When keyboard player David Garfield decided to record a new version of one of the most popular Christmas songs of all time he knew he had to do something that would stand out from the crowd. He did so and then some by enlisting the help of contemporary jazz icon Tom Scott for a version of ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ that evokes the classic California rhythms and sounds of a much remembered era.
Saxophonist and composer Tom Scott, as well as being a ‘go to’ pop and rock session player and bandleader in the 70s and 80s, was also a pioneer of what became known as smooth jazz. The cross over success he enjoyed with his own band, The LA Express, laid a platform for a succession of solo fusion tinged albums such as ‘Them Changes’ (1990), ‘Reed My Lips’ (1994) ‘Night Creatures’ (1995) and ‘New Found Freedom’ in 2002. The ‘Night Creatures’ project included the track ‘Don’t Get Any Better’ with a blistering lead vocal from Maysa Leak that firmly placed it in the Smooth Jazz Therapy Top Ten of all time.
David Garfield has enjoyed a long and illustrious career in jazz, fusion, pop, and more. He was born in Chicago in 1956, grew up in New York and has been a West Coast luminary since the '70s. He has worked with a veritable who’s who of talent including Scott, David Sanborn, Cher, Freddie Hubbard, Brandon Fields, the Rippingtons, Larry Carlton, and Hiroshima. He has performed live with the likes of Boz Scaggs, Michael Bolton, Natalie Cole, and Rick Braun. Along the way he developed a creative relationship with singer Smokey Robinson, co-writing and producing several albums with him, while since the late '80s, he has worked as the musical director for the legendary George Benson.