“Cool Yule to You” is a mid-stream encapsulation of a series of very fun annual concerts performed 2002-2010 at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ. Originally filling in for the world-class Westminster Concert Bell Choir out on tour, the Cool Yule Jazz lark became its own pear-treed partridge to kick off WCC’s week of holiday concerts for the next several years. The initial clarinet-piano concert duo of Jerry Rife and Phil Orr soon morphed into themed shows with costumes and audience-participation, and the house usually sold out – clearly, vaudeville still lives. My arrangements bloomed like happy poinsettias each time they were displayed thanks to the talents and joyful personalities of Jerry, bassist Norm Edge, and drummer Sean Dixon – and again, guys, thank you.
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