Chrisstmas In July

New York vocalist, actor , director Dick Pyatt and DPP Productions have released a new compact disc, entitled "A Christmas Gift," featuring the song, A Christmas Gift, the title of the CD. Written by composer Al Petrone for his musical Love's A Song. Its melodic line and inspirational message of love as a gift for Christmas promises to be on every one's must have music list for the season.
Maybe on the list where Berlin's White Christmas has been for past decades. Petrone's style fits in with the classic standards but with an unmistakable contemporary sound.
Dick Pyatt renders the song with exquisite tone and nuance with a wide vocal range, and an artistic awareness for the lyrical message
The CD offers, as well, traditional songs by noted composers including Irving Berlin, Sammy Cahn, and Kurt Weill. .Another distinctive feature of this CD is the inclusion of the Jewish holy songs, Eli, Eli and Kol Nidre and the religious Ave Maria. Few popular music singers, if any, attempt to bring a dramatic and emotional rendering of these traditional songs. Pyatt brings a poignant touch to the performance singing them in Latin, German and Hebrew. This is one of the highlights on the CD as they are seldom performed in a secular music environment.
Included in this collection are traditional Christmas favorites such as, Oh Christmas Tree, White Christmas, and Christmas Waltz. Expanding the spirit of Christmas to go beyond the usual commercial CD, Pyatt includes songs of deep faith such as I Believe and Bless This House.
"I took time to carefully select songs that would be appropriate to the season and to the need for feelings that inspire and give deeper meaning to our lives." I find it is difficult to locate new music for vocalists today that evoke the same quality and feelings as those of the masters,. said Pyatt.
Pyatt's artistic style and rich baritone voice has been described by audiences as unique and a distinctly different sound on the popular music scene but reminiscent of the panorama of great vocalists that include the voices of Dick Haymes, Vic Damone, and of course, Frank Sinatra. The music is arranged and produced by the talented musician Robin Foreman.
A native New Yorker splitting time in Florida, Pyatt , somewhat of a renaissance man, has been a favorite radio personality for over 20 years in New York City as producer and director of programming for WNYC-AM-FM radio and host of a weekly radio feature at WFAS in Westchester, New York. On stage, he has directed noted actresses Susan Strasberg and Ruth Warrick in classic drama. As a writer, he has published three books on health and medical advances. He has also been on the faculty of numerous colleges in New York including Pace University, Elizabeth Seton College and Iona College in New York teaching speech and media.
Excerpts of this CD can be found on dickpyatt.com and http://cdbaby.com/cd/dickpyatt