{"id":58145,"date":"2019-12-09T09:06:46","date_gmt":"2019-12-09T09:06:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=58145"},"modified":"2019-12-08T17:55:57","modified_gmt":"2019-12-08T17:55:57","slug":"the-essential-advent-calendar-december-9-singing-star-jennifer-saran-releases-new-single-dont-let-it-be-a-sad-ol-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2019\/12\/the-essential-advent-calendar-december-9-singing-star-jennifer-saran-releases-new-single-dont-let-it-be-a-sad-ol-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"The Essential Advent Calendar: December 9 – Singing Star Jennifer Saran Releases New Single \u2018(Don\u2019t Let It Be) A Sad Ol\u2019 Christmas\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Door number 9 of The Essential Advent Calendar reveals internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Jennifer Saran, revving up holiday spirits with a smashing new single, \u2018(Don’t Let It Be) a Sad Ol’ Christmas\u2019. Hot on the heels of her breakthrough jazz EP, \u2018Smoky Nights\u2019, the track was released December 6 via Tarpan Records.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The single is yet another winning collaboration between Saran and superstar producer Narada Michael Walden (Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey). As Saran points out, she and Walden had strikingly similar ideas concerning the title:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe had just finished \u2018Smoky Nights\u2019, which had a fair share of melancholy tunes, so when I was talking to Narada about doing a Christmas song, I said, \u2018I don\u2019t want anything sad, not this year.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then Narada recalled how his grandmother, whenever something went wrong, used to say, \u2018It\u2019s going to be a sad ol\u2019 Christmas.\u2019 The two of us laughed and said, \u2018Well, that\u2019s it then. We\u2019re not going to have a sad ol\u2019 Christmas.\u2019 We had our title.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Musically, \u2018(Don’t Let It Be) a Sad Ol’ Christmas\u2019 is a masterstroke \u2013 it\u2019s kitschy, tongue-in-cheek jazz set in a smoke-filled nightspot, full of swanky horn pizzazz and the familiar jingle-jangle that befits any holiday standard. Walden, who recorded the track at his own Tarpan Studios, tackles the majority of the instrumentation, but he knows when to let one of his key players loose \u2013 Tammy Hall\u2019s impeccable twinkling of the ivories is a standout moment that elicits a Saran shout-out: \u201cOn piano, Miss Tammy Hall!\u201d<\/p>\n

Saran\u2019s performance is bravura stuff. Singing in a rich and radiant style that at first recalls Rosemary Clooney, she draws listeners in:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cNow we all wanna celebrate\/ though we can\u2019t always get a break\/ but we all have to try and make \u2013 Christmas a Thing.\u201d At the chorus, the orchestra swells and Saran opens her voice up full-throttle with her mission statement: \u201cNo more sighin\u2019\/ no more cryin\u2019\/ get hap-py\/ don\u2019t let it be a sad \u2018ol Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Backed by the ace background vocals of Cornell CC Carter, Nat\u00e9 Soulsanger, Katie Walden and Kristie Isaacson, Saran whips up a sassy mood throughout, peppering the final chorus with playful ad-libs like \u201cCandy canes!\u201d and \u201cPresents!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI had a great time recording the song with Narada,\u201d Saran enthuses. \u201cOur method of collaboration is so effortless much of the time. He had the bones of the melody, and I went off and wrote the lyrics. When it came time to do my vocals, I just put myself in the Christmas spirit and we had fun with it. I hope that will translate to listeners.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u2019(Don’t Let It Be) a Sad Ol’ Christmas\u2019 isn\u2019t Saran\u2019s first trip down holiday lane. In 2015 she turned critics\u2019 heads with \u2019Merry Christmas, You Are Loved\u2019, also produced by Walden, and two years later she re-teamed with the veteran hitmaker for Souful Christmas, a delightful set of gems which saw her joined by the Temptations on the single, \u2019Christmas Lover\u2019.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cAs I say in the new song, I really love making Christmas a \u2018thing,\u2019\u201d Saran says. \u201cI\u2019ve always gone overboard during the holidays with my kids \u2013 there\u2019s always lots of presents under the tree. And I get so much joy from singing Christmas songs. It\u2019s important to do whatever you can to make people happy and bring them into the spirit of this time of year.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The recent success of her \u2018Smoky Nights\u2019 EP has Saran\u2019s spirits on high. Rocktimes cited its \u201chigh elegance\u201d and said that \u201cone is enveloped by the atmosphere\u201d while comparing Saran to the likes of Rosemary Clooney, Sarah Vaughan and Frank Sinatra. \u201cI\u2019ve been so knocked out by the reviews I\u2019ve been receiving,\u201d Saran says. \u201cI\u2019m especially pleased at how European audiences and critics have responded. They take their jazz very seriously, and they can be kind of picky, so to see them accepting what I\u2019m doing has been a real thrill.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2020, Saran is planning to expand \u2018Smoky Nights\u2019 to a full album, but before then she\u2019ll release two new songs, \u2018Rescue My Heart\u2019, and \u2018Almost Five O’Clock\u2019.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI\u2019m having the best time, and I think my new music is the best I\u2019ve ever done,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to a year of fun and surprises.\u201d She laughs and adds, \u201cBut before then, let\u2019s make Christmas a \u2018thing\u2019!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For more information, please visit Jennifer Saran\u2019s \u00a0website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Order \u00a0\u2018(Don’t Let It Be) a Sad Ol’ Christmas\u2019 here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Door number 9 of The Essential Advent Calendar reveals internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Jennifer Saran, revving up holiday spirits with a smashing new single, \u2018(Don’t Let It Be) a Sad Ol’ Christmas\u2019. Hot on the heels of her breakthrough jazz EP, \u2018Smoky Nights\u2019, the track was released December 6 via Tarpan Records.<\/p>\n

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