Holiday Divas
Vanessa Williams:
Mary Had A Baby/ Go Tell It On The Mountain
Gloria Estefan:
Mariah Carey:
All I Want For Christmas Is You
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
Christina Aguilera:
Christmas Time
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Ella Fitzgerald:
Holiday Week Begins
My next few posts will focus on holiday music – old and new.
We’ll start with the old, but timeless, classics.
Dean Martin – Christmas Blues
Judy Garland – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Burl Ives – Holly Jolly Christmas
Frank Sinatra – I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day
December Jazz
Chris Botti’s 2002 holiday set, December, is comforting; a much needed and welcomed feeling during this last month, and often the most stressful time, of the year. It’s clear the holidays aren’t always the most joyful time for all, so comfort and joy are the gifts Botti offers with this collection. Yes, there’s a feeling of melancholy at times, but that’s fine, because that’s what true jazz does sometimes.
Botti’s trumpet always sets an intimate and soothing ambiance, and that is exactly what we get here. Most of the songs are instrumental, and not drenched with jingly bells. Botti takes on vocal duties on two songs: Perfect Day and Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. Winter Wonderland gets a swinging rendition and Santa Claus Is Coming To Town gets a Brazilian beat. O Little Town of Bethlehem has romantic piano accompaniment. And it’s quite a surprise to hear a Leonard Cohen tune on a Christmas album, but Hallelujah appears here. I’ll Be Home For Christmas closes December, and it’s smooth, uplifting, and a perfect ending to a great CD.
This lovely collection will appeal to fans of jazz, easy-listening and fusion. Chris Botti delivers comfort and joy with ease and style.
I will be seeing Chris Botti perform at the legendary Blue Note in New York City tomorrow evening and I can hardly contain my excitement.
For more on Chris Botti, mainly his latest release, Italia, see my October 28th post: Viva Italia!* This CD was reissued in 2006 with Ave Maria replacing Perfect Day.
Check out these live performances:
Lover Man with Gladys Knight
A Song For You with Michael Bublé
The Look of Love with Paula Cole and Burt Bacharach
Divas Do Christmas! Part II
Christina Aguilera in her 2000 My Kind Of Christmas gives passionate renditions of holiday standards as well as some new material. While Christina and her powerhouse voice are always passionate, in some places on this album it was too much. But in the end, we’re always amazed at the heights her voice can reach!
The standout songs are Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, O Holy Night, Merry Christmas Baby, and Angels We Have Heard On High, along with two of the new songs, Christmas Time and This Year. The CD begins with these two songs, and they are great pop songs. While, Xtina’s Xmas is a great titlefor a song, it’s a weird 90-second interlude of who knows what…
Christina’s strongest performance on My Kind of Christmas is Merry Christmas, Baby. It starts with the opening of Auld Lang Syne, and Dr. John is the guest piano player and vocalist. Dr. John, trombones, trumpets, and saxophones, and of course, Christina’s voice make this the funkiest and strongest song in this collection. Check it out on iTunes, and if buying the album is too much, don’t hesitate to spend the 99 cents on Merry Christmas, Baby!
Here’s Christina and the fabulous Brian McKnight performing Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.
Christmas Time Merry Christmas, Baby (on David Letterman )
Adeli's Music Blog 
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