Christmas with Friends (India.Arie and Joe Sample album)

American singer-songwriter India.Arie and American pianist Joe Sample first met in 2012 during the Curaçao Jazz Festival. Arie said she was dissatisfied with their earlier work, explaining the songs "weren't coming together as quickly as I wanted". (pictured in 2008) worked on before his death in 2014.|alt=An image of Joe Sample smiling while sitting at a piano with a microphone attached. Arie and Sample began working on Christmas with Friends in February 2014, with help from American producer Aaron Lindsey. Sample died from mesothelioma on September 12, 2014, When discussing her experience working with Sample in Houston, Arie said: "He was an older person who was dealing with health issues, but he was fun to be around." She dedicated Christmas with Friends to Sample with a message on the liner notes. Following Sample's death, Arie put work on Christmas with Friends on hold for a year, The artists who appear on the album are Kem, Brandy, Michael McDonald, Dave Koz, Tori Kelly, and Trombone Shorty. Describing the process she used to pair songs with potential collaborators, Arie said: "I sent several songs to each person and said 'do what you feel". Brandy had approached Arie when the album was nearly complete and said: "It ain't done until I'm on there! I need to be on 'Silent Night." ==Composition and collaborations==

{{Listen Christmas with Friends comprises ten songs, nine of which are covers of Christmas standards and one is an original track. Charles wrote that "Let It Snow" features "Sample's glib piano work and her feathery croon" and "The Christmas Song" as a "smoke-infused ditty". Her versions of "Let It Snow" and "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen" incorporate a jazz sound, while her take on "Auld Lang Syne" includes an instrumental from American saxophonist Kirk Whalum. ==Release and promotion==

Christmas with Friends was released on October 16, 2015, through Motown and Soulbird Music. It was Arie's second studio album after a four-year hiatus. In a 2015 interview with Ebony, she said that it would be her only Christmas album. To promote the record further, Arie also appeared on The Steve Harvey Morning Show and Tavis Smiley in December 2015. == Reception ==

Upon its release, Christmas with Friends received positive feedback from music critics. Praising Arie's performance as " a smooth maturity", The Southern Illinoisans Pablo Gorondi wrote that Sample lent the album a "jazz expertise". The Los Angeles Times Randy Lewis described Christmas with Friends as "suitably warm", and Alan Sculley of the Daily Herald wrote that it showcased the potential for a Christmas album to be original. Christmas with Friends reached a peak position on several Billboard charts for the week of December 26, 2015. It reached number 78 on the Top Album Sales chart, and stayed on the chart for two weeks. The album peaked at number 19 on the Holiday Album Sales chart, and remained on the chart for a total of six weeks. Along with the album, Arie's cover of "Merry Christmas Baby" peaked at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 on January 9, 2016, and remained on the chart for one week. == Track listing ==

Credits adapted from AllMusic. • Aaron W. Lindsay • India.Arie}} • India Arie Simpson • Lindsay • Joyce Simpson}} • Lindsay • India.Arie • Joe Sample}} • Joseph Mohr • Franz Xaver Gruber}} • Lindsay • India.Arie • Sample}} • Ralph Blane • Hugh Martin}} • Lindsay • India.Arie • Sample}} • Johnny Moore • Lou Baxter}} • Lindsay • India.Arie}} • Irving Berlin}} • Robert Wells • Mel Tormé}} • Lindsay • India.Arie • Sample}} • Traditional}} • Lindsay • India.Arie}} • Buddy Greene • Mark Lowry}} • Lindsay }} • Traditional}} • Lindsay • India.Arie}} }} == Credits and personnel ==

Credits adapted from AllMusic. Management • Motown • Soulbird Music Recording locations • Harmony Studios (West Hollywood, California) • House of Blues Studios (Encino, California) • Ocean Way Recording (Hollywood, California) • Sound Logic Recording Studio (Santa Barbara, California) • India Song Studio (Atlanta, Georgia) • Studio A Recording, Inc (Dearborn Heights, Michigan) • Wire Roads Studio (Houston, Texas) Credits ;Musicians and Singers • India.Arie – vocals • Joe Sample – acoustic piano (1, 3, 4, 7), arrangements (1, 3, 4, 7) • Aaron W. Lindsey – auxiliary keyboards (1, 3, 7), synthesizers (1, 3, 7), instruments (2), bass (3, 4), arrangements (3–5, 8–10), Rhodes electric piano (4), additional keyboards (4), upright bass (4), drums (4), acoustic piano (5, 8–10), keyboards (8–10) • John Beasley – acoustic piano (6), arrangements (6) • David Delhomme – keyboards (6) • Paul Jackson Jr. – acoustic guitar (6, 9), electric guitar (9) • Nicklas Sample – upright bass (1, 7) • Nathan East – bass (4, 8), upright bass (9, 10) • Chuck Berghofer – bass (6) • Jeff "Tain" Watts – drums (1, 3, 7) • Teddy Campbell – drums (5, 6, 8–10) • Javier Solís – percussion (1, 3, 7, 8) • Craig Fundyga – vibraphone (6) • Dave Koz – tenor saxophone (6) • Kirk Whalum – tenor saxophone (10) • Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews – trombone (6) • John Stoddart – strings (4, 9), string arrangements (4, 9) • Hamilton Hardin – horns (5), horn arrangements (5) • Rickey Minor – arrangements (6) • Tori Kelly – vocals (2) • Brandy – vocals (3) • Kem – vocals (4) • Michael McDonald – vocals (5) • Khristian Dentley – vocals (8), vocal arrangements (8) • Gene Moore – vocals (9) ;Production and Technical • Rex Rideout – A&R • India.Arie – executive producer • John Burk – executive producer (6) • Dave Koz – executive producer (6) • Case Mundy – recording (1, 3, 4, 7) • Rob Skipworth – vocal recording (1, 3, 4, 7), recording (4, 6) • Paul "Salvo" Salveson – mixing (1–5, 7–10) • Aaron W. Lindsey – editing (1, 3, 7), recording (2), vocal recording (9) • Kory Aaron – vocal recording for India.Arie (2) • Matt Emonson – vocal recording for Tori Kelly (2) • Timothy "Tip" Wyman – vocal recording for Brandy (3) • Eric Morgeson – vocal recording for Kem (4) • Danny Duncan – recording (5, 8–10) • Mark Casselman – vocal recording for Michael McDonald (5) • Allen Sides – recording (6), mixing (6) • Gerrit Kinkel – additional recording (6) • Seth Presant – assistant engineer (6) • Ryan Staples – assistant engineer (6) • Lenny Wee – assistant engineer (6) • Reuben Cohen – mastering • Steve Cook – A&R administrator • Vivian Yohannes – A&R coordinator • Annalee Valencia-Bruch – art direction, design • Queen Cora Dunham – photography == Charts ==