‘The 12 Days of Christmas,’ Jigs Giglio

by JAY LUSTIG

Jigs Giglio performing ‘The 12 Days of Christmas,’ in 2010.

I know it’s odd to include a song in the 350 Jersey Songs series in which the featured artist neither sings nor plays a musical instrument. But for this bonus selection (the series ended in Sept. 2015), I’m making an exception.

Glen Burtnik has been presenting Xmas Xtravaganzas charity concerts with a large cast of talented guest musicians at various locations, most years since 1989. I’m not sure if Jigs Giglio — who lives in North Brunswick and leads the band Jigs and the Pigs — was at the first one. But for as long as I can remember, at least, one of the dependable highlights of the show has been his offbeat, athletically challenging dance interpretation of “The 12 Days of Christmas.”

Below is a video of his performance from 2010, at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, with Burtnik singing lead and many other show participants adding music and backing vocals.

This year’s show takes place Dec. 23 at the State Theatre in New Brunswick. For more information, and the list of participants (which, yes, includes Giglio), visit statetheatrenj.org.

New Jersey celebrated its 350th birthday from Sept. 2014 to Sept. 2015. And in the 350 Jersey Songs series, we marked the occasion by posting 350 songs — one a day, for almost a year — that have something to do with the state, its musical history, or both. The complete list is here.

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1 comment

Jigs December 17, 2016 - 11:25 am

WHOA OMG IM FLOORED BY THIS ????

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