”A Jazzy Little Christmas” with Ernie Haase and Signature Sound

Last Christmas, Ernie Haase and Signature Sound released "A Jazzy Little Christmas," the product of a collaboration between his vocal quartet and Tony Bennett's long-time arranger Billy Stritch. Haase talks at length about their collaboration, and how the album fits into their career as Christian recording artists. He talks about how he squares the spiritual and the secular in his recordings and the holiday season. 

A couple of notes: 

1) We recorded this interview last January, well before Coronavirus had become part of our national discourse. That explains why he talks about Christmas music tours without a hint that they might not happen, and it explains why he sees snow on the ground while talking to me.

2) At one point in the conversation, I brought up a caroling event that I organize each year in New Orleans. I didn't want the conversation to be too much about me, and since I believe I have mentioned it before, I cut a number of references to it. At one point though, I couldn't do that without losing something interesting that Ernie said. And doing so would have changed the context for a few things he said, which wouldn't have been fair to him. 

In this episode, I also mentioned I'd link to the trailers for upcoming Christmas albums by Meghan Trainor and Carrie Underwood.