THEBEAUTIFULDAY–KURTELLINGSINGSCHRISTMASAvailableOctober28onOKehRecords

WhenKurtEllingembracedthemeaning,thespiritandtheword“Christmas” increatinghisnewalbumTheBeautifulDay(OKeh),healsowantedtomakeaholidayalbumthatcelebrated the promise and magical energy of theChristmas season that touches people of all beliefs.Inventive and fresh, The Beautiful Day reimagines thesoundsofChristmas,mixingtraditionalcarolsdeckedoutinnew arrangements with songs that are revelations andrediscoveredtreats.TheBeautifulDaywillbe releasedonOKehRecordsOctober28,2016.Whileitsvibrantpedigreeisjazz,TheBeautifulDayallowed

Elling’s imagination to range far andwide in finding the right songs to hitwhat he called “asweetspot.”EllingcreatedthearrangementshimselfwithpianistStuartMindeman,aswellashis longtime collaborators, guitarist John McLean, bassist Clark Sommers and drummerKendrickScott.“IntheWesternworld,whetheryou’reaChristianornot,Christmashassomekindofseasonalrelevancetoyou,”Ellingsaid.“Youcan’treallyescapetheholiday–evenif it’sjustcomingatyou on television … For me, the holiday comes enriched with a lot of beautiful personalmemories.Italsocomesfreightedwiththeknowledgethatmillionsofotherpeoplearoundtheworldcarrytheirownsuchmemories;andnotallthosememoriesareofhappyoccasions.Soitwasdauntingtotakeonsomethingwithsomuchhistoryandresonance.IhopethatwiththismaterialIfoundasweetspot.”Included on The Beautiful Day are traditional carols – “Little Drummer Boy” and “We ThreeKings”–instrikingnewarrangements,aswellasthewistfulfolk-rockofDanFogelberg(“SameOldLangSyne”)andthejazz-and-gospel-influencedsoulofDonnyHathaway(“ThisChristmas”).AtrioofpopularcontemporaryChristmassongs-TerreRoche's"StarofWonder,"AlfredBurt&WihlaHutson's"SomeChildrenSeeHim,"andClaude&RuthThornhill's"Snowfall"–areheard,aswellasarecentarrival,"TheSnowisDeepontheGround"byJohnHollenbeck&KennethPatchen.Ellingalso createdanewsong (“TheMichiganFarm”),writing lyrics toamelodybyNorwegiancomposerEdvardGrieg.AcharmingrediscoveryonTheBeautifulDayisahandfulofsongs–includingthealbum’stitletrack,withavocalbyElling’sdaughterLuiza–fromLeslieBricusse’sOscar-nominatedbutoftenoverlooked score for the filmmusical Scrooge (1970), based on Dickens’A Christmas Carol.ThroughoutTheBeautifulDay,thebelovedCzechcarol“Wenceslas”–withitstaleofChristmas

love and generosity of spirit – appears three times, the basis for strikingly differentmusicalimpressionsoftheatmosphereofChristmas.“It’sa funny thing,going in tomakeaChristmas record–a strange,exhilarating, challengingthing–especiallywhenyourfatherwasachurchmusician,asminewas,andsomuchofyourchildhood was based around the church calendar and preparing music for religiousobservances,”Ellingsaid.“Themusiconthisalbumhasmeaning;it’sinclusive;it’sseasonal,bywhichImeantheactualseasonofwinterinNorthAmerica;andithasalittlebitofsearchingweighttoit–avoiding,Ihope,theusualseasonalcliché.”SonyMusicMasterworkscomprisesMasterworks,OKeh,Portrait,SonyClassical,RCARedSeal,and Masterworks Broadway imprints. For email updates and information please visitwww.SonyMusicMasterworks.comTRACKLIST:1.SingaChristmasCarol2.Wenceslaus(ImageI)3.StarofWonder4.WeThreeKings5.ChristmasChildren6.Wenceslaus(ImageII)7.SomeChildrenSeeHim8.LittleDrummerBoy9.Wenceslaus(ImageIII)10.TheMichiganFarm(CradleSong,Op.41/1)11.TheSnowisDeepontheGround/Snowfall12.SameOldLangSyne13.ThisChristmas14.TheBeautifulDay

BuyTheBeautifulDayhere:iTunes-http://smarturl.it/ke-beautifulday

AmazonDigital-http://smarturl.it/ke-beautifulday-mp3Amazon:http://smarturl.it/ke-beautifulday-cd

GooglePlay-http://smarturl.it/ke-beautifulday-gp

ListentoTheBeautifulDayhere:Spotify-http://smarturl.it/ke-beautifulday-str

AppleMusic-http://smarturl.it/ke-beautifulday-amkurtelling.comfacebook.com/KurtElling okeh-records.com sonymusicmasterworks.com