This Christmas Morning by Leslie Ritter and Scott Petito

SOME OF THE OTHER WONDERFUL MUSICIANS

FEATURED ON THIS RECORDING INCLUDE:

Drums: Jerry Marotta (Peter Gabriel, Indigo Girls)

track 9

Harmony Vocal: Beth Reineke

track 10

Drums & Percussion: Sam Zucchini (Jay Ungar & Molly Mason)

tracks 1,2,3,5,10

Piano & Organ: Peter Vitalone (Dana Kurtz, KJ Denhart)

tracks 1,2,7

Electric Guitar: Marc Shulman (Suzanne Vega, Jonatha Brooke, Jewel)

tracks 1,2,3

Flugelhorn: Baikida Carroll (Jack DeJohnette, Ornette Coleman)

track 7

Produced by Scott Petito

Recorded and mixed at NRS Recording Studio, Catskill, NY.

www.ScottPetitoProductions.com

Assistant Engineer: Beth Reineke

"a little folk, a little new age, a little pop and more than a little magic!"

Keyboard Magazine

CHECK OUT THE FIRST REVIEWS OF

"THIS CHRISTMAS MORNING"

What a pleasant sound to wake up to on a Saturday morning! I didn't know what to expect from Leslie Ritter and Scott Petito's This Christmas Morning. Self-described as "ambient folk", this is a warm, melding of acoustic and new age sensibilities.

This Christmas Morning is a treasure trove of new contemporary Christmas tunes, several penned by Ritter and Petito. I particularly enjoyed the melody and the slightly Celtic sensibility of the title track. Leslie Ritter has the kind of voice you just want to hug. Scott Petito is a guitar player whose riffs are informed by a number of contemporary elements, including east coast folk, new age, and Celtic.

I enjoyed everything about this record, right down to the CD cover art and the packaging. In addition to This Christmas Morning, I also couldn't get enough of the Vince Guaraldi classic Christmas Time Is Here, sung simply by Ms. Ritter in a manner that both retained the jazz sensibilities of the original and at the same time applied her own unique folk patina. I also loved Give A Little Hope, a beautiful contemporary folk anthem.

This is clearly one of my picks for the year's best new acoustic holiday offering.

* Richard Banks - ChristmasReviews.com

Sometimes an album cover tells you a lot about the music inside. Leslie Ritter & Scott Petito's This Christmas Morning presents breathtaking winter scenery, the crisp simplicity of trees framed against unbroken snow, and peaceful blue predawn skies holding a waning moon. The breathtaking folk/pop music contained within has a crisp simplicity, conveying a peaceful, upbeat, and introspective message of hope and love for the holidays. Ritter's gentle, yet oh-so-emotive, vocals are nicely colored with crystalline pastels, and the excellent instrumentation led by Petito (guitars, keyboards, mandolin) combine to present a richly rewarding landscape. So beautiful, so serene, so right for the Christmas season!

This Christmas Morning has eleven tracks; of these, three are wholly original ("If Mary Knew," "Give a Little Hope," and the title track), two others are adaptations of a holiday standard ("Oh Christmas Tree") and a Longfellow poem ("The Bells of Christmas"), and the remaining six tracks are a great blend of Christmas favorites and lesser-known contemporary gems. This album works on every level. Ritter's voice is the sweetest gift; she is the gentle storyteller that touches you inside with each textured note.

Each excellent cut is lovely. I especially enjoyed Ritter & Petito's starkly melancholy, yet joyful, "If Mary Knew" with its moving lyrics ("I had carried Him inside, I had carried Him as a Child, and I carried Him as my life") telling Christ's story from Mary's perspective. The number's intensely moving authenticity made me replay the track several times before moving on. The duo's reworking of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "Christmas Bells" into "The Bells of Christmas" was entirely successful; the memorable music gives the lyrics fresh meaning. Perhaps my favorite track was the artists' warm and wonderful interpretation of "In The Bleak Mid-Winter," which was anything but bleak; Beth Reineke's harmony vocal on the chorus added another delightful dimension. The album ends very well with "We Three Kings," a moody instrumental that nicely showcases Petito's masterful guitar skills.

Leslie Ritter & Scott Petito are a marvelous double threat, and this duo's This Christmas Morning will impress anyone who enjoys great songwriting and superb musicianship in a gentle folk/pop context. Bravo!

--Carol Swanson

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