A Child Is Born is an album of Christmas carols by pianist Geri Allen with vocalists recorded in 2011 and released on the Motéma label.Geri Allen catalog, accessed July 2, 2014
Reception
AllMusic awarded the album 4 stars, stating, "this is a holiday collection for the more adventurous jazz piano fan, rather than for someone looking for a safe, warm, and fuzzy set of jazzed-up Christmas tunes".Ruhlmann, W., Allmusic Review accessed June 30, 2014 The Guardian review by John Fordham awarded the album 3 stars, noting, "Wherever you're coming from, this remains the work of a gifted improviser exploring timelessly haunting songs".Fordham, J., The Guardian Review, December 23, 2011 PopMatters reviewer Josh Langhoff said, "Geri Allen’s mostly-solo, mostly-jazz-piano album A Child Is Born flows through traditional Christmas songs and hymns with much facility, some invention, and a couple of surprises"Langhoff, J., PopMatters Review, December 11, 2011
Track listing All compositions Traditional except where noted.
"Angels We Have Heard On High" – 4:24 "A Child Is Born" (Thad Jones, Alec Wilder) – 3:43 "Imagining Gena at Sunrise" – 1:10 "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" – 7:31 "Journey to Bethlehem" (Geri Allen) – 1:12 "We Three Kings" (John Henry Hopkins, Jr.) – 5:08 "Little Drummer Boy" (Katherine Kennicott Davis) – 5:00 "God Is With Us" (Allen) – 2:16 "Amazing Grace" (John Newton/Traditional) – 2:43 "Christmas Medley: Away in a Manger/What Child Is This?/Silent Night" (Traditional/William Chatterton Dix/Franz Xaver Gruber) – 4:32 "Imagining Gena At Sunset" – 0:32 "Let Us Break Bread Together" – 5:00 "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" (Richard Storrs Willis) – 6:24 "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" – 0:56
Personnel Geri Allen – Fazioli piano, celeste, Farfisa organ, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Hohner clavinet Carolyn Brewer (tracks 5 & 8), Connaitre Miller (track 8), Barbara Roney (track 8) – vocals Farah Jasmine Griffin – spoken word (track 5) Women Of the Gee's Bend Quilt Collective sampled and engineered by Jaimeo Brown (track 4)
References