This Christmas

Donny Hathaway (1945–1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter and arranger whom Rolling Stone Magazine described as a Soul Legend. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Hathaway worked as a songwriter, session musician, and producer for Curtis Mayfield's Curtom Records in Chicago. He did the arrangements for hits by the Staple Singers, Aretha Franklin and Curtis Mayfield himself. The song is often used in movies, television and advertising and has been has been covered by artists across diverse musical genres such as Diana Ross, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, Chicago, Harry Connick, Jr., Gloria Estefan and Seal. During the peak of his career, Hathaway began to suffer from severe bouts of depression and exhibited unusual behaviour. In 1971, he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia for which he was prescribed various medications. The effects of this depression and severe mood swings also drove a wedge in his private life. While recording an album of duets with Eric Mercury and James Mtume, Hathaway began behaving irrationally, seeming to be paranoid and delusional. According to Mtume, Hathaway said that people were trying to kill him and had connected his brain to a machine for the purpose of stealing his music and his sound. Given Hathaway's behaviour the recording sessions could not continue and were aborted. Hours later, Hathaway was found dead on the pavement below the window of his 15th-floor hotel room in New York. It was reported that he had jumped from his balcony, leading investigators to rule that Hathaway's death was a suicide.

Jock McKenzie studied trumpet at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester where he was a joint recipient of the college’s concerto prize. Since 1987 Jock has based his musical career in Hampshire, working as a freelance trumpeter, conductor, composer, arranger and brass teacher. Currently Jock holds the position of Professional Leader (Brass) for Hampshire Music Service and is the Director of the Hampshire County Youth Band. It is the mix of all of these musical roles that has led to Jock establishing a reputation as a leading creator of brass music resources, particularly in the field of education and brass ensemble music. In 2020 Jock was awarded an “Honorary Fellowship of the University of Winchester” for services to music education. Currently Jock is working part-time for the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama; providing tuition for their Brass Teaching Module. In 2024 Jock was given the award for “Services to Youth” by Brass Bands England.