Decemberly by Suzie Ungerleider & Michael Johnston

Suzie’s voice paired with Michael Johnston’s piano stylings is a perfect blend for the holiday season! Here they interpret classics Old Toy Trains, What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?, Auld Lang Syne as well as three original songs, City Snow, Christmas Dreams and After the Holidays. The physical CD makes a great stocking stuffer or coaster for your glass of egg nog!

From Suzie:
"Even though I am a daughter of a Unitarian and an Atheist Jew, I love Christmas. As a kid my dad dressed up as Santa Claus – I have the evidence in an old photo taken with a Kodak camera, a shot of him sneaking through the window of my parents’ New York City apartment. Later my dad pretended he was like Scrooge, declaring that he hated Christmas and often said “Bah Humbug” meanwhile he wrote notes to me and my sister as Santa Claus that we would read on Christmas morning. I would catch him singing along to Nat King Cole, “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…” and know that he secretly loved the holiday. My mom, on the other hand, declared her love for Christmas whole-heartedly. She loved all things with ginger and spice, decorating the tree and sewed stockings for each member of the family. Ella Fitzgerald on the reel to reel tape recorder was often her soundtrack.

So every year I look forward to getting out the Christmas music from the 40s, 50s and 60s – much of it written by Atheist Jews singing about the good life in America, by the way. One January I didn’t want to stop listening to all this good music and decided to write a song called “After the Holidays” inspired by all those great Jazz and Pop crooners. I recruited my dear friend, pianist and songwriter Michael Johnston to write the lyrics with me…full of double entendres and flirtation – I even made up a word “Decemberly” to describe the magical feeling of the holiday time.

I decided it was time for me and Michael to record a mini album of holiday songs including our original “After the Holidays”. Before our recording session, in the summer, I was fooling around on the piano and came up with a little melody which turned into “City Snow”. In this tune, Michael wrote much of the story of a person “wishing for Winter” and for the return of a loved one. We resurrected another original song by Michael and his wife Annie entitled “My Christmas Dreams” about unrequited love and loneliness during the holiday season done in a cheeky vaudeville fashion. We also chose Frank Loesser’s “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” just simply because it is one of my all-time favourite holiday songs. Michael’s wife, Annie, loves Nana Mouskouri’s version of Roger Miller’s Old Toy Trains. Having a kid who never wants to go to bed - especially on Christmas - it was easy for me to sing this song from the point of view of a tired but adoring parent. Finally, Michael suggested we do Auld Lang Syne. He introduced me to a Celtic version of the song that he had heard on a trip to Scotland many years ago. We arranged our version by incorporating both the American and Celtic melodies. A perfect song of love and longing and the expression of thanks for good friends who help us along the way. This tear-jerker always reminds me of what the holiday is truly about: friendship, peace and love.”

Born in Massachusetts and raised in Western Canada, Suzie Ungerleider began performing under the name Oh Susanna in the mid-1990s.

For over two decades, thousands of shows, and nine critically acclaimed albums, Suzie’s gloriously emotive, crystalline voice, her bewitching performances and her fierce songwriting have consistently captivated audiences, her peers and the press.

suzieungerleider.com
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