Have yourself a jazzy little Christmas

REVIEWS

updated 6:55 p.m. ET Nov. 22, 2005

When John Waters and Martha Stewart both offer up Christmas albums, you know for sure that everyone is ready to cash in on the season. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some good holiday discs. Whether you want the jazzy sounds of Diane Krall or the traditional R&B of Faith Evans, you’ll find the holiday album that fits your family just right.

Diana Krall, “Christmas Songs”
Diana Krall doing Christmas songs on the aptly titled “Christmas Songs” is sure to please her fans, jazz lovers, and anyone looking for a smooth-sounding, wholly predictable holiday disc.

Krall delivers exactly what one would expect with these 12 mainstream tunes, seven of which are backed by the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra.

Krall takes no risks with the song selection, sticking to such standards as “The Christmas Song,” “White Christmas” and “Jingle Bells.”

While Krall applies her distinctive singing to each, she doesn’t do much to transform the songs into something new.

The most effective tune on the disc is the less-frequently covered Irving Berlin’s “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep.” On this one, Krall really seems to put her heart into the sentiment that is just right for the holiday season.

It’s also worth noting that Krall fans who worried that last year’s pop crossover album “The Girl in the Other Room” meant the end of her jazz career can rest easy. She’s back in the fold with “Christmas Songs,” with all the positives and negatives that brings with it.
—Scott Bauer

Michael McDonald, “Through Many Winters — A Christmas Album”
It’s fitting that Michael McDonald’s Christmas album is being released by Hallmark — like the greeting card company, this CD aims to reach the widest possible audience by offering a variety of styles for many different moods.

However, on a Christmas CD, just one will suffice. And while McDonald’s soulful, smooth-as-velvet voice melts the heart in any genre, “Through Many Winters” fails to resonate because it never stays with one sentiment long enough to let you enjoy the moment.

The CD starts off with a somber, reverent version of “Silent Night,” followed by an equally poignant “O Holy Night.”

Then things start to get unwieldy. “Come, O Emanuel/What Month Was Jesus Born” is reggae-inspired, AND recalls the funk of an old Doobie Brothers jam. Elsewhere, there’s an infusion of blues, Celtic melodies, and even a sensuous groove that seems more appropriate for unwrapping presents in the bedroom than in front of the Christmas tree.

In the end, “Through Many Winters” has tries too hard to be the Christmas album for everyone — and satisfies fewer than intended.
—Nekesa Mumbi Moody

Faith Evans, “A Faithful Christmas”
Too often, Christmas CDs by today’s R&B acts confuse style with substance — they update yuletide classics by simply adding some hip-hop beats or overwrought gospel inflections instead of inhabiting the soul of a song.

But Faith Evans shows how it should be done on her top-notch CD, “A Faithful Christmas.” Though she’s known for songs tinged with hip-hop, she mainly sticks to traditional R&B here, sounding downright old-school on songs like “The Christmas Song” and “White Christmas.”

Evans’ smoky, sultry voice is perfect for the sassy “Merry Christmas Baby” — you think she’s giving her fiery performance in an old juke-joint instead of a studio. And she does her best James Brown on the party jam “Soulful Christmas,” performed originally by the Godfather of Soul himself. She even manages to put her own stamp on the Donny Hathaway classic “This Christmas,” with a gorgeous arrangement that showcases her powerful vocals.

But this is no retro CD. The musical arrangements are modern and fresh, and Evans’ delivers new passion to standards like “O Come All Ye Faithful.” With “A Faithful Christmas,” Evans has delivered an album that manages to be both contemporary and timeless.
—Nekesa Mumbi Moody

Jane Monheit, “The Season”
Like a yuletide fire, Jane Monheit’s smoky, sultry vocals can warm up those cold winter nights. Her first holiday-themed CD finds the singer straddling the line between retro-pop and jazz as she offers an appealing collection of secular winter-weather tunes, including Donny Hathaway’s soulful “This Christmas,” a Brazilian-tinged version of the Carpenters’ “Merry Christmas Darling,” and a briskly swinging medley of “I Love the Winter Weather/I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.”.

With an assist from arranger Rob Mounsey, Monheit offers fresh new takes on some perennial Christmas favorites. She hauntingly sings “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” a cappella as an introduction to “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” inspired by Judy Garland, on which she caresses and stretches out the melody over a delicate string accompaniment. “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” gets a funky treatment with Monheit’s vocals pushed along by bursts from the horn section.

There are more obscure offerings, ranging from the 19th century carol “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” (a lovely duet with the up-and-coming guitarist Miles Okazaki), to the brassy “The Man With the Bag,” with a gritty solo by tenor saxophonist Andy Snitzer.

Monheit is a vocalist for all seasons who is equally adept at slow tempo ballads such as the gossamer-like “Moonlight In Vermont” and uptempo swingers like “Sleighride,” both of which she performs with her working quartet, including husband Rick Montalbano on drums.

Monheit concludes the CD with “My Grown Up Christmas List” offering an appropriate prayer this holiday season that there would be “no more lives torn apart and wars would never start.”
—Charles J. Gans

MORE FROM HOLIDAY SHOPPING

Move over Elmo: Hot holiday toys

Move over Elmo: Hot holiday toys Shop and do good: Gift that give to needy Video: Holiday toys for little ones Video: Fight urge to spend too much on gifts Movies for people who hate Christmas Quiz: Test your holiday movie knowledge The 12 rentals of Christmas   Add Holiday shopping headlines to your news reader: