Award-Winning Broadcaster and New York Times Best Selling Author, Raymond Arroyo brings his New Orleans jazz roots and well-honed dramatic talents to a toe-tapping, heartwarming, all new classic Christmas album, Merry & Bright.
Each Christmas, throughout his broadcast career, Arroyo has sung with legendary singers of the season. A response to longtime fan requests, Merry & Bright charms listeners with Arroyo’s renaissance sensibilities. 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 supergroup, 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”. The album also captures unexplored emotions of the season with an all-new rendition of the beloved, “Feliz Navidad”-- complete with a moving duet with Grammy Winner, José Feliciano.
Soon to be a Christmas favorite, Merry & Bright will forever change the way you experience these cherished songs. Raymond 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's Merry & Bright is a must-have for memory making, wonder awakening, and yuletide joy.