Faith: A Holiday Album

Faith: A Holiday Album
Studio album by Kenny G
Released	November 16, 1999
Studio	O'Henry (Burbank, California); Sony (Culver City, California); Ocean Way (Hollywood, California); WallyWorld (Marin County, California)
Genre	Smooth jazz Christmas
Length	36:37
Label	Arista
Producer	Kenny G Walter Afanasieff
Kenny G chronology
Classics in the Key of G (1999) Faith: A Holiday Album (1999) In America (2000)

Faith: A Holiday Album is the second holiday album and tenth studio album by saxophonist Kenny G. It was released by Arista Records on November 16, 1999, and peaked at number 1 on the Contemporary Jazz Albums chart, number 4 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, number 5 on the Internet Albums chart, and number 6 on the Billboard 200. ^[1] The album also received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Instrumental Album.

Faith: A Holiday Album was also the best-selling Christmas album of 1999 in the United States according to sales figures from Nielsen/SoundScan, with total sales of 1,575,000 copies that year. ^[2] As of November 2014, the album has sold 2,750,000 copies in the U.S. according to SoundScan. ^[3]

On November 5, 2002, Faith: A Holiday Album was certified Triple Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of three million copies in the U.S. ^[4]

Kenny G's rendition of "Auld Lang Syne" featured guest musicians Yanni on piano and keyboards as well as Charlie Adams on drums.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[5]
Chicago Tribune	(unfavorable) [6]

Track listing

1. "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" (Sammy Cahn/Jule Styne) - 3:08
2. "The First Noel" (William Sandys) - 3:08
3. "I'll Be Home for Christmas" (Kim Gannon/Walter Kent/Buck Ram) - 3:33
4. "Sleigh Ride" (Leroy Anderson/Mitchell Parish) - 3:48
5. "The Christmas Song" (Mel Tormé/Robert Wells) - 4:02
6. "Medley: We Three Kings/Carol of the Bells" (John Henry Hopkins/Mikhail Leontovich/Peter Wilhousky) - 4:07
7. "O Christmas Tree" (Traditional) - 2:39
8. "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (J. Fred Coots/Haven Gillespie) - 3:52
9. "Eternal Light (A Chanukah Song)" (Walter Afanasieff/Kenny G) - 2:53
10. "Ave Maria" (Franz Schubert) - 4:30
11. "Auld Lang Syne" (Robert Burns/Traditional) - 4:56
12. "Auld Lang Syne: The Millennium Mix" (Robert Burns/Traditional) - 7:53
13. "Voice" (Bonus track) - 7:53

Personnel

• Kenny G – soprano saxophone (1, 2, 4-7, 9-11), tenor saxophone (3, 8)
• Randy Waldman – acoustic piano (1, 4, 8)
• Greg Phillinganes – Fender Rhodes (1, 4, 8)
• Walter Afanasieff – keyboards (2, 3, 6, 7, 11), synthesizers (2, 3, 6, 7, 11), drum and rhythm programming (2, 3, 6, 7, 11), acoustic piano (5, 9, 10)
• Greg Bieck – digital programming (2, 3, 6, 7, 11), Macintosh programming (2, 3, 6, 7, 11), additional drum and rhythm programming (6, 7, 11)
• Yanni – keyboards (11), acoustic piano (11)
• Nathan East – bass (1, 4, 8)
• Ricky Lawson – drums (1, 4, 8)
• Charlie Adams – drums (11)
• Paulinho da Costa – percussion (1, 4, 8)
• William Ross – orchestra arrangements and conductor (1-7, 9, 10)
• Chris Bordman – orchestra arrangements and conductor (8)
• The Music Team – orchestra contractors (1-7, 9, 10)

Production

• Kenny G – producer, arrangements
• Walter Afanasieff – producer, arrangements
• Humberto Gatica – recording, mixing (1-4, 6-11)
• David Gleeson – recording (2, 3, 6, 7, 9-11), additional recording (5)
• David Frazier – recording (3, 10)
• Mick Guzauski – mixing (5)
• Chris Brooke – assistant engineer (1-4, 6-11)
• Peter Doell – assistant engineer (1-4, 6-11)
• Mark Eshelman – assistant engineer (1-4, 6-11)
• Grant Schmitz – assistant engineer (1-4, 6-11)
• James Stone – assistant engineer (1, 4, 8)
• Kent Matcke – assistant engineer (2, 9)
• Pete Krawiec – assistant engineer (11)
• Vlado Meller – mastering at Sony Music Studios (New York City, New York)
• Margery Greenspan – art direction
• Jeff Schultz – design
• Patrick Demarcheller – photography
• Dennis Turner – management for Turner Management Group, Inc.

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1999–2000) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA) [7] 189 US Billboard 200 [8] 6 US Top Jazz Albums (Billboard) [9] 1 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [10] 4

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Faith: A Holiday Album Chart (2000) Position US Billboard 200 [11] 44 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [12] 76 Chart (2002) Position Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan) [13] 154

Singles

Information taken from this source. ^[14]

Year	Title	Chart positions
		US Adult Contemporary	US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	US Hot 100	US Adult Top 40	US Hot Country Singles & Tracks	US Top 40 Mainstream	US Top 40 Tracks
1999	"Auld Lang Syne"	3	57	7	15	49	40	30

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [15]	3× Platinum	3,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of Billboard Top Holiday Albums number ones of the 2000s

References

1. Charts & Awards at Allmusic
2. "Chart Watch Extra: Bring On Christmas!". Billboard . Archived from the original on December 11, 2009. Retrieved December 14, 2009.
3. "The Gifts That Keep on Giving: Biggest Radio and Album Hits of the Holidays". Billboard . Prometheus Global Media. December 1, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
4. "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
5. Allmusic review
6. Chicago Tribune review
7. "Kenny G ARIA peaks, received from ARIA in October 2024". ARIA. Retrieved November 2, 2024– via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
8. "Kenny G Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
9. "Kenny G Chart History (Top Jazz Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
10. "Kenny G Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
11. "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2000". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
12. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2000". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
13. "Canada's Top 200 R&B; albums of 2001". Jam! . Archived from the original on September 6, 2004. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
14. Billboard Singles at Allmusic
15. "American album certifications – Kenny G – Faith". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved September 30, 2023.