JAZZ REVIEW : Innervoices: A Delight of the Season

Hallelujah! The Innervoices are back, which means that without checking our calendars we know that Christmas is upon us.

Thursday evening in the crowded confines of At My Place in Santa Monica, these four wondrous women performed their annual yuletide show. Carmen Twillie took everyone to church with her soulful contralto. Darlene Koldenhoven’s celestial soprano took us to heaven. Clydene Jackson led us through blues territory with “Merry Christmas Baby,” and Morgan Ames tied it all together with her luminous arrangements.

Separately or in their flawless four-way blend, the Innervoices held the crowd spellbound despite the limitations of the material. Ames has done her best to beef up some of the songs by changing the lyrics (as in “Greensleeves”) or by eliminating them almost entirely (“Silent Night”). But it did not help to leap from the sacred to the idiotically profane, as in “Boogie Woogie Santa Claus.”

There are, of course, some splendid Christmas songs. Obviously, “Ave Maria,” the perennial chorus (but not the lame verse) of “White Christmas” and Koldenhoven’s own delightful “The Angels Sang.” The concluding “Hallelujah,” complete with ingenious counterpoint, was stunning.

The foursome sang a cappella except for three numbers that had a pre-taped background. Al Jarreau guested on “Cherry Tree Carol” and David Campbell played the viola on “Some Children See Him,” but the group needs no vocal or instrumental props.

What it still needs is year-round repertoire, as was demonstrated in the one non-seasonal item, the theme from “On Golden Pond” with music by Dave Grusin and lyrics by Ames. This unique unit is too valuable to leave itself unavailable (or at best untimely) during the other 11 months of the year.

Innervoices can be heard Friday at Le Cafe in Sherman Oaks, also on CBS-TV’s “Sunday Morning” Dec. 22.