1998 Rob Mathes & Very Special Friends – Christmas Is Coming

Rob Mathes, who attained prominence as composer and arranger on Vanessa Williams’s popular holiday album, Star Bright, is both performer and pop maestro in this Christmas concert filmed before an audience in upstate New York. Guests include Williams, who takes center stage to sing “I Wonder as I Wander” as Mathes conducts the string section; Michael McDonald, who sings “Go Tell It on the Mountain” and “Silent Night”; and David Sanborn, who lends his saxophone virtuosity to two jazzy instrumentals, “Sweet Little Baby Boy” and “Mary Had a Baby.” Mathes himself plays acoustic guitar and piano and turns in distinctive versions of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” and “Deck the Halls.” Backing the featured performers is a polished band complete with horn and string sections, and, at the finale, a large choir. And while some of the arrangements are unusual takes on perennial holiday material, they never stray far from being cheerfully middle-of-the-road versions of Christmas fare.