SONGoftheWEEK: “Joy to the World” with Bob Thompson & Friends
LISTEN:
“March of the Magi,” traditional French melody. Recorded Dec. 14, 2006
IF YOU GO: This year’s “Joy to the World” is 8 p.m. Dec. 13 at the Cultural Center in the state state Capitol Complex. Tickets $20.50 plus service charge by calling (800) 594-TIXX or visit wvpubcast.tv/joy.html. They can also be purchased at Taylor Books. Tickets $25 at the door, although the show usually sells out in advance.
Fans of Bob Thompson’s annual “Joy to the World” music celebration can now get a CD compilation of past highlights from the holiday show. Bob Thompson Productions just released “More Joy to the World” on the Colortones.com label. A compilation of performances from past editions of the annual holiday show, the disc was released to coincide with this year’s event, which takes place 8 p.m. Dec. 13 at the Cultural Center Theater.
The recording features jazzy renditions of holiday songs by the Bob Thompson Unit from the years 2000 to 2006. It also features a performance by the Appalachian Children’s Chorus with guest vocalist Toni Lynn Washington.
“More Joy to the World” is a follow-up to the first Joy to the World CD, which featured music from the first five years of the show. It will be available at the show this year and at Taylor Books and Budget Tapes and Records.
“For the guys in the band, Joy to the World is like our annual Christmas party with each other, and with our audience here in the Charleston area,” said Thompson. “This CD brings back fond memories of the great times we’ve had doing the show over the past several years. We are especially proud that this is our fifteenth year, and we have Catherine Russell, who is a great singer, coming in from New York to be this year’s special guest.”
“More Joy to the World” features Bob Thompson on piano, Doug Payne on saxophone, Ryan Kennedy on guitar, Tim Courts on drums and John Inghram, Chris Allen and Dwayne Dolphin on bass. “Joy to the World” is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
