A Debut Album? For The Faithful - At Christmas!?
Who's Dave Cornwall? What does his debut album sound like? Who was it influenced by?
All great questions! The short answers are that some seem to find the sound of this album reminiscent of Vince Guaraldi, the pianist and composer of much of the Charlie Brown Christmas Special sound track. Some hear a Dave Brubeck influence... Yet others hear some George Winston. The truth of the matter is that For the Faithful - At Christmas is pretty something unique!
For those that would ask, so why a Christmas album? Aren't there enough Christmas recordings?! When asked about this, Dave smiles, and leans in. In his own words, he shares quite a lot -
"Oscar Peterson recorded some really great music that he called, "Exclusively For My Friends." These recordings seemed both personal, and very unique to me. My album is very much like that based on what I've been told from those who have heard it. Truly, some of the messages on my answering machine have just been amazing. With it's religious overtones, this album seems to have meaning for people in deep ways that are hard for me to put into words. Quite honestly, I didn't expect these types of effusive reactions from people but, it's certainly very, very flattering."
"Friends had for a long time asked me to share my arrangements with them and this was a great way to do so. Similarly, I felt like I wanted to give something tangible to families celebrating those special "family" Christmas, starting with my own three kids. Also, with the seemingly growing turmoil and terror in the world, the time to do this seemed to be now. And, my choosing to include my very own rendition of Let There Be Peace on Earth seemed like a very natural fit at Christmastime especially for the times that we're living in right now.."
"As to why another Christmas album, well, some families, like mine for example, have just a very few truly special Christmas recordings that are really "must haves" for one or more parts of our own "tradition." For many, however, solo piano and jazz piano have both endearing and emotional qualities that rise gently above the music in the mall, the radio in the car, and everything else that Charles Schultz's Linus might say is "just too commercial." And so, it certainly seemed like there was "room" for a truly classic 18 song full length album for the true meaning of Christmas in other words, what Christmas is really all about.
"My hope is that For the Faithful - At Christmas! will add to people's true enjoyment and appreciation of Christmas in the ways that are certainly relaxing and fun, and maybe, even in ways that are also unexpectedly meaningful. For those who want to appreciate a less commercial and maybe even more peaceful and quiet aspect of their Christmas celebration, I hope that For the Faithful - At Christmas will find a truly special place in their hearts, and on their shelves, maybe even next to A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Santa Clause, or even, It's a Wonderful Life...true greats from three separate generations, yet also for each generation and most probably, for generations to come."
"It's no less than amazing what music can do for the soul! It is amazing what jazz piano can do for Christmas!. I hope you love this album!"
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Dave Cornwall