Raymond Arroyo: Christmas Merry & Bright, by Raymond Arroyo. Album CD.
Over the years, Raymond Arroyo has hosted an array of illustrious musicians on his annual Christmas special. Viewers have delighted in listening to Raymond sing duets with the performers. Finally, Raymond has just released his own Christmas album Merry & Bright featuring traditional favorites with New Orleans’ jazz.
Arroyo has entertained and informed audiences in one way or another his whole life, as a contributor for Fox and CNN, with his New York Times bestselling books, and his frequent appearances on The Today Show, Fox News, Good Morning America, CNN Headline News, Access Hollywood, Erin Burnett Outfront, and The Ingraham Angle, and through beloved shows on EWTN (commonly known as “the world’s largest faith media network”).
In Merry & Bright Arroyo’s deeply rooted musical background takes center stage; having grown up singing in his native New Orleans, then graduating from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, followed by theater stints in London.
“I’ve always loved Christmas. It’s my favorite music ever and, full confession, I listen to it all year,” shared Arroyo in a recent video. “My audience mostly knows me from television and books. What they probably don’t know is in my early life, I was trained as an actor, I did a lot of musicals, and I sang.”
In his debut album, warm vocals and a touch of humor refresh and cast new light on a collection of Christmas standards we’ve all taken for granted. Backed by the jazz super group, The NOLA Players, Merry & Bright showcases Kevin Kaska’s (The Greatest Showman, Jungle Book) beautiful, new arrangements of the timeless “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”, a hard driving, “Joy to the World,” and a never-before heard orchestration of “The First Noel/We Magi of Orient Are.”
“I went through each of these tunes,” explained Arroyo. “Where did they come from? What did they mean? And I have to tell you, I was stunned by some of what I discovered. I thought okay, let’s go on this adventure.” There are a baker’s dozen of traditional carols and holiday favorites on the album: “Deck the Halls,” “Jingle Bells,” “The First Noel/We Magi of Orient Are,” “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” “Hark The Herald Angels Sing,” “Go Tell It On the Mountain,” “Christmastime is Here,” “Joy to the World,” “Christmas Mem’ries,” “Feliz Navidad” (featuring Jose Feliciano), “Silent Night,” (Introduction to) “We Wish You A Merry Christmas,” and “We Wish You A Merry Christmas.”
“That feeling that you get, there is a rich crackle in the room, you can hear it on those recordings,” shared Arroyo.
“When I knew that I was doing the Christmas album Merry and Bright, one of the first people who popped into mind was Jose Feliciano. His ‘Feliz Navidad’ is one of the most downloaded songs of the season and Jose agreed to do a new arrangement.”
Arroyo’s dynamic interpretations imbues the joyous rhythms of this repertoire while tugging at the heartstrings. Like a hot cocoa (with a toddy chaser) on a cold winter night, this album is sure to warm your home and holiday traditions this Christmas.
Raymond Arroyo is a New York Times bestselling-author, an international broadcaster and a contributor for CNN and Fox News who has worked for the Associated Press. Mr. Arroyo has been a contributor and/or made frequent appearances on: The Today Show, Fox News, Good Morning America, CNN Headline News, Access Hollywood, Erin Burnett Outfront, The Ingraham Angle and many more. He also enjoys a vast audience through his decades-long series of highly rated shows on EWTN (commonly known as “the world’s largest Faith media network”). His work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Newsweek, Time Magazine, The New Yorker, and elsewhere. A graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and the esteemed New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA), Raymond has performed and directed in New York and London. He has produced Billboard topping musical projects including The Birth of Christ with Liam Neeson (Sony Classics) and Christmastime in New Orleans (Verve/Universal). His string of New York Times Bestselling books, Will Wilder series (Random House), The Spider Who Saved Christmas, The Wise Men Who Found Christmas, and The Thief Who Stole Heaven (Sophia) and Turnabout Tales (Harper Collins) have become household favorites for his devoted global audiences. Arroyo also hosted the Telly Award-winning special for Public Broadcast (PBS) called Christmastime in New Orleans. A native New Orleanian, Mr. Arroyo is passionate about sharing the unique culture of his beloved Crescent City and the great state of Louisiana. Arroyo is also well-known for his captivating interviews. Highlights include: Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Placido Domingo, Martin Sheen, Mary Higgins Clark, Mel Gibson, Tim Conway, Mark Burnett, and a groundbreaking interview with comic legend, Jerry Lewis, to name just a few. Each Christmas, throughout his broadcast career, Arroyo has sung with legendary singers of the season. To date, Arroyo has entertained an estimated 400 million global households.
