Russ Wilson

Rich Willey: Boptism Christmas

by Jack Bowers
November 20, 2024

With seasonal jazz albums in rather short supply this year, it is a pleasure to welcome Boptism Christmas, a series of mostly well- known holiday tunes ably performed by multi-instrumentalist Rich Willey and his impressive North Carolina-based octet-plus-one. The “plus one" applies to Tracks 5 and 6, on which Russ Wilson joins the ensemble to sing ("Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer") or play drums ("Little Drummer Boyz"). Wilson sings respectably on a jazzed-up version of “Rudolph," a mega-hit ...