What can I say, I love Christmas music; always have! OK, it is a bit annoying hearing it everywhere I go during the holiday season. There’s no escape! But deep down I love it, and through the years I’ve amassed an impressive collection of CDs containing holiday music in every style imaginable, from rock to jazz to Creole to Gypsy to folk to classical; you name it.
So I was thrilled when just a week or two ago, I was contacted by the fine British guitarist Rossini Hayward, whose Pieces of Mind album I reviewed favorably back in August, telling me he is working on an album of Christmas music, and he even included a video of one of his lovely solo guitar arrangements: “Silent Night.” I am happy to share that here, along with a second arrangement, “The Little Drummer Boy.” Hayward, who lives in Freiberg, Germany, plays a 2014 guitar made by Sascha Nowak—a spruce double-top with balsa herringbone structure.
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Whatever your feelings about the holidays (good, bad, indifferent), I sincerely hope these two gentle renderings will bring you all some peace and joy as we hurtle into 2019! —Blair Jackson