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holiday gift guide 2011 ✽ CDs
Chris Standring (right) and Kathrin Shorr
Pink Martini
Holiday Music " Sounds of the Season
By Frank-John Hadley
Geri Allen’s emotional attachment to a dozen
hymns and Ethiopian Christmas melodies is absolute
on A Child Is Born (Motéma Music 69;
50:37 HHHH½). Allen uses her questing musical
intelligence and technique to express gratitude
for a loving family and redeeming Messiah. Her
music, including samples of the singing quilters
of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, is suffused with grace.
Ordering info: motema.com
On Susie Arioli’s Christmas Dreaming
(Spectra Musique 7821; 48:28 HHH½), Montreal
vocalist Arioli’s pristine style—clear, classy,
lightly swinging, unruffled in emotion—suits a
program loaded with surprising tunes like “La
Peregrinación” by Argentine folk composer Ariel
Ramirez and the bluegrass tune “Call Collect On
Christmas.” Guitarist Jordan Officer is secure on
her sleigh for the entire smooth ride.
Ordering info: susiearioli.com
Ellis Marsalis: A New Orleans Christmas
Carol (Nu Jazz Entertainment 19790; 72:14
HHHH) is a set of predictable hymns and secular
selections. Marsalis imparts beauty on his
piano while displaying his humility, order, wisdom
and love of melody. He plays solo, and in
a trio and quartet (his son Jason plays drums
and vibes; Cynthia Liggins Thomas and Johnaye
Kendrick make cameos).
Ordering info: nujazzentertainment.com
Active in imagination, and witty and resolute
in expression, Marcus Roberts Trio: Celebrating
Christmas (J-Master; 64:55 HHHH) surmounts
the usual trite material. Aided by drummer
Jason Marsalis and bassist Rodney Jordan,
the pianist gives special glows to his interpretations
of “O Holy Night” and 14 more.
Ordering info: marcusroberts.com
The pleasure of guitarist Doug Munro’s album
Doug Munro & La Pompe Attack: A Very Gypsy
Christmas (GotMusic 002; 55:25 HHH½) rests
in his obvious fondness for Django Reinhardt and
the Quintette du Hot Club de France. Munro’s
high-level care and craft recharge 15 overfamiliar
seasonal songs. Howard Bujese is his Stéphane
Grappelli, and clarinetist Ken Peplowski and singer
Cyrille-Aimee Daudel also contribute.
Ordering info: dougmunro.com
With China Forbes’ exquisite singing voice
featured on Pink Martini: Joy To The World
(Heinz 2007; 46:33 HHH½), this jet-setting
13-member pop-jazz band blends sentimentality
and wonderment. Careful thought went into the
song choices and arrangements, which include a
Verdi opera, an Ukrainian bell carol, a Judeo-Spanish
Hanukkah song and “We Three Kings.”
Ordering info: pinkmartini.com
Two stalwarts of Trevor W. Payne’s choir (on
three of 10 holiday favorites) project warmth on
Oliver Jones/Ranee Lee/Montreal Jubilation
Gospel Choir: A Celebration In Time (Justin
Time 234; 44:39 HHH). The Haitian Daphnée
Louis Singers also offer an Afro-Caribbean pop
number. Soot in the stocking: tart-toned sax solos.
Ordering info: jusatin-time.com
Trumpeter Frank London and his regular
rompers, along with clarinetist Dave Krakauer
and other guests, know what they are about when
it comes to vintage Yiddish folk music on The Klezmatics:
Live At Town Hall (Klezmatics 2010;
48:43/48:46 HHHH). “Hanuka Gelt,” of 20 concert
tracks, addresses the holiday with dizzy glee.
Ordering info: klezmatics.com
For Chris Standring & Kathrin Shorr: Send
Me Some Snow (Ultimate Vibe 004; 33:56
HHH½), Shorr’s folk-soul voice fits in snugly
with the middlebrow jazz guitar of Standring and
the other instrumentation (including a string section).
The duo’s original, giddy straight-from-theheart
Noel tunes such as “Someone’s Gonna Get
Something (For Christmas)” sound like a classic
you’ve known for years.
Ordering info: theultimatevibe.com
Encouraged by George Avakian, David Ian
has completed this holiday album, David Ian:
Vintage Christmas (Prescott 0001; 34:17
HHH), which he worked on while touring with
his successful pop band Superchick. Joined by
adequate guest vocalists and a hushed rhythm
section, the guitarist-pianist trowels sweet charm
thickly over “Let It Snow” and other merry songs.
Ordering info: iantunes.com
The 12 girls of Viva Girls: Christmas (Domo
73132; 18:14 HHH) combine Chinese traditional
strings and flutes with modern pop production.
The lavishly reconfigured “Auld Lang Syne” and
blissful “Christmas Joy” supply perfect listening
for jaw-dropping views of 50-foot Christmas trees
adorned with blinking bulbs. DB
Ordering info: domomusicgroup.com
68 DOWNBEAT DECEMBER 2011