Angels We Have Heard on High Street, Vol I and Vol II 

Since 2010, these CDs have raised thousands of dollars for local food banks, mostly the Bremerton Foodline. 

Angels We Have Heard on High Street Vol I is a CD of holiday favorites created by Bremerton's saxophone and flute virtuoso Mark Lewis and 8 other Northwest musicians. 

Angels We Have Heard on High Street Vol II is a CD of holiday favorites created by Bremerton's saxophone and flute virtuoso Mark Lewis and 22 other Northwest musicians. 

The CDs are free in exchange for a $20 donation to the food bank. All time and materials for the project were donated by the musicians involved. Sound engineering and production for the project were provided by master studio engineer, Mark Lewis. Rick White produced his own studio recording.

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The songs on the CD were recorded in Bremerton by local or visiting musicians. Most were recorded at Audio Daddio Studio. I'll be Home for Christmas, What Child is This, and were recorded live at Mark Lewis's weekly Friday jazz gig at the El Coral Mexican Restaurant in Bremerton. Jingle Bells was recorded by Rick White at his studio. Special thanks to Ira Langlois for providing his hand-made-in-Bremerton semi-grand piano for I'll Be Home for Christmas. 

The Songs Vol II: 

1. Intro – Mark Lewis 

2. Christmas Lullaby – Rhonda Stewart flute, Mark Lewis keyboard 

3. Gesù Bambino – Bud Schultz piano 

4. The Christmas Song – John Butler guitar 

5. I'll be Home for Christmas – Overton Berry piano, Mark Lewis saxophone 

6. O Holy Night – Butch Boles guitar 

7. Christmas Waltz – Karin Kajita piano 

8. O Christmas Tree – Mark Lewis saxophone 

9. What Child is This? – Jim Day guitar 

10. O Come, O Come Emmanuel – Bill Thoren harmonica, Rhonda Stewart Celtic harp 

11. Our Christmas Walk – Marilyn Davis guitar and vocal 

12. We Three Kings – Dan Cartwright guitar 

13. Beautiful Star of Bethlehem – Melissa Lynch vocal 

14. O Come All Ye Faithful – Ray Wood guitar 

15. The Little Drummer Boy – Bud Schultz piano 

16. Silent Night – Matt Jenkins keyboard and vocal 

17. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear – Herb Kloss flute 

18. Christmas Time is Here – Joe Rice piano, Ian Jones saxophone, Brandon Day guitar, Jaymes Dunlap bass, Janelle Howard drums 

19. Good King Wenceslas – Ashby Andrus clarinet 

20. Jingle Bells – Rick White bass and keyboard 

21. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen – Mark Lewis saxophone and keyboard 

22. The First Noel – Jamie Christian guitar, Mark Lewis flute 

The Songs, Vol I: 

1. Intro – Mark Lewis 

2. Grandma’s Christmas – Mark Lewis keyboard 

3. Christmas Time is Here – Bud Schultz piano 

4. What Child is This – Rhonda Stewart Celtic harp, Mark Lewis flute, keyboard 

5. The Little Drummer Boy – Mark Lewis sax, keyboard 

6. I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas – Mark Lewis sax, Bob Matthews bass, Bob Merrihew drums 

7. What a Wonderful World – Mark Lewis piano, Ashby Andrus clarinet 

8. Angels We Have Heard on High – Rhonda Stewart Celtic harp 

9. I’ll be Home for Christmas – Mark Lewis sax, keyboard 

10. Do You Hear What I Hear? – Mark Lewis keyboard/flute, Rhonda Stewart flute 

11. A Child is Born – Bub Pratt guitar, Mark Lewis flute 

12. Christmas Day – Bud Schultz piano 

13. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen – Rhonda Stewart Celtic harp 

14. ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (poem) – Matthew Paladin 

15. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer – Mark Lewis 

16. The Christmas Song – Katherine Izzi vocals, Ashby Andrus Clarinet, Mark Lewis piano 

About the musicians: 

Ashby Andrus studied clarinet and saxophone with jazz icon Stan Getz as a college student at Stanford University. After a long break from playing music, Ashby has returned to the stage, and recently recorded his debut album, 'Clarinet,' at Audio Daddio Studio. 

Overton Berry, a Northwest jazz legend, has played piano extensively in venues around the world including Japan, China, Viet Nam, Thailand, and Egypt. Overton is a voting member for the Grammy's, music director for the TOBE School of Music, and regular performer at major Northwest jazz festivals. Overton has worked with such jazz greats as Carmen McRae, Joe Pass, Dave Brubeck, Vonne Griffin, Art Foxall and Peggy Lee. 

Butch Boles began playing guitar professionally when he joined the U.S. Air Force band in 1980. In his professional career he has played guitar in over 22 countries on four continents, radio and television, and performed for heads of state and dignitaries from several countries. He has played guitar with musicians such as John Stowell, Tony Rizzi, and Carl Verheyen. 

John Butler is a Fulbright Scholar in music with extensive experience performing and teaching guitar nationally and internationally. He has lived and worked as a professional musician in New York, Holland and Peru, and now is based out of Portland, Oregon. John has recorded albums of original jazz compositions, and was the guitarist on the 1987 Audio Daddio album featuring Art Foxall, "Art's Back in Town," recorded in Holland. John has performed with Jack McDuff, Jim Pepper, Wilbur Little, David Friesen, Essiet Essiet, and others. 

Dan (DC) Cartwright claims to be a rock musican at heart, but his short guitar piece on this CD is a fusion of influences. Best known for managing KITSAP MUSIC (for 25 years!), he supports local music of all genres. 

Jamie Christian plays acoustic fingerstyle guitar using a bass/melody counterpicking approach. His sound has been influenced by guitarists James Taylor, Jim Croce and Tommy Emmanuel. Highlights of Jamie's performance experience include a show at a 3000-seat venue in Japan with his former band "Piney Creek," and an informal concert that lasted for almost the entire train ride from Port Hueneme in California to Kings Station in Seattle, in a train car packed with engaged listeners. 

Marilyn Davis is a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist well known on the Seattle-Tacoma and Victory Music folk scene. She was also involved for its entire existence with Roy Parnell's famous Pioneer Square jazz club, "Parnell's," as well as "Triangle Studios" in Ballard. In recent years Marilyn has lived and performed in the Port Townsend area. 

Brandon Day is an accomplished bass player from Lewiston, Idaho who is multitalented with various instruments. He currently plays for a number of groups including Olympic College Vocal Jazz 1. He plays guitar on this CD and enjoys getting outside of his comfort zone to explore new ideas. 

Jim Day plays fingerstyle on an acoustic jazz guitar with a bit of amplification. Jim has played with many jazz legends, including Miles Davis, Freddy Hubbard, Stan Kenton, Della Reece and Henry Mancini. In his early rock and roll days he played with Jerry Lee Lewis, Chubby Checker, Connie Stevens, and Brenda Lee. Jim has three CDs of his own and has been on numerous recording sessions with national and regional recording artists. 

Jaymes Dunlap is an apprentice piano technician at Langlois Pianos, and bass player with the indie folk-rock group Lutes and Liars. Jaymes is well known in his genre through his work with various groups. 

Janelle Howard is a resident of Port Orchard and is currently the drummer for Olympic College's Jazz Band 1 audition group. Though young in age, Janelle is in the process of showing Puget Sound what she's really made of. 

Matt Jenkins, known for his solid keyboard work and his velvet voice, often performs in venues that feature dancing. Matt performs in the Northwest in the summer and in Palm Springs through the winter. We're lucky that he took the time to record a Christmas song before heading south earlier in the year. 

Ian Jones has been musically raised in Bremerton through the public school music programs and under the tutelage of Mark Lewis. He's trying to get in on the musical action here in Puget Sound and is eager to sit in for new experiences and connections. 

Karin Kajita has degrees in music, piano performance and music education from the University of Washington. She went on to pursue a career in jazz, traveling to contracts in Japan, Denver, Canada, New York, Kansas and Utah. She has played at all the major hotels in Seattle, including the Westin, Hilton, Warwick, Sheraton, Alexis and Sorrento, and frequently performs as leader of her own quintet. 

Herb Kloss, a native of Pittsburgh, Pa., studied flute with Bernard Goldberg, James Walker, Steve Kujala and James Newton. He has performed with various jazz groups and as leader of his own quartet. Herb was voted "Best Jazz Flutist" in Portland. His most recent recording as leader (soon to be released) is called "Far From Home." 

Ira Langlois began working in the family piano business, which dates back to 1865, at age 12. He currently owns Langlois Pianos in Bremerton, and provides a variety of piano services, including sales, tuning, restoration and moving, and he builds pianos. "I'll be Home for Christmas" on this CD features legendary jazz pianist Overton Berry performing on Ira's Langlois & Sons semi-concert grand piano, an exquisite instrument that was hand-made in Bremerton. 

Mark Lewis, a native of Kitsap County, is one of the most lyrical saxophonists of his generation. Mark lived for years in Holland, where he gained renown as one of Europe's leading instrumentalists. Mark lived and performed for several years in San Francisco and Victoria, BC as well. Mark has recorded or produced over 20 albums on various labels and composed more than 1500 songs. Mark's CD "In The Spirit," recorded at Music Annex in Menlo Park, CA, made the Top 40 on Billboard Magazine's Jazz Albums chart. Jazz musicians Mark has performed and recorded with include pianists Mark Levine, Overton Berry, and Ted Gioia; drummers Candy Finch, Eddie Moore and Billy Higgins; bassist David Friesen; saxophonists Johnny Griffin and Art Foxall; trumpet player Randy Brecker; and vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson. Mark often subbed for Stan Getz and John Handy during his time in San Francisco. 

Melissa Lynch studied music theory and piano performance then began working in music in 1982. She traveled with road bands and performed six nights a week for 10 years (more than 3,000 live performances!) on the East Coast. She has also lived and performed in Japan. Her band opened for Eddie Money and she sang with Lester Chamber of the Chambers Brothers, R&B musicians Sam and Dave, and jazz guitarist Cornell Dupree. Melissa is equally comfortable in the jazz, country, pop and blues genres. 

Joe Rice studied music at Lewis and Clark College and performed in their jazz combos. In his younger days, Joe studied music on saxophone and piano with Mark Lewis, and also plays guitar. Joe was born and raised in Bremerton, and has spent time teaching in South America. As a pianist, he is known as a thoughtful and accomplished player. 

Bud Schultz holds a Bachelor of Music degree from University of Puget Sound. Bud has played and recorded with such greats as Milt Hinton, Larry Bunker, and Martin Denny. He is the accompanist for Makini Magee, the former accompanist for Patti Suzuki, and has accompanied such jazz notables as Mel Torme, Johnny Desmond, Dorothy Dandridge, and Helen O'Connell. 

Rhonda Stewart is known more for her behind the scenes efforts in promoting jazz in Bremerton. She is the one who creates and puts up the on-going stream of Mark Lewis posters seen around town. In her spare time, Rhonda is a multi-instrumentalist and flute student of Mark Lewis. 

Bill Thoren began studying music later in life, after retiring from an illustrious career as the Director of Pharmacy at Harrison Hospital. His two earliest music teachers also play on this CD, Ray Wood and Mark Lewis. Mark often remarks that Bill chose no easy path when he decided he would learn to play jazz standards on the chromatic harmonica. Bill currently performs with a variety of groups, playing jazz standards on the chromatic harmonica, and volunteers with St. Vincent de Paul's food assistance program. 

Rick White is a classically trained composer and jazz bassist, which combine to make both his compositions and his playing truly unique. Rick holds a masters degree in Music Composition from Northern Illinois University, where his compositions received top awards each year he attended. While in school Rick maintained a busy schedule as a sideman as well as back up to many guest artists such as Tito Puente, Clark Terry, and Mark Murphy to name a few. Rick is the Director of Instrumental Music at Olympic College where he teaches music theory, jazz theory, bass lessons, and conducts both the Jazz and Wind ensembles. 

Ray Wood has played the guitar professionally for over half a century and has performed around the world. He plays everything from bebop to doo-wop and has toured with acts such as The Coasters, and the Louvin Brothers. As one of the most revered guitarists in the Northwest, Ray is a regular instructor at the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop and the Wintergrass Academy.

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