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Last year, Kansas City jazz pianist Tim Whitmer put out his first album in two decades.
Now, with the help of guitarist Rod Fleeman of the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, Whitmer and his Good Time Quartet are back with a Christmas album titled "Happy Holidays."
They will perform songs from the record at a CD release party at the Black Dolphin on Wednesday, Dec. 17.
Whitmer told KCUR's Up To Date that because audiences have a deep familiarity with Christmas songs and they are so fun to play, he was eager to put out a holiday album of his own.
"What I like about Christmas time in jazz is you have a repertoire that is pretty well established," he said. "People like it, but it's also been done a lot. So, jazz gives you the possibility of reinterpreting it or interpreting it in the vein of which you play."
In preparation for the holiday season, Whitmer — along with his quartet and Fleeman — recorded these tracks back in August, in the middle of a hot and humid Kansas City summer.
"To get the album out (on time), you have to back it out to have it ready in November and we'd have to do it in August, " Whitmer explained. "So we thought, well, this can be a challenge. 100 degrees outside, baseball season, and nobody's really thinking Christmas."
- Tim Whitmer, musician
Tim Whitmer Christmas CD Release, 6:30-9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 17 at Black Dolphin, 1813 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Missouri 64108.
