Singing cop debuts first-ever Christmas album

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas and – if “singing cop” Daniel Rodriguez has anything to say about it – it’s starting to sound like it too.

The 50-year-old Brooklyn-born tenor hopes that the recent release of his seventh album, “A Glorious Christmas,” will put people in the holiday spirit.

“It’s my first Christmas album,” said Rodriguez who teamed up with wife, Marla Kavanaugh as well as two-time Grammy nominee Karina Nuvo and up-and-coming pop artist Shelea Frazier to release the 10-track album.

“My wife’s song, ‘I believe,’ is one that we added for the times as well as the season,” he explained. “It’s really an inspiration song. There’s so much going on in the world and we felt that it just spoke about positive things. It’s a really beautiful song.”

The compilation also features the Hour of Power Orchestra from California, under the direction of Marc Riley

Nuvo, a Cuban soul artist, put her own spin on the Christmas classic “Silent Night.”

“The whole album is a new offering on the old classics,” Rodriguez said. “The most difficult thing to do with a Christmas album is put a new coat of paint on something that’s been done so many times.”

Between Nuvo’s modern twist on an old favorite and Frazier’s poppy duet with the police officer, “Christmas Day,” Rodriguez’ “A Glorious Christmas” is just as original as the albums he’s penned.

“We’ve got everything from Pop to Pellati,” said the tenor calling track number four, “Where Else Would a Lamb Be Born?” another favorite. Other tracks include “Oh Holy Night,” “Some Children See Him” and “Do You See What I See?”

“There are just these huge vocals that people are used to,” he explained, “but then there are these pop songs that no one would expect. It’s really a tremendous album.”

Available now, “A Glorious Christmas” can be purchased and downloaded digitally at www.CDBaby.com and on iTunes. According to Rodriguez, physical copies of his premiere Christmas album can also be found in one Brooklyn-based pizzeria.

“People in Brooklyn can actually get the CD at Grimaldi’s Pizzeria under the Brooklyn Bridge,” said the singing cop. “That way, you can have a slice of pizza and Christmas at the same time.”

Additionally, he said, sales will benefit his own Start Singing Foundation, a 501c3 not-for-profit that funds music scholarships and promotes music as part of a holistic method to combat stress-related illnesses – a foundation that meets in Bay Ridge once a week and now, he said, has an outlet for expansion.

“We’re using this album as a tool,” he said. “It’s a beautiful thing.”

For more information or to check out the album, visit ww.danielrodrigueztenor.com.

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