Snaildartha: The Story of Jerry the Christmas Snail - A Soul Jazz Extravaganza is a 2004 jazz and spoken-word holiday album. It was composed and produced by Chris Strouth, and performed by the Snaildartha 6 combo, which includes saxophonist George Cartwright of the jazz group Curlew and storyteller and comic Matt Fugate, who wrote the text with Strouth. The album retells the story of Buddha through a small snail, Jerry the Christmas Snail, who achieves enlightenment after meeting and having adventures with other Christmas-themed animals on a pilgrimage to the North Pole, eventually meeting and bonding with Santa Claus.[1] The title is a pun on the Buddha's birth name, Siddhartha.[4]
Snaildartha: The Story of Jerry the Christmas Snail - A Soul Jazz Extravaganza | |
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Studio album by The Snaildartha 6 | |
Released | January 11, 2004[1] |
Genre | Jazz, spoken word, holiday |
Length | 44:16 |
Label | Innova Recordings, Stand Up! Records |
Producer | Chris Strouth |
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Snaildartha was created in 1993 for a performance-art series at Red Eye Theater in Minneapolis. 10 years later, Strouth and Fugate recorded a revised version with saxophonist Cartwright. First issued privately as a Christmas gift, the album was later given a wider release by Innova Recordings. A remastered digital edition of Snaildartha was released by Stand Up! Records on November 13, 2020.[5]
The album has developed a cult following thanks to its regular inclusion in DJ Jon Solomon's daylong marathon of Christmas music on Princeton, New Jersey radio station WPRB-FM,[6] as well as an annual Christmas broadcast on KFAI in Minneapolis.[5] Solomon has played the album in its entirety annually since 2004. It is routinely the highest-streamed portion of the broadcast, and has inspired some listeners to hang snail ornaments from their Christmas trees in tribute.[7][8]
MinnPost arts critic Pamela Espeland called Snaildartha a "weird but endearing" Christmas tradition, comparing it to the Arlo Guthrie song "Alice's Restaurant" and its ties to Thanksgiving.[9] Avant Music News called it a "future holiday classic" and "a twisted take on the holiday season."[10] Jason Victor Serinus, writing in Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity, was more ambivalent, but called the story "charming", especially Fugate's "deadpan delivery".[3]
All songs composed by Chris Strouth and performed by Snaildartha featuring Matt Fugate. Text written by Matt Fugate and Chris Strouth.
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Rhapsody in Snail" | 1:05 |
2. | "A Snail Is Born" | 4:22 |
3. | "Interlude in Snail" | 2:08 |
4. | "The Te of Bob" | 2:05 |
5. | "Snail Night, Holy Night" | 1:50 |
6. | "Gift of the Menagerie" | 2:26 |
7. | "Snails Pacing" | 1:51 |
8. | "A Pilgrims Progress" | 1:51 |
9. | "Frostbitten Paws" | 2:00 |
10. | "Waiting For Claus" | 2:12 |
11. | "A Childs Christmas in Snails" | 1:27 |
12. | "Breakfast With Santa" | 3:02 |
13. | "Escargot a Go Go" | 1:03 |
14. | "Santa's Little Helper" | 3:12 |
15. | "Snail on the Keys" | 1:24 |
16. | "Claus and Effect" | 2:46 |
17. | "On the Half Shell" | 1:27 |
18. | "Discovering the Snail Within" | 4:39 |
19. | "Happy Glitter Trails" | 3:26 |