<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><b>Christmas and Holiday Music from Karen Mal &amp; Will Taylor</b><br /><b><br /></b>Read about,&nbsp; listen to and support our music below. You listened to it free, but it wasn't free to make this music. Want to help out, do your part to support our continued creation of great acoustic music?<br /><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">"</span><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">What Child Is This?</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">" is a&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_carol" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Christmas carol">Christmas carol</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;whose lyrics were written by&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Chatterton_Dix" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" title="William Chatterton Dix">William Chatterton Dix</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, in 1865. At the time of composing the carol, Dix worked as an insurance company manager and had been struck by a severe illness. While recovering, he underwent a&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_experience" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Religious experience">spiritual renewal</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">that led him to write several hymns, including lyrics to this carol that was subsequently set to the tune of "</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greensleeves" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Greensleeves">Greensleeves</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">", a traditional&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folk_music_of_England" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Folk music of England">English folk song</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">. Although it was written in Great Britain, the carol is more popular in the United States than in its country of origin today.</span><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-stories_1-0" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Child_Is_This%3F#cite_note-stories-1" style="background: none; color: #0b0080;">[1]</a>&nbsp;-&nbsp;</sup><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.88px;">From&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Child_Is_This%3F">Wikipedia</a>, the free encyclopedia</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.88px;"><br /></span><ul style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style-position: outside; margin: 5px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2.3em;"></ul><iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=4153719561/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; height: 470px; width: 350px;"></iframe><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Buy the&nbsp;<a data-cke-saved-href="http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00Y099KU" href="http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00Y099KU" style="color: #124a97;">CD with any credit card</a></span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/a-mandolin-for-christmas/1322791759" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/a-mandolin-for-christmas/1322791759" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">ITUNES</a></span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="https://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/album/a-mandolin-christmas" href="https://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/album/a-mandolin-christmas" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">MP3'S or WAV files direct from the artist</a></span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Call&nbsp;<strong><a data-cke-saved-href="tel:512-589-8749" href="tel:512-589-8749" style="color: #124a97;">512-589-8749</a></strong>&nbsp;to order by phone.</span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!</span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">​SPOTIFY - Coming so</span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="http://budurl.com/pickofweek" href="http://budurl.com/pickofweek" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">Free Pick of the Week</a></span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Or buy&nbsp;it in AUSTIN texas at Waterloo Records</span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><div style="color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"><iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2646491731/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; height: 470px; width: 350px;"></iframe><br /></div></li><br /><ul style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; list-style-position: outside; margin: 5px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2.3em;"><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Buy the&nbsp;<a data-cke-saved-href="http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00HS83S9" href="http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00HS83S9" style="color: #124a97;">CD with any credit card</a></span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/austin-for-christmas-vol-1-the-standards/1323892369?uo=4&amp;app=itunes" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/austin-for-christmas-vol-1-the-standards/1323892369?uo=4&amp;app=itunes" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">ITUNES</a></span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="https://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/album/austin-for-christmas" href="https://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/album/austin-for-christmas" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">MP3'S or WAV files direct from the artist</a></span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Call&nbsp;<strong><a data-cke-saved-href="tel:512-589-8749" href="tel:512-589-8749" style="color: #124a97;">512-589-8749</a></strong>&nbsp;to order by phone.</span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!&nbsp;</span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">​<a data-cke-saved-href="https://open.spotify.com/album/7MXYdt44Hz0LFTSoCqvfAf" href="https://open.spotify.com/album/7MXYdt44Hz0LFTSoCqvfAf" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">SPOTIFY</a></span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07833GRP4" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07833GRP4" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">AMAZON</a></span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;"><b>The story behind&nbsp;<a href="http://austinforchristmas.com/">Austin for Christmas</a></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">All of the songs in this collection were favorites of my mother.&nbsp; She loved filling the house with Christmas decorations, smells of&nbsp; many varieties of cookies baking, which she'd arrange in spectacular colorful gift trays, and of course Christmas music draped over the top of everything. She'd play the vinyl records on our massive stereo which was as long as our dining room table,.and she'd be as happy as we'd ever see her all year. Her happiness in itself was the best part of the season. It was contagious and it was fleeting. In our household, Christmas music represented the hope of another year, maybe a better year, and a momentary suspension of all things worrisome or sorrowful.&nbsp;</div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">&nbsp;&nbsp; "Yuletide by the fireside and joyful memories there." We chose the songs with an underlying theme of togetherness. No matter where you fall on the religious/ spiritual spectrum, holidays are a time of connection.&nbsp; Of reunion and reflection</div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">and gratitude. And being together as the bustling world mercifully grinds to a halt, creating a glow in the darkness of the long nights of winter.&nbsp; - KAREN MAL</div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><b>The story behind&nbsp;<a href="http://amandolinchristmas.com/">A Mandolin Christmas</a></b></div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">A jazz musician, a folk artist, 20 fingers pulling 14 strings &amp; 19 ancient melodies that time has polished.</span><br /><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">A Mandolin Christmas&nbsp;</span><br /><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #757474; font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Deep in the throes of the hottest summer on record in Austin, &nbsp;TX, Karen Mal and Will Taylor decided to make a Christmas album. It was a 112-degree "Silent Night" in their un-airconditioned recording studio in August. Even the cat was sweating.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The couple had collaborated on many musical projects; his, hers, and their ensemble's, but a "Mandolin Christmas" is purely a duet in every sense of the word. &nbsp;It's a dance between two partners: the mandolin and the classical guitar. &nbsp;And that's it. &nbsp;Karen and Will are perhaps better-known as vocalist and violinist, respectively, but as the tracks blossomed, the two instruments just didn't seem to want any company. There's a simple elegance in the combination that makes for a classic record.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "A Mandolin Christmas" is also a duet between traditional folk music and jazz. &nbsp;The music includes pristine old-style classical arrangements, and also subtle and playful jazz harmonizations, weaving around familiar melodies that sound like home. &nbsp; You can practically smell the sugar cookies coming out of the oven, see the kitchen windows steaming up. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Even the packaging is a duet. Karen staged the shots in their vegetable garden. That's a real Calabacita squash with the bow on it. (we ate it for Thanksgiving) Will took the photos and fit everything into the artwork templates.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; If you like Christmas music even a little, you're going to love this album. You're going to love it again when you dig it out next year, and again and again, every holiday season.</span><br /><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #757474; font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div></div></div></div></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/WfiDt/~4/ciZyo14QOcs" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

Christmas and Holiday Music from Karen Mal &amp; Will TaylorRead about,&nbsp; listen to and support our music below. You listened to it free, but it wasn't free to make this music. Want to help out, do your part to support our continued creation of great acoustic music?"What Child Is This?" is a&nbsp;Christmas carol&nbsp;whose lyrics were written by&nbsp;William Chatterton Dix, in 1865. At the time of composing the carol, Dix worked as an insurance company manager and had been struck by a severe illness. While recovering, he underwent a&nbsp;spiritual renewalthat led him to write several hymns, including lyrics to this carol that was subsequently set to the tune of "Greensleeves", a traditional&nbsp;English folk song. Although it was written in Great Britain, the carol is more popular in the United States than in its country of origin today.[1]&nbsp;-&nbsp;From&nbsp;Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaBuy the&nbsp;CD with any credit cardITUNESMP3'S or WAV files direct from the artistCall&nbsp;512-589-8749&nbsp;to order by phone.Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!​SPOTIFY - Coming soFree Pick of the WeekOr buy&nbsp;it in AUSTIN texas at Waterloo RecordsBuy the&nbsp;CD with any credit cardITUNESMP3'S or WAV files direct from the artistCall&nbsp;512-589-8749&nbsp;to order by phone.Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!&nbsp;​SPOTIFYAMAZONThe story behind&nbsp;Austin for ChristmasAll of the songs in this collection were favorites of my mother.&nbsp; She loved filling the house with Christmas decorations, smells of&nbsp; many varieties of cookies baking, which she'd arrange in spectacular colorful gift trays, and of course Christmas music draped over the top of everything. She'd play the vinyl records on our massive stereo which was as long as our dining room table,.and she'd be as happy as we'd ever see her all year. Her happiness in itself was the best part of the season. It was contagious and it was fleeting. In our household, Christmas music represented the hope of another year, maybe a better year, and a momentary suspension of all things worrisome or sorrowful.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Yuletide by the fireside and joyful memories there." We chose the songs with an underlying theme of togetherness. No matter where you fall on the religious/ spiritual spectrum, holidays are a time of connection.&nbsp; Of reunion and reflectionand gratitude. And being together as the bustling world mercifully grinds to a halt, creating a glow in the darkness of the long nights of winter.&nbsp; - KAREN MALThe story behind&nbsp;A Mandolin ChristmasA jazz musician, a folk artist, 20 fingers pulling 14 strings &amp; 19 ancient melodies that time has polished.A Mandolin Christmas&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Deep in the throes of the hottest summer on record in Austin, &nbsp;TX, Karen Mal and Will Taylor decided to make a Christmas album. It was a 112-degree "Silent Night" in their un-airconditioned recording studio in August. Even the cat was sweating.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The couple had collaborated on many musical projects; his, hers, and their ensemble's, but a "Mandolin Christmas" is purely a duet in every sense of the word. &nbsp;It's a dance between two partners: the mandolin and the classical guitar. &nbsp;And that's it. &nbsp;Karen and Will are perhaps better-known as vocalist and violinist, respectively, but as the tracks blossomed, the two instruments just didn't seem to want any company. There's a simple elegance in the combination that makes for a classic record.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "A Mandolin Christmas" is also a duet between traditional folk music and jazz. &nbsp;The music includes pristine old-style classical arrangements, and also subtle and playful jazz harmonizations, weaving around familiar melodies that sound like home. &nbsp; You can practically smell the sugar cookies coming out of the oven, see the kitchen windows steaming up. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Even the packaging is a duet. Karen staged the shots in their vegetable garden. That's a real Calabacita squash with the bow on it. (we ate it for Thanksgiving) Will took the photos and fit everything into the artwork templates.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; If you like Christmas music even a little, you're going to love this album. You're going to love it again when you dig it out next year, and again and again, every holiday season.

Christmas Songs

What Child is This

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Christmas and Holiday Music from Karen Mal &amp; Will TaylorRead about,&nbsp; listen to and support our music below.You listened to it free, but it wasn't free to make this music...so in this new world of the "free music, want to help out, do your part to support our continued creation of great acoustic music?Read below or just signup to get all of our music as a patron of Strings AttachedSee more about it&nbsp;here...."We Three Kings", also known as "We Three Kings of Orient Are" or "The Quest of the Magi", is a&nbsp;Christmas carol&nbsp;that was written by&nbsp;John Henry Hopkins, Jr.&nbsp;in 1857. At the time of composing the carol, Hopkins served as the rector of&nbsp;Christ Episcopal Church&nbsp;in&nbsp;Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and he wrote the carol for a&nbsp;Christmas pageant&nbsp;in&nbsp;New York City. Many versions of this song have been composed and it remains a popular Christmas carol.&nbsp;-&nbsp;From&nbsp;Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaBuy the&nbsp;CD with any credit cardITUNESMP3'S or WAV files direct from the artistCall&nbsp;512-589-8749&nbsp;to order by phone.Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!​SPOTIFY - Coming soFree Pick of the WeekOr buy&nbsp;it in AUSTIN texas at Waterloo RecordsBuy the&nbsp;CD with any credit cardITUNESMP3'S or WAV files direct from the artistCall&nbsp;512-589-8749&nbsp;to order by phone.Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!&nbsp;​SPOTIFYAMAZONThe story behind&nbsp;Austin for ChristmasAll of the songs in this collection were favorites of my mother.&nbsp; She loved filling the house with Christmas decorations, smells of&nbsp; many varieties of cookies baking, which she'd arrange in spectacular colorful gift trays, and of course Christmas music draped over the top of everything. She'd play the vinyl records on our massive stereo which was as long as our dining room table,.and she'd be as happy as we'd ever see her all year. Her happiness in itself was the best part of the season. It was contagious and it was fleeting. In our household, Christmas music represented the hope of another year, maybe a better year, and a momentary suspension of all things worrisome or sorrowful.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Yuletide by the fireside and joyful memories there." We chose the songs with an underlying theme of togetherness. No matter where you fall on the religious/ spiritual spectrum, holidays are a time of connection.&nbsp; Of reunion and reflectionand gratitude. And being together as the bustling world mercifully grinds to a halt, creating a glow in the darkness of the long nights of winter.&nbsp; - KAREN MALThe story behind&nbsp;A Mandolin ChristmasA jazz musician, a folk artist, 20 fingers pulling 14 strings &amp; 19 ancient melodies that time has polished.A Mandolin Christmas&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Deep in the throes of the hottest summer on record in Austin, &nbsp;TX, Karen Mal and Will Taylor decided to make a Christmas album. It was a 112-degree "Silent Night" in their un-airconditioned recording studio in August. Even the cat was sweating.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The couple had collaborated on many musical projects; his, hers, and their ensemble's, but a "Mandolin Christmas" is purely a duet in every sense of the word. &nbsp;It's a dance between two partners: the mandolin and the classical guitar. &nbsp;And that's it. &nbsp;Karen and Will are perhaps better-known as vocalist and violinist, respectively, but as the tracks blossomed, the two instruments just didn't seem to want any company. There's a simple elegance in the combination that makes for a classic record.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "A Mandolin Christmas" is also a duet between traditional folk music and jazz. &nbsp;The music includes pristine old-style classical arrangements, and also subtle and playful jazz harmonizations, weaving around familiar melodies that sound like home. &nbsp; You can practically smell the sugar cookies coming out of the oven, see the kitchen windows steaming up. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Even the packaging is a duet. Karen staged the shots in their vegetable garden. That's a real Calabacita squash with the bow on it. (we ate it for Thanksgiving) Will took the photos and fit everything into the artwork templates.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; If you like Christmas music even a little, you're going to love this album. You're going to love it again when you dig it out next year, and again and again, every holiday season.Violinist, composer and Austin Music Award winner Will Taylor has performed with&nbsp;Pearl Jam, Grammy winner&nbsp;Shawn Colvin,&nbsp;P-Diddy,&nbsp;Willie Nelson,&nbsp;Ronny Cox&nbsp;(Deliverance) and&nbsp;many more.Will and his musical friends from Austin, Texas&nbsp;light up your house with inspiring acoustic music.WASHINGTON POST–“Imaginatively orchestrated… multi-faceted… darting lyricism, and occasionally pensive moods, Taylor makes the grade with his deft touch and improvisatory skills.”ESQUIRE MAGAZINE–”As to the quality of the music and the professionalism, this production is far superior over the numerous recordings issued by the major record companies.”Learn how you can have Karen Mal &amp; Will Taylor in your home&nbsp;here.~!Anywhere, not just where we live.More fan comments...

We Three Kings

Christmas and Holiday Music from Karen Mal &amp; Will TaylorRead about,&nbsp; listen to and support our music below.You listened to it free, but it wasn't free to make this music...so in this new world of the "free music, want to help out, do your part to support our continued creation of great acoustic music?Read below or just signup to get all of our music as a patron of Strings AttachedSee more about it&nbsp;here...."It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" (1849) – sometimes rendered as "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" – is a poem and&nbsp;Christmas&nbsp;carolwritten by&nbsp;Edmund Sears, pastor of the&nbsp;Unitarian Church&nbsp;in&nbsp;Wayland, Massachusetts. Sears' lyrics are most commonly set to one of two melodies: "Carol," composed by&nbsp;Richard Storrs Willis, or "Noel," adapted from an English melody. -&nbsp;From&nbsp;Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaBuy the&nbsp;CD with any credit cardITUNESMP3'S or WAV files direct from the artistCall&nbsp;512-589-8749&nbsp;to order by phone.Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!​SPOTIFY - Coming soFree Pick of the WeekOr buy&nbsp;it in AUSTIN texas at Waterloo RecordsBuy the&nbsp;CD with any credit cardITUNESMP3'S or WAV files direct from the artistCall&nbsp;512-589-8749&nbsp;to order by phone.Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!&nbsp;​SPOTIFYAMAZONThe story behind&nbsp;Austin for ChristmasAll of the songs in this collection were favorites of my mother.&nbsp; She loved filling the house with Christmas decorations, smells of&nbsp; many varieties of cookies baking, which she'd arrange in spectacular colorful gift trays, and of course Christmas music draped over the top of everything. She'd play the vinyl records on our massive stereo which was as long as our dining room table,.and she'd be as happy as we'd ever see her all year. Her happiness in itself was the best part of the season. It was contagious and it was fleeting. In our household, Christmas music represented the hope of another year, maybe a better year, and a momentary suspension of all things worrisome or sorrowful.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Yuletide by the fireside and joyful memories there." We chose the songs with an underlying theme of togetherness. No matter where you fall on the religious/ spiritual spectrum, holidays are a time of connection.&nbsp; Of reunion and reflectionand gratitude. And being together as the bustling world mercifully grinds to a halt, creating a glow in the darkness of the long nights of winter.&nbsp; - KAREN MALThe story behind&nbsp;A Mandolin ChristmasA jazz musician, a folk artist, 20 fingers pulling 14 strings &amp; 19 ancient melodies that time has polished.A Mandolin Christmas&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Deep in the throes of the hottest summer on record in Austin, &nbsp;TX, Karen Mal and Will Taylor decided to make a Christmas album. It was a 112-degree "Silent Night" in their un-airconditioned recording studio in August. Even the cat was sweating.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The couple had collaborated on many musical projects; his, hers, and their ensemble's, but a "Mandolin Christmas" is purely a duet in every sense of the word. &nbsp;It's a dance between two partners: the mandolin and the classical guitar. &nbsp;And that's it. &nbsp;Karen and Will are perhaps better-known as vocalist and violinist, respectively, but as the tracks blossomed, the two instruments just didn't seem to want any company. There's a simple elegance in the combination that makes for a classic record.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "A Mandolin Christmas" is also a duet between traditional folk music and jazz. &nbsp;The music includes pristine old-style classical arrangements, and also subtle and playful jazz harmonizations, weaving around familiar melodies that sound like home. &nbsp; You can practically smell the sugar cookies coming out of the oven, see the kitchen windows steaming up. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Even the packaging is a duet. Karen staged the shots in their vegetable garden. That's a real Calabacita squash with the bow on it. (we ate it for Thanksgiving) Will took the photos and fit everything into the artwork templates.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; If you like Christmas music even a little, you're going to love this album. You're going to love it again when you dig it out next year, and again and again, every holiday season.Violinist, composer and Austin Music Award winner Will Taylor has performed with&nbsp;Pearl Jam, Grammy winner&nbsp;Shawn Colvin,&nbsp;P-Diddy,&nbsp;Willie Nelson,&nbsp;Ronny Cox&nbsp;(Deliverance) and&nbsp;many more.Will and his musical friends from Austin, Texas&nbsp;light up your house with inspiring acoustic music.WASHINGTON POST–“Imaginatively orchestrated… multi-faceted… darting lyricism, and occasionally pensive moods, Taylor makes the grade with his deft touch and improvisatory skills.”ESQUIRE MAGAZINE–”As to the quality of the music and the professionalism, this production is far superior over the numerous recordings issued by the major record companies.”Learn how you can have Karen Mal &amp; Will Taylor in your home&nbsp;here.~!Anywhere, not just where we live.More fan comments...

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

Christmas and Holiday Music from Karen Mal &amp; Will TaylorRead about,&nbsp; listen to and support our music below.You listened to it free, but it wasn't free to make this music...so in this new world of the "free music, want to help out, do your part to support our continued creation of great acoustic music?Read below or just signup to get all of our music as a patron of Strings AttachedSee more about it&nbsp;here....O Come, O Come, Emmanuel&nbsp;is a&nbsp;Christian&nbsp;hymn&nbsp;for&nbsp;Advent&nbsp;and&nbsp;Christmas. It is a translation of a&nbsp;Latin&nbsp;hymn,&nbsp;Veni, Veni, Emmanuel, itself a metrical paraphrase of the&nbsp;O Antiphons, a series of&nbsp;plainchant&nbsp;antiphons&nbsp;attached to the&nbsp;Magnificat&nbsp;at&nbsp;Vespers&nbsp;over the final days before&nbsp;Christmas. The 1861 translation from&nbsp;Hymns Ancient and Modern&nbsp;is the most prominent by far in the English-speaking world, but other English translations also exist. Translations into other modern languages (particularly German) are also in widespread use. -&nbsp;From&nbsp;Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaBuy the&nbsp;CD with any credit cardITUNESMP3'S or WAV files direct from the artistCall&nbsp;512-589-8749&nbsp;to order by phone.Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!​SPOTIFY - Coming soFree Pick of the WeekOr buy&nbsp;it in AUSTIN texas at Waterloo RecordsBuy the&nbsp;CD with any credit cardITUNESMP3'S or WAV files direct from the artistCall&nbsp;512-589-8749&nbsp;to order by phone.Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!&nbsp;​SPOTIFYAMAZONThe story behind&nbsp;Austin for ChristmasAll of the songs in this collection were favorites of my mother.&nbsp; She loved filling the house with Christmas decorations, smells of&nbsp; many varieties of cookies baking, which she'd arrange in spectacular colorful gift trays, and of course Christmas music draped over the top of everything. She'd play the vinyl records on our massive stereo which was as long as our dining room table,.and she'd be as happy as we'd ever see her all year. Her happiness in itself was the best part of the season. It was contagious and it was fleeting. In our household, Christmas music represented the hope of another year, maybe a better year, and a momentary suspension of all things worrisome or sorrowful.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Yuletide by the fireside and joyful memories there." We chose the songs with an underlying theme of togetherness. No matter where you fall on the religious/ spiritual spectrum, holidays are a time of connection.&nbsp; Of reunion and reflectionand gratitude. And being together as the bustling world mercifully grinds to a halt, creating a glow in the darkness of the long nights of winter.&nbsp; - KAREN MALThe story behind&nbsp;A Mandolin ChristmasA jazz musician, a folk artist, 20 fingers pulling 14 strings &amp; 19 ancient melodies that time has polished.A Mandolin Christmas&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Deep in the throes of the hottest summer on record in Austin, &nbsp;TX, Karen Mal and Will Taylor decided to make a Christmas album. It was a 112-degree "Silent Night" in their un-airconditioned recording studio in August. Even the cat was sweating.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The couple had collaborated on many musical projects; his, hers, and their ensemble's, but a "Mandolin Christmas" is purely a duet in every sense of the word. &nbsp;It's a dance between two partners: the mandolin and the classical guitar. &nbsp;And that's it. &nbsp;Karen and Will are perhaps better-known as vocalist and violinist, respectively, but as the tracks blossomed, the two instruments just didn't seem to want any company. There's a simple elegance in the combination that makes for a classic record.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "A Mandolin Christmas" is also a duet between traditional folk music and jazz. &nbsp;The music includes pristine old-style classical arrangements, and also subtle and playful jazz harmonizations, weaving around familiar melodies that sound like home. &nbsp; You can practically smell the sugar cookies coming out of the oven, see the kitchen windows steaming up. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Even the packaging is a duet. Karen staged the shots in their vegetable garden. That's a real Calabacita squash with the bow on it. (we ate it for Thanksgiving) Will took the photos and fit everything into the artwork templates.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; If you like Christmas music even a little, you're going to love this album. You're going to love it again when you dig it out next year, and again and again, every holiday season.Violinist, composer and Austin Music Award winner Will Taylor has performed with&nbsp;Pearl Jam, Grammy winner&nbsp;Shawn Colvin,&nbsp;P-Diddy,&nbsp;Willie Nelson,&nbsp;Ronny Cox&nbsp;(Deliverance) and&nbsp;many more.Will and his musical friends from Austin, Texas&nbsp;light up your house with inspiring acoustic music.WASHINGTON POST–“Imaginatively orchestrated… multi-faceted… darting lyricism, and occasionally pensive moods, Taylor makes the grade with his deft touch and improvisatory skills.”ESQUIRE MAGAZINE–”As to the quality of the music and the professionalism, this production is far superior over the numerous recordings issued by the major record companies.”Learn how you can have Karen Mal &amp; Will Taylor in your home&nbsp;here.~!Anywhere, not just where we live.More fan comments...

O Come O Come Emmanuel I Saw Three Ships

History of the Mandolin

Crossing Lines with Silent Night

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><b>Christmas and Holiday Music from Karen Mal &amp; Will Taylor</b><br /><b><br /></b>Read about,&nbsp; listen to and support our music below.<br /><br />You listened to it free, but it wasn't free to make this music...so in this new world of the "free music, want to help out, do your part to support our continued creation of great acoustic music?<br /><br />Read below or just signup to get all of our music as a patron of Strings Attached<br />See more about it&nbsp;<a href="http://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/patron-sustainer">here....</a><br /><br /><br /><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">"In the Bleak Midwinter"</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;is a&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_carol" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Christmas carol">Christmas carol</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;based on a poem by the English poet&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christina_Rossetti" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Christina Rossetti">Christina Rossetti</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">. The poem was published, under the title "A Christmas Carol", in the January 1872 issue of&nbsp;</span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scribner%27s_Monthly" style="background: none; color: #0b0080;" title="Scribner's Monthly">Scribner's Monthly</a></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 11.2px; white-space: nowrap;">&nbsp;-&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.88px;">From&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/">Wikipedia</a>, the free encyclopedia</span><br /><br /><ul style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style-position: outside; margin: 5px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2.3em;"></ul><iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=4153719561/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; height: 470px; width: 350px;"></iframe><br /><br /><br /><br /><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Buy the&nbsp;<a data-cke-saved-href="http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00Y099KU" href="http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00Y099KU" style="color: #124a97;">CD with any credit card</a></span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/a-mandolin-for-christmas/1322791759" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/a-mandolin-for-christmas/1322791759" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">ITUNES</a></span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="https://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/album/a-mandolin-christmas" href="https://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/album/a-mandolin-christmas" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">MP3'S or WAV files direct from the artist</a></span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Call&nbsp;<strong><a data-cke-saved-href="tel:512-589-8749" href="tel:512-589-8749" style="color: #124a97;">512-589-8749</a></strong>&nbsp;to order by phone.</span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!</span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">​SPOTIFY - Coming so</span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="http://budurl.com/pickofweek" href="http://budurl.com/pickofweek" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">Free Pick of the Week</a></span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Or buy&nbsp;it in AUSTIN texas at Waterloo Records</span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><div style="color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"><iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2646491731/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; height: 470px; width: 350px;"></iframe><br /></div></li><br /><ul style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; list-style-position: outside; margin: 5px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2.3em;"><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Buy the&nbsp;<a data-cke-saved-href="http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00HS83S9" href="http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00HS83S9" style="color: #124a97;">CD with any credit card</a></span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/austin-for-christmas-vol-1-the-standards/1323892369?uo=4&amp;app=itunes" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/austin-for-christmas-vol-1-the-standards/1323892369?uo=4&amp;app=itunes" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">ITUNES</a></span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="https://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/album/austin-for-christmas" href="https://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/album/austin-for-christmas" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">MP3'S or WAV files direct from the artist</a></span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Call&nbsp;<strong><a data-cke-saved-href="tel:512-589-8749" href="tel:512-589-8749" style="color: #124a97;">512-589-8749</a></strong>&nbsp;to order by phone.</span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!&nbsp;</span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">​<a data-cke-saved-href="https://open.spotify.com/album/7MXYdt44Hz0LFTSoCqvfAf" href="https://open.spotify.com/album/7MXYdt44Hz0LFTSoCqvfAf" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">SPOTIFY</a></span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07833GRP4" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07833GRP4" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">AMAZON</a></span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;"><b>The story behind&nbsp;<a href="http://austinforchristmas.com/">Austin for Christmas</a></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">All of the songs in this collection were favorites of my mother.&nbsp; She loved filling the house with Christmas decorations, smells of&nbsp; many varieties of cookies baking, which she'd arrange in spectacular colorful gift trays, and of course Christmas music draped over the top of everything. She'd play the vinyl records on our massive stereo which was as long as our dining room table,.and she'd be as happy as we'd ever see her all year. Her happiness in itself was the best part of the season. It was contagious and it was fleeting. In our household, Christmas music represented the hope of another year, maybe a better year, and a momentary suspension of all things worrisome or sorrowful.&nbsp;</div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">&nbsp;&nbsp; "Yuletide by the fireside and joyful memories there." We chose the songs with an underlying theme of togetherness. No matter where you fall on the religious/ spiritual spectrum, holidays are a time of connection.&nbsp; Of reunion and reflection</div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">and gratitude. And being together as the bustling world mercifully grinds to a halt, creating a glow in the darkness of the long nights of winter.&nbsp; - KAREN MAL</div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><b>The story behind&nbsp;<a href="http://amandolinchristmas.com/">A Mandolin Christmas</a></b></div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">A jazz musician, a folk artist, 20 fingers pulling 14 strings &amp; 19 ancient melodies that time has polished.</span><br /><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">A Mandolin Christmas&nbsp;</span><br /><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #757474; font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Deep in the throes of the hottest summer on record in Austin, &nbsp;TX, Karen Mal and Will Taylor decided to make a Christmas album. It was a 112-degree "Silent Night" in their un-airconditioned recording studio in August. Even the cat was sweating.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The couple had collaborated on many musical projects; his, hers, and their ensemble's, but a "Mandolin Christmas" is purely a duet in every sense of the word. &nbsp;It's a dance between two partners: the mandolin and the classical guitar. &nbsp;And that's it. &nbsp;Karen and Will are perhaps better-known as vocalist and violinist, respectively, but as the tracks blossomed, the two instruments just didn't seem to want any company. There's a simple elegance in the combination that makes for a classic record.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "A Mandolin Christmas" is also a duet between traditional folk music and jazz. &nbsp;The music includes pristine old-style classical arrangements, and also subtle and playful jazz harmonizations, weaving around familiar melodies that sound like home. &nbsp; You can practically smell the sugar cookies coming out of the oven, see the kitchen windows steaming up. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Even the packaging is a duet. Karen staged the shots in their vegetable garden. That's a real Calabacita squash with the bow on it. (we ate it for Thanksgiving) Will took the photos and fit everything into the artwork templates.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; If you like Christmas music even a little, you're going to love this album. You're going to love it again when you dig it out next year, and again and again, every holiday season.</span></div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /><br /></div></div><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="80" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed?uri=spotify:user:121986569:playlist:5naiPKUg08Q408f3FbZ7oh&amp;view=coverart" width="300"></iframe><br /><br /><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="56" scrolling="no" src="https://open.spotify.com/follow/1/?uri=spotify:artist:6x03feKbVY97ZUfa7Q3uy8&amp;size=detail&amp;theme=dark" style="border-style: none; border-width: initial; overflow: hidden;" width="300"></iframe><br /><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Violinist, composer and Austin Music Award winner Will Taylor has performed with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pearl+jam+strings+attached" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Pearl Jam</a>, Grammy winner&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5ChC_n5JZY" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Shawn Colvin</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkM2_gW4KjA" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">P-Diddy</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://soundcloud.com/stringsattached/simply-with-willie-nelson-will-taylor-strings" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Willie Nelson</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0KIIN_4XWQ" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Ronny Cox</a>&nbsp;(<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Deliverance</em>) and&nbsp;<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1c1bXlmIPgCHs7vLOQi-6MhVrpsAIFbKwT5KvhwR6xQk/edit" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">many more</a>.</b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Will and his musical friends from Austin, Texas&nbsp;light up your house with inspiring acoustic music.</b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">WASHINGTON POST–</b><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“Imaginatively orchestrated… multi-faceted… darting lyricism, and occasionally pensive moods, Taylor makes the grade with his deft touch and improvisatory skills.”</b></div><b style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></b><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></b>ESQUIRE MAGAZINE–”As to the quality of the music and the professionalism, this production is far superior over the numerous recordings issued by the major record companies.”</b></div><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/21s_hyQnizM" width="560"></iframe><br /><br />Learn how you can have Karen Mal &amp; Will Taylor in your home&nbsp;<a href="http://www.stringsattachedmusic.net/house-concerts-with-strings/">here</a>.~!<br />Anywhere, not just where we live.<br /><br /><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1INlFPzyIOCfRRc4V4lTBBY7Vf3as6JJIOEj96RavDsI/edit?usp=sharing">More fan comments...</a></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/WfiDt/~4/ATFEllB-fR8" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

Christmas and Holiday Music from Karen Mal &amp; Will TaylorRead about,&nbsp; listen to and support our music below.You listened to it free, but it wasn't free to make this music...so in this new world of the "free music, want to help out, do your part to support our continued creation of great acoustic music?Read below or just signup to get all of our music as a patron of Strings AttachedSee more about it&nbsp;here...."In the Bleak Midwinter"&nbsp;is a&nbsp;Christmas carol&nbsp;based on a poem by the English poet&nbsp;Christina Rossetti. The poem was published, under the title "A Christmas Carol", in the January 1872 issue of&nbsp;Scribner's Monthly.&nbsp;-&nbsp;From&nbsp;Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaBuy the&nbsp;CD with any credit cardITUNESMP3'S or WAV files direct from the artistCall&nbsp;512-589-8749&nbsp;to order by phone.Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!​SPOTIFY - Coming soFree Pick of the WeekOr buy&nbsp;it in AUSTIN texas at Waterloo RecordsBuy the&nbsp;CD with any credit cardITUNESMP3'S or WAV files direct from the artistCall&nbsp;512-589-8749&nbsp;to order by phone.Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!&nbsp;​SPOTIFYAMAZONThe story behind&nbsp;Austin for ChristmasAll of the songs in this collection were favorites of my mother.&nbsp; She loved filling the house with Christmas decorations, smells of&nbsp; many varieties of cookies baking, which she'd arrange in spectacular colorful gift trays, and of course Christmas music draped over the top of everything. She'd play the vinyl records on our massive stereo which was as long as our dining room table,.and she'd be as happy as we'd ever see her all year. Her happiness in itself was the best part of the season. It was contagious and it was fleeting. In our household, Christmas music represented the hope of another year, maybe a better year, and a momentary suspension of all things worrisome or sorrowful.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Yuletide by the fireside and joyful memories there." We chose the songs with an underlying theme of togetherness. No matter where you fall on the religious/ spiritual spectrum, holidays are a time of connection.&nbsp; Of reunion and reflectionand gratitude. And being together as the bustling world mercifully grinds to a halt, creating a glow in the darkness of the long nights of winter.&nbsp; - KAREN MALThe story behind&nbsp;A Mandolin ChristmasA jazz musician, a folk artist, 20 fingers pulling 14 strings &amp; 19 ancient melodies that time has polished.A Mandolin Christmas&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Deep in the throes of the hottest summer on record in Austin, &nbsp;TX, Karen Mal and Will Taylor decided to make a Christmas album. It was a 112-degree "Silent Night" in their un-airconditioned recording studio in August. Even the cat was sweating.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The couple had collaborated on many musical projects; his, hers, and their ensemble's, but a "Mandolin Christmas" is purely a duet in every sense of the word. &nbsp;It's a dance between two partners: the mandolin and the classical guitar. &nbsp;And that's it. &nbsp;Karen and Will are perhaps better-known as vocalist and violinist, respectively, but as the tracks blossomed, the two instruments just didn't seem to want any company. There's a simple elegance in the combination that makes for a classic record.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "A Mandolin Christmas" is also a duet between traditional folk music and jazz. &nbsp;The music includes pristine old-style classical arrangements, and also subtle and playful jazz harmonizations, weaving around familiar melodies that sound like home. &nbsp; You can practically smell the sugar cookies coming out of the oven, see the kitchen windows steaming up. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Even the packaging is a duet. Karen staged the shots in their vegetable garden. That's a real Calabacita squash with the bow on it. (we ate it for Thanksgiving) Will took the photos and fit everything into the artwork templates.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; If you like Christmas music even a little, you're going to love this album. You're going to love it again when you dig it out next year, and again and again, every holiday season.Violinist, composer and Austin Music Award winner Will Taylor has performed with&nbsp;Pearl Jam, Grammy winner&nbsp;Shawn Colvin,&nbsp;P-Diddy,&nbsp;Willie Nelson,&nbsp;Ronny Cox&nbsp;(Deliverance) and&nbsp;many more.Will and his musical friends from Austin, Texas&nbsp;light up your house with inspiring acoustic music.WASHINGTON POST–“Imaginatively orchestrated… multi-faceted… darting lyricism, and occasionally pensive moods, Taylor makes the grade with his deft touch and improvisatory skills.”ESQUIRE MAGAZINE–”As to the quality of the music and the professionalism, this production is far superior over the numerous recordings issued by the major record companies.”Learn how you can have Karen Mal &amp; Will Taylor in your home&nbsp;here.~!Anywhere, not just where we live.More fan comments...

A Poet's Bleak Midwinter

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><b>Christmas and Holiday Music from Karen Mal &amp; Will Taylor</b><br /><b><br /></b>Read about,&nbsp; listen to and support our music below.<br /><br />You listened to it free, but it wasn't free to make this music...so in this new world of the "free music, want to help out, do your part to support our continued creation of great acoustic music?<br /><br />Read below or just signup to get all of our music as a patron of Strings Attached<br />See more about it&nbsp;<a href="http://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/patron-sustainer">here....</a><br /><br /><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">"</span><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Joy to the World</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">" is a popular&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_carol" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Christmas carol">Christmas carol</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;The words are by English hymn writer&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Watts" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Isaac Watts">Isaac Watts</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, based on Psalm 98, 96:11-12 and Genesis 3:17-18, in the Bible. The song was first published in 1719 in Watts' collection;&nbsp;</span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The Psalms of David: Imitated in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and worship</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">. "The paraphrase is Watts' Christological interpretation.&nbsp;-&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.88px;">From&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/">Wikipedia</a>, the free encyclopedia</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.88px;"><br /></span><ul style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style-position: outside; margin: 5px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2.3em;"></ul><iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=4153719561/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; height: 470px; width: 350px;"></iframe><br /><br /><br /><br /><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Buy the&nbsp;<a data-cke-saved-href="http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00Y099KU" href="http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00Y099KU" style="color: #124a97;">CD with any credit card</a></span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/a-mandolin-for-christmas/1322791759" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/a-mandolin-for-christmas/1322791759" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">ITUNES</a></span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="https://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/album/a-mandolin-christmas" href="https://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/album/a-mandolin-christmas" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">MP3'S or WAV files direct from the artist</a></span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Call&nbsp;<strong><a data-cke-saved-href="tel:512-589-8749" href="tel:512-589-8749" style="color: #124a97;">512-589-8749</a></strong>&nbsp;to order by phone.</span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!</span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">​SPOTIFY - Coming so</span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="http://budurl.com/pickofweek" href="http://budurl.com/pickofweek" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">Free Pick of the Week</a></span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Or buy&nbsp;it in AUSTIN texas at Waterloo Records</span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><div style="color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"><iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2646491731/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; height: 470px; width: 350px;"></iframe><br /></div></li><br /><ul style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; list-style-position: outside; margin: 5px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2.3em;"><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Buy the&nbsp;<a data-cke-saved-href="http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00HS83S9" href="http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00HS83S9" style="color: #124a97;">CD with any credit card</a></span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/austin-for-christmas-vol-1-the-standards/1323892369?uo=4&amp;app=itunes" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/austin-for-christmas-vol-1-the-standards/1323892369?uo=4&amp;app=itunes" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">ITUNES</a></span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="https://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/album/austin-for-christmas" href="https://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/album/austin-for-christmas" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">MP3'S or WAV files direct from the artist</a></span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Call&nbsp;<strong><a data-cke-saved-href="tel:512-589-8749" href="tel:512-589-8749" style="color: #124a97;">512-589-8749</a></strong>&nbsp;to order by phone.</span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!&nbsp;</span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">​<a data-cke-saved-href="https://open.spotify.com/album/7MXYdt44Hz0LFTSoCqvfAf" href="https://open.spotify.com/album/7MXYdt44Hz0LFTSoCqvfAf" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">SPOTIFY</a></span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07833GRP4" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07833GRP4" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">AMAZON</a></span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;"><b>The story behind&nbsp;<a href="http://austinforchristmas.com/">Austin for Christmas</a></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">All of the songs in this collection were favorites of my mother.&nbsp; She loved filling the house with Christmas decorations, smells of&nbsp; many varieties of cookies baking, which she'd arrange in spectacular colorful gift trays, and of course Christmas music draped over the top of everything. She'd play the vinyl records on our massive stereo which was as long as our dining room table,.and she'd be as happy as we'd ever see her all year. Her happiness in itself was the best part of the season. It was contagious and it was fleeting. In our household, Christmas music represented the hope of another year, maybe a better year, and a momentary suspension of all things worrisome or sorrowful.&nbsp;</div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">&nbsp;&nbsp; "Yuletide by the fireside and joyful memories there." We chose the songs with an underlying theme of togetherness. No matter where you fall on the religious/ spiritual spectrum, holidays are a time of connection.&nbsp; Of reunion and reflection</div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">and gratitude. And being together as the bustling world mercifully grinds to a halt, creating a glow in the darkness of the long nights of winter.&nbsp; - KAREN MAL</div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><b>The story behind&nbsp;<a href="http://amandolinchristmas.com/">A Mandolin Christmas</a></b></div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">A jazz musician, a folk artist, 20 fingers pulling 14 strings &amp; 19 ancient melodies that time has polished.</span><br /><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">A Mandolin Christmas&nbsp;</span><br /><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #757474; font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Deep in the throes of the hottest summer on record in Austin, &nbsp;TX, Karen Mal and Will Taylor decided to make a Christmas album. It was a 112-degree "Silent Night" in their un-airconditioned recording studio in August. Even the cat was sweating.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The couple had collaborated on many musical projects; his, hers, and their ensemble's, but a "Mandolin Christmas" is purely a duet in every sense of the word. &nbsp;It's a dance between two partners: the mandolin and the classical guitar. &nbsp;And that's it. &nbsp;Karen and Will are perhaps better-known as vocalist and violinist, respectively, but as the tracks blossomed, the two instruments just didn't seem to want any company. There's a simple elegance in the combination that makes for a classic record.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "A Mandolin Christmas" is also a duet between traditional folk music and jazz. &nbsp;The music includes pristine old-style classical arrangements, and also subtle and playful jazz harmonizations, weaving around familiar melodies that sound like home. &nbsp; You can practically smell the sugar cookies coming out of the oven, see the kitchen windows steaming up. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Even the packaging is a duet. Karen staged the shots in their vegetable garden. That's a real Calabacita squash with the bow on it. (we ate it for Thanksgiving) Will took the photos and fit everything into the artwork templates.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; If you like Christmas music even a little, you're going to love this album. You're going to love it again when you dig it out next year, and again and again, every holiday season.</span></div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /><br /></div></div><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="80" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed?uri=spotify:user:121986569:playlist:5naiPKUg08Q408f3FbZ7oh&amp;view=coverart" width="300"></iframe><br /><br /><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="56" scrolling="no" src="https://open.spotify.com/follow/1/?uri=spotify:artist:6x03feKbVY97ZUfa7Q3uy8&amp;size=detail&amp;theme=dark" style="border-style: none; border-width: initial; overflow: hidden;" width="300"></iframe><br /><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Violinist, composer and Austin Music Award winner Will Taylor has performed with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pearl+jam+strings+attached" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Pearl Jam</a>, Grammy winner&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5ChC_n5JZY" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Shawn Colvin</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkM2_gW4KjA" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">P-Diddy</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://soundcloud.com/stringsattached/simply-with-willie-nelson-will-taylor-strings" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Willie Nelson</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0KIIN_4XWQ" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Ronny Cox</a>&nbsp;(<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Deliverance</em>) and&nbsp;<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1c1bXlmIPgCHs7vLOQi-6MhVrpsAIFbKwT5KvhwR6xQk/edit" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">many more</a>.</b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Will and his musical friends from Austin, Texas&nbsp;light up your house with inspiring acoustic music.</b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">WASHINGTON POST–</b><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“Imaginatively orchestrated… multi-faceted… darting lyricism, and occasionally pensive moods, Taylor makes the grade with his deft touch and improvisatory skills.”</b></div><b style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></b><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></b>ESQUIRE MAGAZINE–”As to the quality of the music and the professionalism, this production is far superior over the numerous recordings issued by the major record companies.”</b></div><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/21s_hyQnizM" width="560"></iframe><br /><br />Learn how you can have Karen Mal &amp; Will Taylor in your home&nbsp;<a href="http://www.stringsattachedmusic.net/house-concerts-with-strings/">here</a>.~!<br />Anywhere, not just where we live.<br /><br /><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1INlFPzyIOCfRRc4V4lTBBY7Vf3as6JJIOEj96RavDsI/edit?usp=sharing">More fan comments...</a></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/WfiDt/~4/oW1_yn21jg0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

Christmas and Holiday Music from Karen Mal &amp; Will TaylorRead about,&nbsp; listen to and support our music below.You listened to it free, but it wasn't free to make this music...so in this new world of the "free music, want to help out, do your part to support our continued creation of great acoustic music?Read below or just signup to get all of our music as a patron of Strings AttachedSee more about it&nbsp;here...."Joy to the World" is a popular&nbsp;Christmas carol.&nbsp;The words are by English hymn writer&nbsp;Isaac Watts, based on Psalm 98, 96:11-12 and Genesis 3:17-18, in the Bible. The song was first published in 1719 in Watts' collection;&nbsp;The Psalms of David: Imitated in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and worship. "The paraphrase is Watts' Christological interpretation.&nbsp;-&nbsp;From&nbsp;Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaBuy the&nbsp;CD with any credit cardITUNESMP3'S or WAV files direct from the artistCall&nbsp;512-589-8749&nbsp;to order by phone.Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!​SPOTIFY - Coming soFree Pick of the WeekOr buy&nbsp;it in AUSTIN texas at Waterloo RecordsBuy the&nbsp;CD with any credit cardITUNESMP3'S or WAV files direct from the artistCall&nbsp;512-589-8749&nbsp;to order by phone.Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!&nbsp;​SPOTIFYAMAZONThe story behind&nbsp;Austin for ChristmasAll of the songs in this collection were favorites of my mother.&nbsp; She loved filling the house with Christmas decorations, smells of&nbsp; many varieties of cookies baking, which she'd arrange in spectacular colorful gift trays, and of course Christmas music draped over the top of everything. She'd play the vinyl records on our massive stereo which was as long as our dining room table,.and she'd be as happy as we'd ever see her all year. Her happiness in itself was the best part of the season. It was contagious and it was fleeting. In our household, Christmas music represented the hope of another year, maybe a better year, and a momentary suspension of all things worrisome or sorrowful.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Yuletide by the fireside and joyful memories there." We chose the songs with an underlying theme of togetherness. No matter where you fall on the religious/ spiritual spectrum, holidays are a time of connection.&nbsp; Of reunion and reflectionand gratitude. And being together as the bustling world mercifully grinds to a halt, creating a glow in the darkness of the long nights of winter.&nbsp; - KAREN MALThe story behind&nbsp;A Mandolin ChristmasA jazz musician, a folk artist, 20 fingers pulling 14 strings &amp; 19 ancient melodies that time has polished.A Mandolin Christmas&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Deep in the throes of the hottest summer on record in Austin, &nbsp;TX, Karen Mal and Will Taylor decided to make a Christmas album. It was a 112-degree "Silent Night" in their un-airconditioned recording studio in August. Even the cat was sweating.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The couple had collaborated on many musical projects; his, hers, and their ensemble's, but a "Mandolin Christmas" is purely a duet in every sense of the word. &nbsp;It's a dance between two partners: the mandolin and the classical guitar. &nbsp;And that's it. &nbsp;Karen and Will are perhaps better-known as vocalist and violinist, respectively, but as the tracks blossomed, the two instruments just didn't seem to want any company. There's a simple elegance in the combination that makes for a classic record.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "A Mandolin Christmas" is also a duet between traditional folk music and jazz. &nbsp;The music includes pristine old-style classical arrangements, and also subtle and playful jazz harmonizations, weaving around familiar melodies that sound like home. &nbsp; You can practically smell the sugar cookies coming out of the oven, see the kitchen windows steaming up. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Even the packaging is a duet. Karen staged the shots in their vegetable garden. That's a real Calabacita squash with the bow on it. (we ate it for Thanksgiving) Will took the photos and fit everything into the artwork templates.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; If you like Christmas music even a little, you're going to love this album. You're going to love it again when you dig it out next year, and again and again, every holiday season.Violinist, composer and Austin Music Award winner Will Taylor has performed with&nbsp;Pearl Jam, Grammy winner&nbsp;Shawn Colvin,&nbsp;P-Diddy,&nbsp;Willie Nelson,&nbsp;Ronny Cox&nbsp;(Deliverance) and&nbsp;many more.Will and his musical friends from Austin, Texas&nbsp;light up your house with inspiring acoustic music.WASHINGTON POST–“Imaginatively orchestrated… multi-faceted… darting lyricism, and occasionally pensive moods, Taylor makes the grade with his deft touch and improvisatory skills.”ESQUIRE MAGAZINE–”As to the quality of the music and the professionalism, this production is far superior over the numerous recordings issued by the major record companies.”Learn how you can have Karen Mal &amp; Will Taylor in your home&nbsp;here.~!Anywhere, not just where we live.More fan comments...

About Joy to the World

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><b>Christmas and Holiday Music from Karen Mal &amp; Will Taylor</b><br /><b><br /></b>Read about,&nbsp; listen to and support our music below.<br /><br />You listened to it free, but it wasn't free to make this music...so in this new world of the "free music, want to help out, do your part to support our continued creation of great acoustic music?<br /><br />Read below or just signup to get all of our music as a patron of Strings Attached<br />See more about it&nbsp;<a href="http://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/patron-sustainer">here....</a><br /><br /><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The "<b>Coventry Carol</b>" is an English&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_carol" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080;" title="Christmas carol">Christmas carol</a>&nbsp;dating from the 16th century. The carol was traditionally performed in&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coventry" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080;" title="Coventry">Coventry</a>&nbsp;in&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080;" title="England">England</a>&nbsp;as part of a&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_play" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080;" title="Mystery play">mystery play</a>&nbsp;called&nbsp;<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coventry_Mystery_Plays" style="background: none; color: #0b0080;" title="Coventry Mystery Plays">The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors</a></i>. The play depicts the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080;" title="Christmas">Christmas</a>&nbsp;story from chapter two in the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Matthew" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080;" title="Gospel of Matthew">Gospel of Matthew</a>: the carol itself refers to the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_the_Innocents" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080;" title="Massacre of the Innocents">Massacre of the Innocents</a>, in which&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_the_Great" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080;" title="Herod the Great">Herod</a>&nbsp;ordered all male infants under the age of two in&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethlehem" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080;" title="Bethlehem">Bethlehem</a>&nbsp;to be killed, and takes the form of a&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lullaby" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080;" title="Lullaby">lullaby</a>&nbsp;sung by mothers of the doomed children.&nbsp;-&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.88px;">From&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/">Wikipedia</a>, the free encyclopedia</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.88px;"><br /></span><ul style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style-position: outside; margin: 5px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2.3em;"></ul><iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=4153719561/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; height: 470px; width: 350px;"></iframe><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Buy the&nbsp;<a data-cke-saved-href="http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00Y099KU" href="http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00Y099KU" style="color: #124a97;">CD with any credit card</a></span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/a-mandolin-for-christmas/1322791759" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/a-mandolin-for-christmas/1322791759" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">ITUNES</a></span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="https://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/album/a-mandolin-christmas" href="https://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/album/a-mandolin-christmas" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">MP3'S or WAV files direct from the artist</a></span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Call&nbsp;<strong><a data-cke-saved-href="tel:512-589-8749" href="tel:512-589-8749" style="color: #124a97;">512-589-8749</a></strong>&nbsp;to order by phone.</span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!</span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">​SPOTIFY - Coming so</span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="http://budurl.com/pickofweek" href="http://budurl.com/pickofweek" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">Free Pick of the Week</a></span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Or buy&nbsp;it in AUSTIN texas at Waterloo Records</span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><div style="color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"><iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2646491731/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; height: 470px; width: 350px;"></iframe><br /></div></li><br /><ul style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; list-style-position: outside; margin: 5px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2.3em;"><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Buy the&nbsp;<a data-cke-saved-href="http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00HS83S9" href="http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00HS83S9" style="color: #124a97;">CD with any credit card</a></span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/austin-for-christmas-vol-1-the-standards/1323892369?uo=4&amp;app=itunes" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/austin-for-christmas-vol-1-the-standards/1323892369?uo=4&amp;app=itunes" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">ITUNES</a></span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="https://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/album/austin-for-christmas" href="https://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/album/austin-for-christmas" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">MP3'S or WAV files direct from the artist</a></span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Call&nbsp;<strong><a data-cke-saved-href="tel:512-589-8749" href="tel:512-589-8749" style="color: #124a97;">512-589-8749</a></strong>&nbsp;to order by phone.</span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!&nbsp;</span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">​<a data-cke-saved-href="https://open.spotify.com/album/7MXYdt44Hz0LFTSoCqvfAf" href="https://open.spotify.com/album/7MXYdt44Hz0LFTSoCqvfAf" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">SPOTIFY</a></span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07833GRP4" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07833GRP4" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">AMAZON</a></span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;"><b>The story behind&nbsp;<a href="http://austinforchristmas.com/">Austin for Christmas</a></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">All of the songs in this collection were favorites of my mother.&nbsp; She loved filling the house with Christmas decorations, smells of&nbsp; many varieties of cookies baking, which she'd arrange in spectacular colorful gift trays, and of course Christmas music draped over the top of everything. She'd play the vinyl records on our massive stereo which was as long as our dining room table,.and she'd be as happy as we'd ever see her all year. Her happiness in itself was the best part of the season. It was contagious and it was fleeting. In our household, Christmas music represented the hope of another year, maybe a better year, and a momentary suspension of all things worrisome or sorrowful.&nbsp;</div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">&nbsp;&nbsp; "Yuletide by the fireside and joyful memories there." We chose the songs with an underlying theme of togetherness. No matter where you fall on the religious/ spiritual spectrum, holidays are a time of connection.&nbsp; Of reunion and reflection</div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">and gratitude. And being together as the bustling world mercifully grinds to a halt, creating a glow in the darkness of the long nights of winter.&nbsp; - KAREN MAL</div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><b>The story behind&nbsp;<a href="http://amandolinchristmas.com/">A Mandolin Christmas</a></b></div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">A jazz musician, a folk artist, 20 fingers pulling 14 strings &amp; 19 ancient melodies that time has polished.</span><br /><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">A Mandolin Christmas&nbsp;</span><br /><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #757474; font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Deep in the throes of the hottest summer on record in Austin, &nbsp;TX, Karen Mal and Will Taylor decided to make a Christmas album. It was a 112-degree "Silent Night" in their un-airconditioned recording studio in August. Even the cat was sweating.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The couple had collaborated on many musical projects; his, hers, and their ensemble's, but a "Mandolin Christmas" is purely a duet in every sense of the word. &nbsp;It's a dance between two partners: the mandolin and the classical guitar. &nbsp;And that's it. &nbsp;Karen and Will are perhaps better-known as vocalist and violinist, respectively, but as the tracks blossomed, the two instruments just didn't seem to want any company. There's a simple elegance in the combination that makes for a classic record.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "A Mandolin Christmas" is also a duet between traditional folk music and jazz. &nbsp;The music includes pristine old-style classical arrangements, and also subtle and playful jazz harmonizations, weaving around familiar melodies that sound like home. &nbsp; You can practically smell the sugar cookies coming out of the oven, see the kitchen windows steaming up. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Even the packaging is a duet. Karen staged the shots in their vegetable garden. That's a real Calabacita squash with the bow on it. (we ate it for Thanksgiving) Will took the photos and fit everything into the artwork templates.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; If you like Christmas music even a little, you're going to love this album. You're going to love it again when you dig it out next year, and again and again, every holiday season.</span></div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /><br /></div></div><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="80" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed?uri=spotify:user:121986569:playlist:5naiPKUg08Q408f3FbZ7oh&amp;view=coverart" width="300"></iframe><br /><br /><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="56" scrolling="no" src="https://open.spotify.com/follow/1/?uri=spotify:artist:6x03feKbVY97ZUfa7Q3uy8&amp;size=detail&amp;theme=dark" style="border-style: none; border-width: initial; overflow: hidden;" width="300"></iframe><br /><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Violinist, composer and Austin Music Award winner Will Taylor has performed with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pearl+jam+strings+attached" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Pearl Jam</a>, Grammy winner&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5ChC_n5JZY" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Shawn Colvin</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkM2_gW4KjA" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">P-Diddy</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://soundcloud.com/stringsattached/simply-with-willie-nelson-will-taylor-strings" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Willie Nelson</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0KIIN_4XWQ" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Ronny Cox</a>&nbsp;(<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Deliverance</em>) and&nbsp;<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1c1bXlmIPgCHs7vLOQi-6MhVrpsAIFbKwT5KvhwR6xQk/edit" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">many more</a>.</b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Will and his musical friends from Austin, Texas&nbsp;light up your house with inspiring acoustic music.</b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">WASHINGTON POST–</b><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“Imaginatively orchestrated… multi-faceted… darting lyricism, and occasionally pensive moods, Taylor makes the grade with his deft touch and improvisatory skills.”</b></div><b style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></b><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></b>ESQUIRE MAGAZINE–”As to the quality of the music and the professionalism, this production is far superior over the numerous recordings issued by the major record companies.”</b></div><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/21s_hyQnizM" width="560"></iframe><br /><br />Learn how you can have Karen Mal &amp; Will Taylor in your home&nbsp;<a href="http://www.stringsattachedmusic.net/house-concerts-with-strings/">here</a>.~!<br />Anywhere, not just where we live.<br /><br /><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1INlFPzyIOCfRRc4V4lTBBY7Vf3as6JJIOEj96RavDsI/edit?usp=sharing">More fan comments...</a></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/WfiDt/~4/w-r4VD1v8_U" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

Christmas and Holiday Music from Karen Mal &amp; Will TaylorRead about,&nbsp; listen to and support our music below.You listened to it free, but it wasn't free to make this music...so in this new world of the "free music, want to help out, do your part to support our continued creation of great acoustic music?Read below or just signup to get all of our music as a patron of Strings AttachedSee more about it&nbsp;here....The "Coventry Carol" is an English&nbsp;Christmas carol&nbsp;dating from the 16th century. The carol was traditionally performed in&nbsp;Coventry&nbsp;in&nbsp;England&nbsp;as part of a&nbsp;mystery play&nbsp;called&nbsp;The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors. The play depicts the&nbsp;Christmas&nbsp;story from chapter two in the&nbsp;Gospel of Matthew: the carol itself refers to the&nbsp;Massacre of the Innocents, in which&nbsp;Herod&nbsp;ordered all male infants under the age of two in&nbsp;Bethlehem&nbsp;to be killed, and takes the form of a&nbsp;lullaby&nbsp;sung by mothers of the doomed children.&nbsp;-&nbsp;From&nbsp;Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaBuy the&nbsp;CD with any credit cardITUNESMP3'S or WAV files direct from the artistCall&nbsp;512-589-8749&nbsp;to order by phone.Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!​SPOTIFY - Coming soFree Pick of the WeekOr buy&nbsp;it in AUSTIN texas at Waterloo RecordsBuy the&nbsp;CD with any credit cardITUNESMP3'S or WAV files direct from the artistCall&nbsp;512-589-8749&nbsp;to order by phone.Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!&nbsp;​SPOTIFYAMAZONThe story behind&nbsp;Austin for ChristmasAll of the songs in this collection were favorites of my mother.&nbsp; She loved filling the house with Christmas decorations, smells of&nbsp; many varieties of cookies baking, which she'd arrange in spectacular colorful gift trays, and of course Christmas music draped over the top of everything. She'd play the vinyl records on our massive stereo which was as long as our dining room table,.and she'd be as happy as we'd ever see her all year. Her happiness in itself was the best part of the season. It was contagious and it was fleeting. In our household, Christmas music represented the hope of another year, maybe a better year, and a momentary suspension of all things worrisome or sorrowful.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Yuletide by the fireside and joyful memories there." We chose the songs with an underlying theme of togetherness. No matter where you fall on the religious/ spiritual spectrum, holidays are a time of connection.&nbsp; Of reunion and reflectionand gratitude. And being together as the bustling world mercifully grinds to a halt, creating a glow in the darkness of the long nights of winter.&nbsp; - KAREN MALThe story behind&nbsp;A Mandolin ChristmasA jazz musician, a folk artist, 20 fingers pulling 14 strings &amp; 19 ancient melodies that time has polished.A Mandolin Christmas&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Deep in the throes of the hottest summer on record in Austin, &nbsp;TX, Karen Mal and Will Taylor decided to make a Christmas album. It was a 112-degree "Silent Night" in their un-airconditioned recording studio in August. Even the cat was sweating.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The couple had collaborated on many musical projects; his, hers, and their ensemble's, but a "Mandolin Christmas" is purely a duet in every sense of the word. &nbsp;It's a dance between two partners: the mandolin and the classical guitar. &nbsp;And that's it. &nbsp;Karen and Will are perhaps better-known as vocalist and violinist, respectively, but as the tracks blossomed, the two instruments just didn't seem to want any company. There's a simple elegance in the combination that makes for a classic record.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "A Mandolin Christmas" is also a duet between traditional folk music and jazz. &nbsp;The music includes pristine old-style classical arrangements, and also subtle and playful jazz harmonizations, weaving around familiar melodies that sound like home. &nbsp; You can practically smell the sugar cookies coming out of the oven, see the kitchen windows steaming up. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Even the packaging is a duet. Karen staged the shots in their vegetable garden. That's a real Calabacita squash with the bow on it. (we ate it for Thanksgiving) Will took the photos and fit everything into the artwork templates.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; If you like Christmas music even a little, you're going to love this album. You're going to love it again when you dig it out next year, and again and again, every holiday season.Violinist, composer and Austin Music Award winner Will Taylor has performed with&nbsp;Pearl Jam, Grammy winner&nbsp;Shawn Colvin,&nbsp;P-Diddy,&nbsp;Willie Nelson,&nbsp;Ronny Cox&nbsp;(Deliverance) and&nbsp;many more.Will and his musical friends from Austin, Texas&nbsp;light up your house with inspiring acoustic music.WASHINGTON POST–“Imaginatively orchestrated… multi-faceted… darting lyricism, and occasionally pensive moods, Taylor makes the grade with his deft touch and improvisatory skills.”ESQUIRE MAGAZINE–”As to the quality of the music and the professionalism, this production is far superior over the numerous recordings issued by the major record companies.”Learn how you can have Karen Mal &amp; Will Taylor in your home&nbsp;here.~!Anywhere, not just where we live.More fan comments...

The Story Behind of Coventry Carol

O Little Town of Bethlehem

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><b>Christmas and Holiday Music from Karen Mal &amp; Will Taylor</b><br /><b><br /></b>Read about,&nbsp; listen to and support our music below.<br /><br />You listened to it free, but it wasn't free to make this music...so in this new world of the "free music, want to help out, do your part to support our continued creation of great acoustic music?<br /><br />Read below or just signup to get all of our music as a patron of Strings Attached<br />See more about it&nbsp;<a href="http://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/patron-sustainer">here....</a><br /><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">"</span><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><span lang="de">O Tannenbaum</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">" (</span><small style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 11.9px;">German:</small><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="IPA" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Standard_German" style="background: none; color: #0b0080;" title="Help:IPA/Standard German">[oː ˈtanənbaʊm]</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">; "O fir tree", English: “O Christmas Tree”) is a German&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Christmas">Christmas</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Song">song</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">. Based on a traditional folk song, it became associated with the traditional&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_tree" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Christmas tree">Christmas tree</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;by the early 20th century and sung as a&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_carol" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Christmas carol">Christmas carol</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">. -&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.88px;">From&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/">Wikipedia</a>, the free encyclopedia</span><br /><br /><ul style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style-position: outside; margin: 5px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2.3em;"></ul><iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=4153719561/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; height: 470px; width: 350px;"></iframe><br /><br /><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Buy the&nbsp;<a data-cke-saved-href="http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00Y099KU" href="http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00Y099KU" style="color: #124a97;">CD with any credit card</a></span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/a-mandolin-for-christmas/1322791759" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/a-mandolin-for-christmas/1322791759" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">ITUNES</a></span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="https://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/album/a-mandolin-christmas" href="https://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/album/a-mandolin-christmas" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">MP3'S or WAV files direct from the artist</a></span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Call&nbsp;<strong><a data-cke-saved-href="tel:512-589-8749" href="tel:512-589-8749" style="color: #124a97;">512-589-8749</a></strong>&nbsp;to order by phone.</span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!</span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">​SPOTIFY - Coming so</span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="http://budurl.com/pickofweek" href="http://budurl.com/pickofweek" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">Free Pick of the Week</a></span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Or buy&nbsp;it in AUSTIN texas at Waterloo Records</span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><div style="color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"><iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2646491731/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; height: 470px; width: 350px;"></iframe><br /></div></li><br /><ul style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; list-style-position: outside; margin: 5px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2.3em;"><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Buy the&nbsp;<a data-cke-saved-href="http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00HS83S9" href="http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00HS83S9" style="color: #124a97;">CD with any credit card</a></span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/austin-for-christmas-vol-1-the-standards/1323892369?uo=4&amp;app=itunes" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/austin-for-christmas-vol-1-the-standards/1323892369?uo=4&amp;app=itunes" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">ITUNES</a></span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="https://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/album/austin-for-christmas" href="https://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/album/austin-for-christmas" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">MP3'S or WAV files direct from the artist</a></span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Call&nbsp;<strong><a data-cke-saved-href="tel:512-589-8749" href="tel:512-589-8749" style="color: #124a97;">512-589-8749</a></strong>&nbsp;to order by phone.</span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!&nbsp;</span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">​<a data-cke-saved-href="https://open.spotify.com/album/7MXYdt44Hz0LFTSoCqvfAf" href="https://open.spotify.com/album/7MXYdt44Hz0LFTSoCqvfAf" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">SPOTIFY</a></span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07833GRP4" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07833GRP4" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">AMAZON</a></span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;"><b>The story behind&nbsp;<a href="http://austinforchristmas.com/">Austin for Christmas</a></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">All of the songs in this collection were favorites of my mother.&nbsp; She loved filling the house with Christmas decorations, smells of&nbsp; many varieties of cookies baking, which she'd arrange in spectacular colorful gift trays, and of course Christmas music draped over the top of everything. She'd play the vinyl records on our massive stereo which was as long as our dining room table,.and she'd be as happy as we'd ever see her all year. Her happiness in itself was the best part of the season. It was contagious and it was fleeting. In our household, Christmas music represented the hope of another year, maybe a better year, and a momentary suspension of all things worrisome or sorrowful.&nbsp;</div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">&nbsp;&nbsp; "Yuletide by the fireside and joyful memories there." We chose the songs with an underlying theme of togetherness. No matter where you fall on the religious/ spiritual spectrum, holidays are a time of connection.&nbsp; Of reunion and reflection</div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">and gratitude. And being together as the bustling world mercifully grinds to a halt, creating a glow in the darkness of the long nights of winter.&nbsp; - KAREN MAL</div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><b>The story behind&nbsp;<a href="http://amandolinchristmas.com/">A Mandolin Christmas</a></b></div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">A jazz musician, a folk artist, 20 fingers pulling 14 strings &amp; 19 ancient melodies that time has polished.</span><br /><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">A Mandolin Christmas&nbsp;</span><br /><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #757474; font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Deep in the throes of the hottest summer on record in Austin, &nbsp;TX, Karen Mal and Will Taylor decided to make a Christmas album. It was a 112-degree "Silent Night" in their un-airconditioned recording studio in August. Even the cat was sweating.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The couple had collaborated on many musical projects; his, hers, and their ensemble's, but a "Mandolin Christmas" is purely a duet in every sense of the word. &nbsp;It's a dance between two partners: the mandolin and the classical guitar. &nbsp;And that's it. &nbsp;Karen and Will are perhaps better-known as vocalist and violinist, respectively, but as the tracks blossomed, the two instruments just didn't seem to want any company. There's a simple elegance in the combination that makes for a classic record.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "A Mandolin Christmas" is also a duet between traditional folk music and jazz. &nbsp;The music includes pristine old-style classical arrangements, and also subtle and playful jazz harmonizations, weaving around familiar melodies that sound like home. &nbsp; You can practically smell the sugar cookies coming out of the oven, see the kitchen windows steaming up. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Even the packaging is a duet. Karen staged the shots in their vegetable garden. That's a real Calabacita squash with the bow on it. (we ate it for Thanksgiving) Will took the photos and fit everything into the artwork templates.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; If you like Christmas music even a little, you're going to love this album. You're going to love it again when you dig it out next year, and again and again, every holiday season.</span></div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /><br /></div></div><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="80" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed?uri=spotify:user:121986569:playlist:5naiPKUg08Q408f3FbZ7oh&amp;view=coverart" width="300"></iframe><br /><br /><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="56" scrolling="no" src="https://open.spotify.com/follow/1/?uri=spotify:artist:6x03feKbVY97ZUfa7Q3uy8&amp;size=detail&amp;theme=dark" style="border-style: none; border-width: initial; overflow: hidden;" width="300"></iframe><br /><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Violinist, composer and Austin Music Award winner Will Taylor has performed with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pearl+jam+strings+attached" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Pearl Jam</a>, Grammy winner&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5ChC_n5JZY" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Shawn Colvin</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkM2_gW4KjA" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">P-Diddy</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://soundcloud.com/stringsattached/simply-with-willie-nelson-will-taylor-strings" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Willie Nelson</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0KIIN_4XWQ" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Ronny Cox</a>&nbsp;(<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Deliverance</em>) and&nbsp;<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1c1bXlmIPgCHs7vLOQi-6MhVrpsAIFbKwT5KvhwR6xQk/edit" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">many more</a>.</b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Will and his musical friends from Austin, Texas&nbsp;light up your house with inspiring acoustic music.</b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">WASHINGTON POST–</b><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“Imaginatively orchestrated… multi-faceted… darting lyricism, and occasionally pensive moods, Taylor makes the grade with his deft touch and improvisatory skills.”</b></div><b style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></b><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></b>ESQUIRE MAGAZINE–”As to the quality of the music and the professionalism, this production is far superior over the numerous recordings issued by the major record companies.”</b></div><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/21s_hyQnizM" width="560"></iframe><br /><br />Learn how you can have Karen Mal &amp; Will Taylor in your home&nbsp;<a href="http://www.stringsattachedmusic.net/house-concerts-with-strings/">here</a>.~!<br />Anywhere, not just where we live.<br /><br /><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1INlFPzyIOCfRRc4V4lTBBY7Vf3as6JJIOEj96RavDsI/edit?usp=sharing">More fan comments...</a></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/WfiDt/~4/4WP5nxLbhT8" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

Christmas and Holiday Music from Karen Mal &amp; Will TaylorRead about,&nbsp; listen to and support our music below.You listened to it free, but it wasn't free to make this music...so in this new world of the "free music, want to help out, do your part to support our continued creation of great acoustic music?Read below or just signup to get all of our music as a patron of Strings AttachedSee more about it&nbsp;here...."O Tannenbaum" (German:&nbsp;[oː ˈtanənbaʊm]; "O fir tree", English: “O Christmas Tree”) is a German&nbsp;Christmas&nbsp;song. Based on a traditional folk song, it became associated with the traditional&nbsp;Christmas tree&nbsp;by the early 20th century and sung as a&nbsp;Christmas carol. -&nbsp;From&nbsp;Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaBuy the&nbsp;CD with any credit cardITUNESMP3'S or WAV files direct from the artistCall&nbsp;512-589-8749&nbsp;to order by phone.Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!​SPOTIFY - Coming soFree Pick of the WeekOr buy&nbsp;it in AUSTIN texas at Waterloo RecordsBuy the&nbsp;CD with any credit cardITUNESMP3'S or WAV files direct from the artistCall&nbsp;512-589-8749&nbsp;to order by phone.Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!&nbsp;​SPOTIFYAMAZONThe story behind&nbsp;Austin for ChristmasAll of the songs in this collection were favorites of my mother.&nbsp; She loved filling the house with Christmas decorations, smells of&nbsp; many varieties of cookies baking, which she'd arrange in spectacular colorful gift trays, and of course Christmas music draped over the top of everything. She'd play the vinyl records on our massive stereo which was as long as our dining room table,.and she'd be as happy as we'd ever see her all year. Her happiness in itself was the best part of the season. It was contagious and it was fleeting. In our household, Christmas music represented the hope of another year, maybe a better year, and a momentary suspension of all things worrisome or sorrowful.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Yuletide by the fireside and joyful memories there." We chose the songs with an underlying theme of togetherness. No matter where you fall on the religious/ spiritual spectrum, holidays are a time of connection.&nbsp; Of reunion and reflectionand gratitude. And being together as the bustling world mercifully grinds to a halt, creating a glow in the darkness of the long nights of winter.&nbsp; - KAREN MALThe story behind&nbsp;A Mandolin ChristmasA jazz musician, a folk artist, 20 fingers pulling 14 strings &amp; 19 ancient melodies that time has polished.A Mandolin Christmas&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Deep in the throes of the hottest summer on record in Austin, &nbsp;TX, Karen Mal and Will Taylor decided to make a Christmas album. It was a 112-degree "Silent Night" in their un-airconditioned recording studio in August. Even the cat was sweating.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The couple had collaborated on many musical projects; his, hers, and their ensemble's, but a "Mandolin Christmas" is purely a duet in every sense of the word. &nbsp;It's a dance between two partners: the mandolin and the classical guitar. &nbsp;And that's it. &nbsp;Karen and Will are perhaps better-known as vocalist and violinist, respectively, but as the tracks blossomed, the two instruments just didn't seem to want any company. There's a simple elegance in the combination that makes for a classic record.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "A Mandolin Christmas" is also a duet between traditional folk music and jazz. &nbsp;The music includes pristine old-style classical arrangements, and also subtle and playful jazz harmonizations, weaving around familiar melodies that sound like home. &nbsp; You can practically smell the sugar cookies coming out of the oven, see the kitchen windows steaming up. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Even the packaging is a duet. Karen staged the shots in their vegetable garden. That's a real Calabacita squash with the bow on it. (we ate it for Thanksgiving) Will took the photos and fit everything into the artwork templates.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; If you like Christmas music even a little, you're going to love this album. You're going to love it again when you dig it out next year, and again and again, every holiday season.Violinist, composer and Austin Music Award winner Will Taylor has performed with&nbsp;Pearl Jam, Grammy winner&nbsp;Shawn Colvin,&nbsp;P-Diddy,&nbsp;Willie Nelson,&nbsp;Ronny Cox&nbsp;(Deliverance) and&nbsp;many more.Will and his musical friends from Austin, Texas&nbsp;light up your house with inspiring acoustic music.WASHINGTON POST–“Imaginatively orchestrated… multi-faceted… darting lyricism, and occasionally pensive moods, Taylor makes the grade with his deft touch and improvisatory skills.”ESQUIRE MAGAZINE–”As to the quality of the music and the professionalism, this production is far superior over the numerous recordings issued by the major record companies.”Learn how you can have Karen Mal &amp; Will Taylor in your home&nbsp;here.~!Anywhere, not just where we live.More fan comments...

O Christmas Tree from Free Christmas Songs Podcast

Christmas and Holiday Music from Karen Mal &amp; Will TaylorRead about,&nbsp; listen to and support our music below.You listened to it free, but it wasn't free to make this music...so in this new world of the "free music, want to help out, do your part to support our continued creation of great acoustic music?Read below or just signup to get all of our music as a patron of Strings AttachedSee more about it&nbsp;here....Es ist ein Ros entsprungen&nbsp;(lit., "A rose has sprung up"), is a&nbsp;Christmas carol&nbsp;and&nbsp;Marian Hymn&nbsp;of German origin. It is most commonly translated in English as&nbsp;Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming, and sometimes as&nbsp;A Spotless Rose. The&nbsp;rose&nbsp;in the text is a symbolic reference to the&nbsp;Virgin Mary, and the hymn makes reference to the&nbsp;Old Testament prophecies&nbsp;of&nbsp;Isaiah&nbsp;which in Christian interpretation foretell the&nbsp;Incarnation of Christ, and to the&nbsp;Tree of Jesse, a traditional symbol of the&nbsp;lineage&nbsp;of&nbsp;Jesus. Because of its prophetic theme, the song is popular during the&nbsp;Christian season&nbsp;of&nbsp;Advent.&nbsp;-&nbsp;From&nbsp;Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaBuy the&nbsp;CD with any credit cardITUNESMP3'S or WAV files direct from the artistCall&nbsp;512-589-8749&nbsp;to order by phone.Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!​SPOTIFY - Coming soFree Pick of the WeekOr buy&nbsp;it in AUSTIN texas at Waterloo RecordsBuy the&nbsp;CD with any credit cardITUNESMP3'S or WAV files direct from the artistCall&nbsp;512-589-8749&nbsp;to order by phone.Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!&nbsp;​SPOTIFYAMAZONThe story behind&nbsp;Austin for ChristmasAll of the songs in this collection were favorites of my mother.&nbsp; She loved filling the house with Christmas decorations, smells of&nbsp; many varieties of cookies baking, which she'd arrange in spectacular colorful gift trays, and of course Christmas music draped over the top of everything. She'd play the vinyl records on our massive stereo which was as long as our dining room table,.and she'd be as happy as we'd ever see her all year. Her happiness in itself was the best part of the season. It was contagious and it was fleeting. In our household, Christmas music represented the hope of another year, maybe a better year, and a momentary suspension of all things worrisome or sorrowful.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Yuletide by the fireside and joyful memories there." We chose the songs with an underlying theme of togetherness. No matter where you fall on the religious/ spiritual spectrum, holidays are a time of connection.&nbsp; Of reunion and reflectionand gratitude. And being together as the bustling world mercifully grinds to a halt, creating a glow in the darkness of the long nights of winter.&nbsp; - KAREN MALThe story behind&nbsp;A Mandolin ChristmasA jazz musician, a folk artist, 20 fingers pulling 14 strings &amp; 19 ancient melodies that time has polished.A Mandolin Christmas&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Deep in the throes of the hottest summer on record in Austin, &nbsp;TX, Karen Mal and Will Taylor decided to make a Christmas album. It was a 112-degree "Silent Night" in their un-airconditioned recording studio in August. Even the cat was sweating.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The couple had collaborated on many musical projects; his, hers, and their ensemble's, but a "Mandolin Christmas" is purely a duet in every sense of the word. &nbsp;It's a dance between two partners: the mandolin and the classical guitar. &nbsp;And that's it. &nbsp;Karen and Will are perhaps better-known as vocalist and violinist, respectively, but as the tracks blossomed, the two instruments just didn't seem to want any company. There's a simple elegance in the combination that makes for a classic record.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "A Mandolin Christmas" is also a duet between traditional folk music and jazz. &nbsp;The music includes pristine old-style classical arrangements, and also subtle and playful jazz harmonizations, weaving around familiar melodies that sound like home. &nbsp; You can practically smell the sugar cookies coming out of the oven, see the kitchen windows steaming up. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Even the packaging is a duet. Karen staged the shots in their vegetable garden. That's a real Calabacita squash with the bow on it. (we ate it for Thanksgiving) Will took the photos and fit everything into the artwork templates.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; If you like Christmas music even a little, you're going to love this album. You're going to love it again when you dig it out next year, and again and again, every holiday season.Violinist, composer and Austin Music Award winner Will Taylor has performed with&nbsp;Pearl Jam, Grammy winner&nbsp;Shawn Colvin,&nbsp;P-Diddy,&nbsp;Willie Nelson,&nbsp;Ronny Cox&nbsp;(Deliverance) and&nbsp;many more.Will and his musical friends from Austin, Texas&nbsp;light up your house with inspiring acoustic music.WASHINGTON POST–“Imaginatively orchestrated… multi-faceted… darting lyricism, and occasionally pensive moods, Taylor makes the grade with his deft touch and improvisatory skills.”ESQUIRE MAGAZINE–”As to the quality of the music and the professionalism, this production is far superior over the numerous recordings issued by the major record companies.”Learn how you can have Karen Mal &amp; Will Taylor in your home&nbsp;here.~!Anywhere, not just where we live.More fan comments...

Lo How a Rose

O Come All Ye Faithful

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><b>Christmas and Holiday Music from Karen Mal &amp; Will Taylor</b><br /><b><br /></b>Read about,&nbsp; listen to and support our music below.<br /><br />You listened to it free, but it wasn't free to make this music...so in this new world of the "free music, want to help out, do your part to support our continued creation of great acoustic music?<br /><br />Read below or just signup to get all of our music as a patron of Strings Attached<br />See more about it&nbsp;<a href="http://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/patron-sustainer">here....</a><br /><br /><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">"</span><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Joy to the World</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">" is a popular&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_carol" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Christmas carol">Christmas carol</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;The words are by English hymn writer&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Watts" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Isaac Watts">Isaac Watts</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, based on Psalm 98, 96:11-12 and Genesis 3:17-18, in the Bible. The song was first published in 1719 in Watts' collection;&nbsp;</span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The Psalms of David: Imitated in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and worship</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">. "The paraphrase is Watts' Christological interpretation.&nbsp;-&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.88px;">From&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/">Wikipedia</a>, the free encyclopedia</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.88px;"><br /></span><ul style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style-position: outside; margin: 5px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2.3em;"></ul><iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=4153719561/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; height: 470px; width: 350px;"></iframe><br /><br /><br /><br /><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Buy the&nbsp;<a data-cke-saved-href="http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00Y099KU" href="http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00Y099KU" style="color: #124a97;">CD with any credit card</a></span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/a-mandolin-for-christmas/1322791759" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/a-mandolin-for-christmas/1322791759" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">ITUNES</a></span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="https://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/album/a-mandolin-christmas" href="https://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/album/a-mandolin-christmas" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">MP3'S or WAV files direct from the artist</a></span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Call&nbsp;<strong><a data-cke-saved-href="tel:512-589-8749" href="tel:512-589-8749" style="color: #124a97;">512-589-8749</a></strong>&nbsp;to order by phone.</span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!</span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">​SPOTIFY - Coming so</span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="http://budurl.com/pickofweek" href="http://budurl.com/pickofweek" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">Free Pick of the Week</a></span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Or buy&nbsp;it in AUSTIN texas at Waterloo Records</span></li><li style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><div style="color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"><iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2646491731/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; height: 470px; width: 350px;"></iframe><br /></div></li><br /><ul style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; list-style-position: outside; margin: 5px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2.3em;"><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Buy the&nbsp;<a data-cke-saved-href="http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00HS83S9" href="http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00HS83S9" style="color: #124a97;">CD with any credit card</a></span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/austin-for-christmas-vol-1-the-standards/1323892369?uo=4&amp;app=itunes" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/austin-for-christmas-vol-1-the-standards/1323892369?uo=4&amp;app=itunes" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">ITUNES</a></span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="https://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/album/austin-for-christmas" href="https://stringsattached.bandcamp.com/album/austin-for-christmas" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">MP3'S or WAV files direct from the artist</a></span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Call&nbsp;<strong><a data-cke-saved-href="tel:512-589-8749" href="tel:512-589-8749" style="color: #124a97;">512-589-8749</a></strong>&nbsp;to order by phone.</span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Call me and I'll write a note and send it to them personally!&nbsp;</span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">​<a data-cke-saved-href="https://open.spotify.com/album/7MXYdt44Hz0LFTSoCqvfAf" href="https://open.spotify.com/album/7MXYdt44Hz0LFTSoCqvfAf" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">SPOTIFY</a></span></li><li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; list-style: none; margin: 3px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07833GRP4" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07833GRP4" style="color: #124a97;" target="_blank">AMAZON</a></span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;"><b>The story behind&nbsp;<a href="http://austinforchristmas.com/">Austin for Christmas</a></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">All of the songs in this collection were favorites of my mother.&nbsp; She loved filling the house with Christmas decorations, smells of&nbsp; many varieties of cookies baking, which she'd arrange in spectacular colorful gift trays, and of course Christmas music draped over the top of everything. She'd play the vinyl records on our massive stereo which was as long as our dining room table,.and she'd be as happy as we'd ever see her all year. Her happiness in itself was the best part of the season. It was contagious and it was fleeting. In our household, Christmas music represented the hope of another year, maybe a better year, and a momentary suspension of all things worrisome or sorrowful.&nbsp;</div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">&nbsp;&nbsp; "Yuletide by the fireside and joyful memories there." We chose the songs with an underlying theme of togetherness. No matter where you fall on the religious/ spiritual spectrum, holidays are a time of connection.&nbsp; Of reunion and reflection</div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">and gratitude. And being together as the bustling world mercifully grinds to a halt, creating a glow in the darkness of the long nights of winter.&nbsp; - KAREN MAL</div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><b>The story behind&nbsp;<a href="http://amandolinchristmas.com/">A Mandolin Christmas</a></b></div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">A jazz musician, a folk artist, 20 fingers pulling 14 strings &amp; 19 ancient melodies that time has polished.</span><br /><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">A Mandolin Christmas&nbsp;</span><br /><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #757474; font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Deep in the throes of the hottest summer on record in Austin, &nbsp;TX, Karen Mal and Will Taylor decided to make a Christmas album. It was a 112-degree "Silent Night" in their un-airconditioned recording studio in August. Even the cat was sweating.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The couple had collaborated on many musical projects; his, hers, and their ensemble's, but a "Mandolin Christmas" is purely a duet in every sense of the word. &nbsp;It's a dance between two partners: the mandolin and the classical guitar. &nbsp;And that's it. &nbsp;Karen and Will are perhaps better-known as vocalist and violinist, respectively, but as the tracks blossomed, the two instruments just didn't seem to want any company. There's a simple elegance in the combination that makes for a classic record.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "A Mandolin Christmas" is also a duet between traditional folk music and jazz. &nbsp;The music includes pristine old-style classical arrangements, and also subtle and playful jazz harmonizations, weaving around familiar melodies that sound like home. &nbsp; You can practically smell the sugar cookies coming out of the oven, see the kitchen windows steaming up. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Even the packaging is a duet. Karen staged the shots in their vegetable garden. That's a real Calabacita squash with the bow on it. (we ate it for Thanksgiving) Will took the photos and fit everything into the artwork templates.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; If you like Christmas music even a little, you're going to love this album. You're going to love it again when you dig it out next year, and again and again, every holiday season.</span></div><div class="p1" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /><br /></div></div><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="80" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed?uri=spotify:user:121986569:playlist:5naiPKUg08Q408f3FbZ7oh&amp;view=coverart" width="300"></iframe><br /><br /><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="56" scrolling="no" src="https://open.spotify.com/follow/1/?uri=spotify:artist:6x03feKbVY97ZUfa7Q3uy8&amp;size=detail&amp;theme=dark" style="border-style: none; border-width: initial; overflow: hidden;" width="300"></iframe><br /><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Violinist, composer and Austin Music Award winner Will Taylor has performed with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pearl+jam+strings+attached" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Pearl Jam</a>, Grammy winner&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5ChC_n5JZY" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Shawn Colvin</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkM2_gW4KjA" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">P-Diddy</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://soundcloud.com/stringsattached/simply-with-willie-nelson-will-taylor-strings" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Willie Nelson</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0KIIN_4XWQ" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Ronny Cox</a>&nbsp;(<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Deliverance</em>) and&nbsp;<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1c1bXlmIPgCHs7vLOQi-6MhVrpsAIFbKwT5KvhwR6xQk/edit" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">many more</a>.</b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Will and his musical friends from Austin, Texas&nbsp;light up your house with inspiring acoustic music.</b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">WASHINGTON POST–</b><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“Imaginatively orchestrated… multi-faceted… darting lyricism, and occasionally pensive moods, Taylor makes the grade with his deft touch and improvisatory skills.”</b></div><b style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></b><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></b>ESQUIRE MAGAZINE–”As to the quality of the music and the professionalism, this production is far superior over the numerous recordings issued by the major record companies.”</b></div><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/21s_hyQnizM" width="560"></iframe><br /><br />Learn how you can have Karen Mal &amp; Will Taylor in your home&nbsp;<a href="http://www.stringsattachedmusic.net/house-concerts-with-strings/">here</a>.~!<br />Anywhere, not just where we live.<br /><br /><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1INlFPzyIOCfRRc4V4lTBBY7Vf3as6JJIOEj96RavDsI/edit?usp=sharing">More fan comments...</a></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/WfiDt/~4/H9bsM0f6Rls" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

Joy to the World

Favorite Christmas Songs to warm your Christmas gathering around the fire or family holiday event

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Christmas Songs

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