The new album of holiday classics available now features Dave Koz, Aubrey Logan, Casey Abrams, Ariana Savalas, and Dylan Chambers. Serov launched a U.S. concert tour with Peabo Bryson, Sheena Easton, and Ruben Studdard.
AJazz trumpeter-vocalist Ilya Serov has a busy holiday season planned with friends. He collaborated with a handful of friends – ten-time GRAMMY® nominee Dave Koz, Aubrey Logan, Casey Abrams, Ariana Savalas, and Dylan Chambers - on his first Christmas album, “Christmas with Friends,” which was released last Friday (November 28) by Neo Sound Records. On Saturday (November 29), Serov embarked on an 18-city U.S. concert tour with friends Peabo Bryson, Sheena Easton, and Ruben Studdard.
Indulging a long-held desire to record a holiday album, the question for Serov was what kind of an album to record. His catalog consists of a variety of jazz and pop spanning standards culled from the Great American Songbook, straight-ahead instrumental and vocal jazz, soulful R&B-pop, and contemporary jazz instrumentals. As a devout fan of the treasured Christmas recordings by Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and Perry Como, Serov decided to pay tribute to those timeless records. Producing the album himself, he brought in keyboardist, arranger, orchestrator, and conductor Nick Petrillo to help realize his vision of creating a retro-style collection. Swinging cadences, big band horn section, sweeping strings, and bebop ornamentation form the decorative backdrops for Serov’s debonair vocal delivery. Crooning with charisma, clarity, and elegance, he also plays trumpet and jazzohorn - the latter being a unique sounding instrument that he helped pioneer, which is a hybrid that is part flugelhorn and part saxophone - throughout “Christmas with Friends.”
“As we were working on the album, writing the arrangements, and seeing these songs come to life, I started hearing and imagining the sound of some of my friends who I absolutely admire and whose sound I was confident would open up and elevate these tracks. I feel so blessed and grateful that I got to collaborate with friends on this project: Ariana Savalas (vocals), Aubrey Logan (vocals and trombone), Casey Abrams (vocals and bass), Dylan Chambers (vocals and guitar), and one of my long-time musical heroes and mentors, Dave Koz (tenor saxophone), who introduced me to all these amazing artists. Each one of these artists has a distinct artistic voice and charisma and matches the vibe of the song and the arrangement so perfectly. Working with them made the process in the studio so special, unforgettable, and so much fun,” said Serov about “Christmas with Friends” that was primarily recorded at the legendary Henson Studios in Hollywood, which is now owned by GRAMMY-winning singer-songwriter-guitarist John Mayer who popped in during the recording sessions to offer support.
Serov and his duet partners were backed on “Christmas with Friends” by a collective consisting of Gary Matsumoto (piano and keyboards), Shane Savala (guitar), Cooper Appelt (bass), Greg Sadler (drums), and Jose Perez (percussion). The horn section was comprised of Michael Stever (trumpet), Bob Lawrence (trombone), Dan Kaneyuki (tenor saxophone and flute), and Tim McKay (baritone saxophone). Enhancing the tracks was the LA All-Star String Ensemble.
“Everything on this album was recorded live with real musicians and traditional acoustic instruments, which was typical for that era. It was especially important to me to make this record pure, performed by great musicians straight from the heart,” said Serov who is based in Austin, Texas, where additional recording sessions for the project took place.
Selecting a set list of traditional holiday songs and carols, Serov makes them his own with fresh arrangements, lush instrumentation, and spirited retro cool performances. Koz is featured on a keen medley blending “Skating” and “O Christmas Tree.”
Serov gifts listeners on “Christmas with Friends” with two originals: a new song that he wrote with Petrillo and Myah Marie, “That Christmas Feeling,” and “Angel,” a previously unreleased song written by a friend.
“My three-year-old son, Caden, loves Christmas music. I wrote ‘That Christmas Feeling’ to become part of the legacy that I want to leave for him. I hope he will grow up with this song and appreciate it. ‘Angel’ is an incredibly special song that was written by my dear friend, Laura Hagen, and her late husband, Earle Hagen. Earle was a legendary Hollywood composer, scoring music for television shows and films such as ‘I Spy,’ ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show,’ ‘Mod Squad,’ ‘Planet of the Apes,’ and many more. ‘Angel’ was originally written for a television series as an instrumental composition but was never used. Laura later wrote the lyrics for it and this album is the song’s official premiere,” explained Serov.
Serov costars on the Home for the Holidays concert tour that launched on Saturday in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He shares the marquee with two-time GRAMMY® winners Bryson and Easton and GRAMMY® nominee Studdard. The tour’s seasonal-themed set list presents holiday standards and a curated assortment of hits from the artists’ R&B, adult contemporary, and pop repertoire.
Friends served as an earlier muse for Serov who has a history with Koz that spans records and performing on the popular saxman’s annual jazz cruises. Koz appeared on Serov’s third album, 2021’s “Just Friends,” which was a mix of songs from the Great American Songbook and original tunes that peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard chart. Serov was joined on the outing by keyboardist Greg Manning, who has notched over a dozen Billboard No. 1 hits, along with guitarist Kay-Ta Matsuno, vocalist Matt Cusson, and saxophonist Alex Hahn.
Serov issued his debut album, “September in the Rain,” in 2013, which was a big band date made up of jazz standards. Five years later, his sophomore disc, “Back in Time,” offered classic cuts and contributions from noteworthy artist including GRAMMY-winning piano legend Roger Kellaway, two-time GRAMMY-winning saxophonist Eric Marienthal, and GRAMMY-winning percussionist Poncho Sanchez. Last year’s “Colors” album included music produced by two-time GRAMMY winner Paul Brown, multiple GRAMMY nominee Darren Rahn, and Billboard hitmaker Adam Hawley. GRAMMY-winning bassist Hussain Jiffry and Billboard chart-toppers Jeff Ryan and Oli Silk were featured soloists. On the big screen, Serov has crafted music and performed on the film score for “Creed II,” “Deadpool 2” and “Addams Family 2.”
“Christmas with Friends” contains the following songs:
“Let It Snow”
“Baby It’s Cold Outside” featuring Ariana Savalas
“Home For The Holidays”
“It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas”
“Skating/O Christmas Tree” featuring Dave Koz
“The Christmas Song”
“Holly Jolly Christmas” featuring Casey Abrams
“Angel
“That Christmas Feeling”
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” featuring Aubrey Logan
“Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” featuring Dylan Chambers
“Silent Night”
The complete itinerary for the Home for the Holidays tour with Ilya Serov, Peabo Bryson, Sheena Easton, and Ruben Studdard appears below:
November 29 Wilkes-Barre, PA
November 30 Collingswood, NJ
December 1 Old Saybrook, CT
December 3 Morristown, NJ
December 4 Lynn, MA
December 5 Waukegan, IL
December 6 Salamanca, NY
December 7 Detroit, MI
December 9 Elkhart, IN
December 10 Cincinnati, OH
December 12 St. Louis, MO
December 13 El Cajon, CA
December 14 Cerritos, CA
December 16 San Francisco, CA
December 17 Phoenix, AZ
December 19 Arlington, TX
December 21 San Antonio, TX
December 22 Abilene, TX
For more information, visit https://www.ilyaserov.com.
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