
Though summer's not yet here, The Brian Setzer Orchestra has already lined up year-end holiday plans, with dates for the group's 7th Annual Christmas Extravaganza now on the books.
The jingle bells start chiming Nov. 20 in Detroit, MI, and the former Stray Cats leader and his big-band orchestra have dates lined up in 25 cities during the final two months of the year. Details are included below.
As usual, fans can expect the group to play material from the outfit's two Christmas-themed albums, 2002's "Boogie Woogie Christmas" and 2005's "Dig That Crazy Christmas." A compilation, "The Ultimate Christmas Collection," hit stores last year. The set features 20 tracks culled from the two aforementioned albums and includes the live "Christmas Extravaganza" DVD, which documents a 2004 concert on the holiday tour.
The BSO's most recent non-Christmas album, "Wolfgang's Big Night Out," surfaced in 2007. The album finds the 18-piece orchestra blending the work of classical composers including Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Mendelssohn with Setzer's rock-and-roll sensibility. Setzer coaxed 84-year-old orchestral arranger Frank Comstock out of retirement to work on the project, according to Setzer's bio.
"I called him up out of the blue and said, 'Frank, how would you like to write a couple of charts for my new big band album?'" Setzer explained in a statement. "He was surprised and flattered to be asked, but said he hadn't written a note in over 20 years and didn't think he could do it anymore."
The collaboration ended up earning BSO a nomination for Best Classical Crossover Album at last year's Grammy Awards. A few tunes from the set are streaming at Setzer's MySpace page.