I had the pleasure of mixing Melissa-Marie Shriner’s 2017 Christmas recording, “A Christmas Love Song,” a jazz vocal album in the classic tradition of Garland, Clooney and Streisand, yet with a sound that’s all Melissa. She described to me a vision of an after-hours big NYC jazz cabaret, her and the band working on tunes for a Christmas show, under a dim light, and that was that, I had all I needed to find the sound for this album.

There was a review passed on to me today:

“The CD is astonishing. I don’t mean really good I mean amazing. So many Christmas cds these days are way overproduced and commercialized. In addition to being really well produced and stunningly musical, it’s simple and honest and authentic in a way you don’t often hear these days.”

If that doesn’t make the project gratifying, nothing will. Melissa-Marie and I are already talking about other projects, hoping to capture more lightning in a bottle, perhaps, but the beauty of recording in this day and age is its access to world-class quality without world-class budgets.

If you’re looking for a chill vibe this holiday season, check out “A Christmas Love Song” on iTunes. Sure, I’m biased, but it’s a hit. Trust me.

-Scott

London, Ontario 11/26/2017