.

Along with the traditional holiday carols on this release, I have included three of my own original compositions. As with all my recordings to date, these were improvisations, unaltered in any way from their original recorded form.

I wish you joy in your heart, peace in your corner of the world, and good fortune in the coming years. With that, I am happy to present my holiday gift to you, Christmas Fireside. It is my wish that it helps to bring the holiday spirit to all who hear it.

This release is dedicated to my entire family. This time of the year has always been special for us and I hope that it will continue that way for many, many years to come.

Christmas Fireside Reviews

"Richard Carr has managed to breathe new life into a set of fourteen traditional holiday pieces and three original songs composed for “Christmas Fireside”....Carr improvises and embellishes in his own very distinctive style, bringing a fresh and personal interpretation to some well-worn holiday gems. If you believe that Christmas is so much more than Santa Claus, I think you’ll really enjoy this album."
- Kathy Parsons, Solo Piano Publications

"Just in time for the holidays, New Orleans pianist/composer Richard Carr has assembled a collection of 17 seasonal songs, including three original compositions.....It conjures up all the right images and memories of holidays past and thus has a timeless quality about it.....this CD would make an excellent Christmas gift; then, once unwrapped and opened, an even more excellent musical backdrop for that big holiday dinner."
- Dean Shapiro, Offbeat Magazine, December 2000

Click here to read the reviews in their entirety

Write your own review of Christmas Fireside at Amazon.com!

Credits

Recorded between December 1999 and May 2000 at the Dixon Annex Lecture Recital Hall, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA
All music composed or arranged & performed by Richard Carr

Graphic design by Noah William Gilman.

Mastered by Parker Dinkins at MasterDigital, Inc New Orleans, LA.

Recording Engineering by Lenny Bertrand.


Original Happy Holidays WebRing
This Original Happy Holidays Webring
site owned by Richard Carr.
[Previous] [Next] [Next 5] [Random] [List ]

This Santa's Christmas Webring site owned by Richard Carr
[Prev|Skip Prev|Prev 5|List|Stats| Join|Rand|Next 5|Skip Next|Next]
Powered by RingSurf!