COLIN JAMES LITTLE BIG BAND CHRISTMAS - MASSEY HALL - DEC. 20-21/07

Thursday, December 20 & Friday, December 21, both at 8 pm / Massey Hall, Toronto, ON

Tickets $59.50 - $39.50 - 416-872-4255 or visit the Roy Thomson Hall Box Office

www.masseyhall.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Toronto, ON. November 27, 2007

The Colin James and The Little Big Band Christmas CD has just been released, and the Christmas Symphony tour kicks off, where Colin will be touring across Canada, playing a Christmas program with orchestral back-up to support the album.

Six-time Juno award-winner Colin James has driven his 10-album, 25-year career with his blues-influenced guitar mastery and soulful vocals. Capturing the authenticity of the R&B sound of the '40s, '50s and '60s, James and his Little Big Band (LBB) bring audiences back to the jump blues basics. A clever blend of rare covers and originals that mix swinging rhythms and dance floor contagion, LBB has brought with them the spirit of rockin' boogie and smooth, brooding blues. It’s been said that Colin James is an artist that takes the time to "go backwards in order to move forward", paying respects to legends and the sounds that made them legendary.

"No one, however, will be surprised to hear Colin James and the Little Big Band playing a brand of R&B that was once dispensed in loose, flawless three-minute bursts during which a razor-sharp rhythm section would spar with sizzling horns, some tough guitar-string bending, a church-influenced keyboard and possessed vocalists. It's the type of sound that helped rule the airwaves in the heyday of Atlantic Records in the 1950s and '60s", declared The Montreal Gazette’s Bernard Perusse in February 2006.

This Christmas, LBB delivers the same vibrant sound in the form of a holiday album that will feature some of the season's classics as well as some hand-picked rarities by the likes of Louis Armstrong and Louis Prima.

“It was really cool to pick from a songbook that I have liked over the years, knowing that it also needed to suit the LBB-type style”, says James. “I really enjoyed singing songs like "I'll Be Home For Christmas", as well. "These are songs you've heard all your life really conjure up past Christmas seasons and memories from way back in your childhood.” He adds with a laugh, “It was a slightly surreal experience as it was late spring, early summer in Nashville and I would be walking down the tree lined streets near the studio singing "Let It Snow", hoping no one could hear.”

Horn-drenched with the piano and guitar dexterity that fans adore, the current release of Colin James and The Little Big Band Christmas album is accompanied by a nationwide Christmas symphony tour playing in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.

Appearing alongside the Little Big Band for the two Toronto shows is Roxanne Potvin. Her latest release, The Way It Feels (Alert Records), features the likes of Daniel Lanois, John Hiatt and Bruce Cockburn.

Four-time Songwriter of the Year Juno award-winner Jimmy Rankin, whose latest release is Edge Of Day (Song Dog Music), will also be joining Colin James on the Massey Hall stage for these Christmas shows.

Colin James Little Big Band Christmas

Thursday, December 20 & Friday, December 21, both at 8:00 PM / Massey Hall
178 Victoria Street, Toronto
Tickets $59.50 - $39.50 - Call 416-872-4255 or visit the Roy Thomson Hall Box Office

www.masseyhall.com

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Liz Parker, Publicity Manager
Ph: 416 593 4822, Ext. 318
email: liz.parker@rth-mh.com


THE CORPORATION OF MASSEY HALL AND ROY THOMSON HALL
60 Simcoe Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5J 2H5

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