Season’s Greetings!


It’s been roughly one year since I released Let’s Unwrap! on a whim and after receiving great feedback and a few generous donations last time around, I decided to make this an annual tradition.
Last year’s offering was originally done just to show my mother what my new Nord Grand keyboard sounded like, and how close it sounded to an actual piano (I even fooled a couple of professional musicians). This year, I took that keyboard into the shop to fix a key that was too loud, and it ended up taking longer than anticipated, so in its absence I turned to the Organ. 
For months in quarantine I’ve been kicking around the idea of overdubbing myself playing organ and piano and the opportunity presented itself with this little Christmas album. Overdubbing–the act of layering two recordings over each other–is typically frowned on in a jazz setting because it eliminates the ability to interact with the other members of the band and allow a group mentality to shift energy and mood at the drop of a hat. But as a tool in the studio it has led to great recording experiments such as Bill Evans’s grammy winning album Conversations with Myself.
Organ and Piano would be fine by themselves, but I decided to take it one step further and call one of my favorite musicians and have him add drums and percussion. Mackenzie Williamson kept asking if I wanted a jazz kit or something more unusual and I simply told him to do whatever he wanted: go traditional when he felt it or swing for the fences when his gut told him otherwise (give ‘Little Drummer Boy’ a listen).
Also, it’s worth noting this record was recorded in November 2020 during a global pandemic. Taking musicians into a studio would present a potential health risk, so this recording was made in our homes while socially distancing. This brings us to our title track.
“Blue Christmas” was one of my Dad’s favorite holiday songs and his memory pops into my head every time I hear it. I thought it would serve as a fitting crown jewel during a holiday season where gathering together is not only frowned upon, but potentially detrimental to our health. While our holidays will most likely range from small to lonely, I hope this album will bring out a little bit of that Christmas spirit. 
So here it is, Let’s Unwrap - Blue Christmas. During this season of giving and receiving you can download it for free, or give a gift and throw a few bucks back. Regardless, I hope it brings a little bit joy into your holiday season.


Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays,
Darren Denman
12/11/2020 


My deepest gratitude to Mackenzie Williamson for his incredible musical input and to Ben Murphy for mixing and mastering. Thanks as well to Banks Harris, Bobby Boyce, and Brennen Mayer for helping me develop the album cover. Last but not least, thank you to the legendary Randy Reffers for finding time to lay down pedal steel guitar on the reprise of “Blue Christmas”. It really does take a village.