West Frankfort native Jonathon Willis
By LEIGH M. CALDWELL
As many people adopt the “Shop Local” and “Shop Small” mantras at Christmas, Franklin County residents can ensure that even their Christmas music was “made in Southern Illinois,” so to speak.
Jonathon Willis, a West Frankfort native, has released “This Christmas Night,” a CD of his original arrangements of classic sacred Christmas songs, just in time for enjoyment and gift-giving this season.
Willis was born into a musical family — his father, Gary, a piano player, and his mother, Harriet, a singer. It was no surprise, then, that Willis was a “natural” when he began taking lessons at a young age. After graduating from Frankfort Community High School in 1988, he continued his musical training at Murray State University in Murray, Ky.
During his formative years, he also discovered a love and an aptitude for computers, and began to find ways to marry the two disciplines together. Willis moved to Nashville in the late 1990s, and there he became an in-demand music technology expert and consultant, as well as an arranger, producer, and player.
He has appeared on many artists’ recordings, including Phil Keaggy, Neal Morse, Newsong, Laura Turner, and Jim Weatherly. He has also written, arranged and produced music for several record labels, as well as music for Carnival and Celebrity cruise ships.
Willis has recorded several solo piano records over the years, and self-released a new CD of original music called simply “Solo Piano” in 2010.
This year has seen the release of his first Christmas album.
“I have had a lot of people over the years ask me when I was going to get around to putting out a Christmas CD,” Willis said. “I’ve been performing my own arrangements of many Christmas songs for a long time at different events. I just felt the time had come to go ahead and do it.”
“This Christmas Night” includes classic Christmas carols, such as “Joy to the World” and “Away in a Manger,” as well as more contemporary sacred Christmas songs, such as “Mary Did You Know” and “Breath of Heaven.” The music is a mix of classical, easy-listening and jazz piano styling, all with Willis’ personal stamp.
“There are songs on this project that really take me back to my childhood, that I think really help evoke a Christmas mood,” Willis said. As for his personal favorites on the album, “I’ve always enjoyed the mystery of the Christmas story, so I’m really drawn to the classic melodies and lyrics of songs like ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’ and ‘What Child Is This’.”
For a sampling of the music on “This Christmas Night,” click play on the video below for a short montage of three different songs from the album.
Willis said he made the conscious decision to keep sacred and secular music separate, and just put sacred Christmas music on this album. He plans to release an album of secular holiday music in 2013.
Willis, 42, lives in Spring Hill, Tenn., with his wife of 19 years, Diana, and the couple’s three children.
“This Christmas Night” can be ordered from Willis’ Web site, http://jonathonwillismusic.wordpress.com/ for $15, which includes shipping.
Speak Your Mind
You must be logged in to post a comment.