POP MUSIC REVIEWS : Inner Voices Are Still a Fine Blend

Hallelujah! The Inner Voices are back!

As they do every year around this time, these four amazing women came back Saturday to Night Winds in Santa Monica with their immaculate vocal blend, their gloriously harmonized arrangements (most of them by Morgan Ames), their good Christmas spirits and good humor.

Unchanged in personnel for 11 years, they are Ames, alto; Darlene Koldenhoven, soprano; Clydene Jackson Edwards, tenor; and Carmin Twillie, bass.

What has changed is that the repertoire is edging away slightly from its seasonal exclusivity. Though Yuletide material remains the backbone of their act, several songs found one or another member at the piano singing her own non-Christmas composition. Koldenhoven, the tall blond with the multiple upward octaves, was the most memorable contributor with “It Never Goes Away.”

When the keyboard was not in use, the quartet sang a cappella for everything from the seldom-heard verse of “White Christmas” to the buoyantly rhythmic “Caroling, Caroling.” Other surprises: “Where Am I Going?,” a song from “On Golden Pond” with Ames’ lyrics to Dave Grusin’s melody, and “Chances Are,” a 1957 pop hit for Johnny Mathis.

This time, after their local gigs, they will not silently steal away. Finally they have their first out-of-state dates: bringing joy to another corner of the world, they leave Wednesday for a week in Japan.