Album Review: It’s An Ed Palermo Christmas! God Bless Us, Everyone! from The Ed Palermo Big Band

 

 

Album:  It’s An Ed Palermo Christmas! God Bless Us, Everyone!
Artist:  The Ed Palermo Big Band
Label: Sky Cat Records 
Release Date: November 13, 2026
Website:   www.palermobigband.com

From the start of It’s An Ed Palermo Christmas! God Bless Us, Everyone!, a narrative voice is present, guiding the listener through the recording, similarly to Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band  or the flix Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.   Bandleader, composer, arranger, and saxophonist  Ed Palermo, helms the ensemble of 26 musicians, crafting fantastical sound passages, taking the big band format into a cinematic realm with wide screen imagery and  whimsical turns.

"Little Drummer Boy" features Nina Hennessey on vocals and whisks the listener along a hypnotic tide that shifts into a picturesque sail through " Sofa/Away In A Manger," with psychedelic streaks generated by Robbie “Seahag” Mangano on guitar.   The mashup joins Frank Zappa's "Sofa" with the traditional Christian hymn "Away In A Manger," creating a stunning alliance.

Palermo continues partnering classic pop tracks, entwining Bruce Springsteen's "Candy's Room" with Frank Zappa's "Cruisin’ for Burgers" for an energizing rapport that showcases the glinting twirls of Katie Jacoby's violin.  Palermo’s original work "Christmas Carol," written more than forty years ago, highlights the  buoyed wails of Ben Kono's oboe and the thundering strikes of Ray Marchica's drums.  Bruce McDaniel's guitar strings have a Baroque style resonance in Ian Anderson's track "A Christmas Song" as McDaniel's vocals lead a train of rumbling horns, pairing progressive rock hooks with vintage folk threads.

For more than thirty years, Christmas performances have given Palermo and his big band the environment to flex their imaginations and stylistic freedom, wheedling pop, rock, folk, and jazz into a zesty amalgam of cinematic dimensions and wondrous dynamics.  Garnered in tender moments like "Little Drummer Boy," frolicking escapades like "Nut Rocker" and inspirational ruminations like "I Believe in Father Christmas," Ed Palermo means for listeners to find a tune that speaks to them and uplifts them in some small measure.

Musicians:
Ed Palermo - band director, arranger, composer, saxophone

Reeds:
Cliff Lyons — alto saxophone, clarinet
Phil Chester — alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute, piccolo
Bill Straub — tenor saxophone, clarinet
Ben Kono — tenor saxophone, oboe, flute
Barbara Cifelli — baritone saxophone, bass clarinet, mutant E♭ clarinet

Brass:
Ronnie Buttacavoli — lead trumpet
Augie Haas — lead trumpet
Bobby Spellman — trumpet
Charley Gordon — lead trombone
Mike Boschen — trombone
Matt Ingman — bass trombone
Christopher Olness — bass trombone

Violin:
Katie Jacoby — violin

Guitar & Vocals:
Bruce McDaniel — guitar, vocals

Keys:
Bob Quaranta — piano
Ted Kooshian — synth

Bass:
Paul Adamy — bass

Drums:
Ray Marchica — drums

Vocals:
Nina Hennessey — vocals
Mike James — vocals

Additional Musicians:
Robbie “Seahag” Mangano — guitar
Dave Riekenberg — tenor saxophone
John Bailey — trumpet
Steve Jankowski — trumpet
Tim Sessions — trumpet
Sara Jacovino — trombone