Snow Globe

Personnel: Nathan Dugger (guitar); David Davidson , David Angell (violin); Monisa Angell (viola); John Catchings (cello); Sam Levine (flute, clarinet); Chris Gregg (alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Keith Smith (trumpet, flugelhorn, French horn); Justin Carpenter (trombone); Ben Shive (piano, keyboards); Josh Robinson (drums).
Audio Mixer: Shane Wilson.
Liner Note Author: Matt Wertz.
Recording information: Beehive, Berry Hill, TN; Brown Owl, Berry Hill, TN; Little Big Sound, Bellevue, TN; Townsend Sound; Wide Studios.
Photographer: Micah Kandros.
Singer/songwriter Matt Wertz celebrates the holiday season with his 2011 album Snow Globe. Featuring a mix of classic and more contemporary Christmas standards, Snow Globe also includes songs written by Wertz. As a pop singer, Wertz has a laid-back, softly pleasant voice and a bent toward a kind of country boy/hippie dude blue-eyed soul that actually works quite well here. Featured are such songs as his jazzy version of "White Christmas," his yearning and folky take on Amy Grant's "Tennessee Christmas," and the jaunty, piano-driven title track. Elsewhere, Wertz makes good on his hang-loose romantic image with the afterglow soft soul number "Christmas in the City" and the classic R&B-infused "Christmas Just Does This to Me." ~ Matt Collar