Christmas in Prison (Live)
November 26, 2021
With its seventh album Christmas In Prison, the Art of Time Ensemble – Canada’s genre-busting ensemble that fuses high art with popular culture – welcomed a distinctive gallery of guest artists to reimagine music from the holiday season.
Singers Jessica Mitchell, Jackie Richardson, Liam Russell-Titcomb, David Wall, Tom Wilson, & the Canadian Children’s Opera Company joined the Art of Time Ensemble, led by its founder/artistic director Andrew Burashko, on the album - a compilation of live recordings taken from five years of Art of Time’s popular To All A Good Night annual holiday shows.
The album features an eclectic mix of songs from legendary songwriters including John Lennon, Tom Waits, John Prine, Stephen Colbert & Elvis Costello, Steve Earle, Harrick Connick Jr., as well as works by Theodore Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) & Albert Hague, Tom Lehrer, & Alfred Schnittke. Much like the series of concerts that inspired it, this album aims to upend tradition as much as it celebrates it.
Repertoire/Credits/Media
1. YOU’RE A MEAN ONE, MR. GRINCH by THEODORE GEISEL & ALBERT HAGUE
arranged by JIM MCGRATH
featuring TOM WILSON & THE CANADIAN CHILDREN’S OPERA COMPANY
ANDREW BURASHKO piano, VERN DORGE sax & clarinet, DREW JURECKA violin, MARK KELSO drums, AMY LAING cello, DOUG PERRY viola, JOE PHILLIPS double bass, ROB PILTCH guitar, STEPHEN SITARSKI violin, KEVIN TURCOTTE trumpet
2. THERE ARE MUCH WORSE THINGS TO BELIEVE IN by STEPHEN COLBERT
featuring LIAM RUSSELL & DAVID WALL
ANDREW BURASHKO piano
3. SILENT NIGHT/CHRISTMAS CARD FROM A HOOKER IN MINNEAPOLIS by FRANZ GRUBER & JOSEPH MOHR/TOM WAITS arranged by STEVEN MACKINON
featuring JACKIE RICHARDSON & JESSICA MITCHELL
ANDREW BURASHKO piano, DAVIDE DIRENZO drums, ANDREW DOWNING double bass, JOHN JOHNSON sax & clarinet, DREW JURECKA violin, RACHEL MERCER cello, DOUG PERRY viola, ROB PILTCH guitar, STEPHEN SITARSKI violin, KEVIN TURCOTTE trumpet
4. (I’M SPENDING) HANUKKAH IN SANTA MONICA by TOM LEHRER
arranged by JIM MCGRATH
featuring DAVID WALL
JUSTIN ABEDIN guitar, ANDREW BURASHKO piano, ANDREW DOWNING double bass, NICK FRASER drums, JOHN JOHNSON sax & clarinet, DREW JURECKA violin, AMY LAING cello, DOUG PERRY viola, ROB PILTCH guitar, STEPHEN SITARSKI violin, KEVIN TURCOTTE trumpet
5. CHRISTMAS IN PRISON by JOHN PRINE
featuring TOM WILSON
6. HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER) by JOHN LENNON & YOKO ONO arranged by KEVIN FOX
featuring LIAM RUSSELL & THE CANADIAN CHILDREN’S OPERA COMPANY
ANDREW BURASHKO piano, DAVIDE DIRENZO drums, ANDREW DOWNING double bass, JOHN JOHNSON sax & clarinet, DREW JURECKA violin, RACHEL MERCER cello, DOUG PERRY viola, ROB PILTCH guitar, STEPHEN SITARSKI violin, KEVIN TURCOTTE trumpet
7. SANTA BABY by JOAN JAVITS, PHILIP & TONY SPRINGER arranged by BRYDEN BAIRD
featuring JESSICA MITCHELL
ANDREW BURASHKO piano, DAVIDE DIRENZO drums, ANDREW DOWNING double bass, JOHN JOHNSON sax & clarinet, DREW JURECKA violin, AMY LAING cello, DOUG PERRY viola, ROB PILTCH guitar, STEPHEN SITARSKI violin, KEVIN TURCOTTE trumpet
8. CHRISTMAS IN WASHINGTON by STEVE EARLE
featuring LIAM RUSSELL, DREW JURECKA mandolin, AMY LAING cello, DOUG PERRY viola, JOE PHILLIPS double bass, ROB PILTCH guitar, STEPHEN SITARSKI violin, KEVIN TURCOTTE trumpet
9. I PRAY ON CHRISTMAS by HARRY CONNICK JR.
arranged by JIM MCGRATH
featuring JACKIE RICHARDSON
ANDREW BURASHKO piano, VERN DORGE sax & clarinet, DREW JURECKA violin, MARK KELSO drums, AMY LAING cello, DOUG PERRY viola, JOE PHILLIPS double bass, ROB PILTCH guitar, STEPHEN SITARSKI violin, KEVIN TURCOTTE trumpet
10. STILLE NACHT by ALFRED SCHNITTKE
ANDREW BURASHKO piano, STEPHEN SITARSKI violin
ANDREW BURASHKO producer
EARL MCCLUSKIE recording & mixing engineer
SCOTT MCKOWEN graphic designer
Recorded live in concert between 2015 and 2019, at Harbourfront Centre Theatre in Toronto.
Artists
