Christmas Time Is Here Fay Claassen & Cor Bakker

• 1 Silent Night 04:24
• 2 Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas 03:17
• 3 What A Wonderful World / Joy to the World 03:19
• 4 Sleigh Ride 03:08
• 5 Tweedehands Sneeuw 03:37
• 6 The Christmas Song 03:24
• 7 A Child Is Born 04:36
• 8 Driving Home For Christmas 03:31
• 9 Christmas Time Is Here 03:45
• 10 Let It Snow 02:57
• 11 Good Times 02:55
• 12 Het Wonder 04:35
• Total Runtime 43:28

Info for Christmas Time Is Here

Christmas is a time of celebration, hope and warmth with loved ones. It is a time of family and togetherness, where intimacy and contemplation are important. These are the perfect ingredients for singer and four-time Edison Jazz winner (the Dutch Grammys) Fay Claassen and pianist and TV personality Cor Bakker to tell a musical story together. On the album Christmas Time is Here, released on the JazzJazz Records label, the duo interprets well-known and classic Christmas songs in their own way, complementing each other seamlessly. This can be heard, for example, in the title track of the same name, which embodies the blissful feeling of Christmas Eve. The original was written by Vince Guaraldi and was written for the 1965 animated film A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Fay and Cor were also inspired by Karen Carpenter in Sleigh Ride and the classic sounds of Silent Night. There is also a touch of jazz from Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong in The Christmas Song and What A Wonderful World, and the hit Riding Home For Christmas by Chris Rea has a slight Latin twist.

Christmas Time Is Here also contains two Dutch songs. With the modest Secondhand Snow (Tweedehands Sneeuw), Fay pays tribute to her namesake Fay Lovsky. Lovsky's poetic lyrics can make the listener celebrate Christmas differently. Equally unique is the performance of The Miracle (Het Wonder), written by the well-known Dutch comedian Toon Hermans.

Fay has made the song Good Times her personal anthem. She has recorded it with large orchestras and big bands, but the song, which her husband Paul Heller wrote especially for her, also works very well in a duo line-up. Saxophonist Paul Heller (WDR Big Band) also produced the Christmas album, which consists of 12 songs.

Fay and Cor have not yet released a duo album, but have been performing successfully together for many years. Fay about Cor: "When I sing with Cor, I don't need an orchestra. Cor offers the perfect accompaniment, he has the whole package, and he knows how to translate the right ideas that the music needs into his subtle piano playing. We inspire each other, and that lets us 'fly' without worry, because we always catch each other. That creates enormous musical trust. There are magical moments captured on this album, and I am very grateful for that!"

Cor about Fay: "When I heard the recordings of this Christmas CD again after a long time, I was very pleasantly surprised. This album radiates a calmness from start to finish that I hope and expect many people will enjoy. I had a lot of fun making this album with Fay; but I always do when I play with this fantastic singer. I have a great symbiosis with her."

Fay Claassen, Vocals
Cor Bakker, Piano

Recorded and mixed by Klaus Genuit at Hansahaus Studios, Bonn
Mastered by Thomas Ölscher at Railroad Tracks Studios, Kerpen
Produced by Paul Heller, Jens Bosch (Executive Producer)

Fay Claassen
The Dutch power woman of jazz, Fay Claassen, is one of the best-known and most diverse singers in The Netherlands and belongs to the European top. Fay is a musical phenomenon, known for her elegance and delicacy; a sophisticated singer who does not shy away from crossovers and other genres. She knows how to move her audiences with ease with her endearing voice. “Fay Claassen is to singing what Audrey Hepburn was to the movies: elegant and graceful“- American jazz magazine CADENCE Fay Claassen received many prestigious (inter)national music prizes. In 2022 she won her fourth Edison Jazz Award, making her the only Dutch contemporary vocalist to have this to her name. She also received a Golden Record and the Chet Baker Award. Fay is a regular guest with the most renowned big bands and orchestras, from the Metropole Orchestra and Brussels Jazz Orchestra to Danish Radio Big Band and WDR Big Band. In May 2023 the new album, Symphonic Stories, is released in collaboration with the classical Residentie Orchestra from The Hague. Fay performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival for nine times, and she is also frequently invited as a guest teacher at conservatories, such as Amsterdam and Antwerp.

Fay will also focus on various new projects in 2023 and 2024, such as with Jakob Helling New Concert Band, Thierry Lang Trio and Orchestra, a tribute to Ann Burton with the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw, a tour with the Metropole Orchestra and various albums that will be released.

This album contains no booklet.