Offerings New and Old in the Spirit of the Season

Christmas Jazz? Why not? From “White Christmas” to “The Christmas Song” to “Christmas Time Is Here,” songs of the holiday season have been especially appealing as jazz vehicles. The music for “The Christmas Song,” in fact, was composed by Mel Torme, and there is a quirky, bebop rendering of “White Christmas” by Charlie Parker.

In a more general sense, the poignant qualities of songs associated with the season--”I’ll Be Home for Christmas” is a good example--seem to adapt particularly well to jazz interpretation and harmonization, as do most of the traditional Christmas carols.

Most jazz artists have tried a seasonal album at some point in their careers, and some attractive additions have shown up this year. But that’s only part of the story. A number of the more memorable Christmas outings were recorded during the heyday of vinyl, and one of the great blessings of the CD era has been the new availability of so many marvelous, previously hard-to-find albums.

So here’s a selective roundup of jazz and almost-jazz holiday albums--some new, some old, all overflowing with the spirit of the winter wonderland.

* Cyrus Chestnut: “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (Atlantic). Pianist Cyrus Chestnut has the right kind of sensitivity to take on the music from the classic Christmas kids’ show--much of it written by the late Vince Guaraldi. Chestnut enhances the project by adding such first-rate saxophonists as Michael Brecker, Kenny Garrett and Steve Cole, as well as guitarist Pat Martino and drummer Steve Gadd to the mix. And the program climaxes with Chestnut, Vanessa Williams and the Harlem Boys Choir combining for a gorgeous rendering of “Christmas Time Is Here.”

* “A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Original Soundtrack Recording of the CBS Television Special” (Fantasy). Another alternative--or, perhaps, an added selection--is the original music itself. Originally released in 1965, it features the Vince Guaraldi Trio in performances that have become classics. In retrospect, it’s astounding that Guaraldi was able to come up with such remarkable material as “Linus and Lucy,” “Skating” and “Christmas Time Is Here” for a children’s animated television show. And he did so without sacrificing any of the inherent jazz qualities of his music, creating a sound and an ambience that literally represents childhood seasonal memories to several generations.

* Joe Williams. “That Holiday Feeling” (Verve). Never fully appreciated for the grandeur of his voice and the inimitable soulfulness of his singing, Williams sounds superb in this 1990 collection. He does what he does so well, in fact, that it would be easy to take the smooth lyricism of his interpretations for granted. But, although his program includes few surprises--”Winter Wonderland,” “The Christmas Song,” “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” and “Let It Snow” are all present--there is no resisting the buttered rum smoothness of his voice and the warm and amiable qualities of his interpretations.

* “Yule B’ Swingin’ Too!” (Universal/Hip-O). If you remember “Yule B’ Swingin’ ” from last Christmas, here’s a follow-up. (If you don’t, check out the first entry in the series too.) Although some of the “swingin’ ” verges closer to pop than jazz (Dean Martin doing “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” and Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters combining on “Here Comes Santa Claus”), there are some appealing jazz items. The Duke Ellington Orchestra’s “Jingle Bells” has to be considered one of the more offbeat items, almost matched by the Benny Goodman Orchestra’s “Santa Claus Came in the Spring” and the Lionel Hampton Orchestra’s “Boogie Woogie Santa Claus.” But the album also includes Ella Fitzgerald’s lovely “White Christmas” and a sensuous rendering of “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” by Billie Holiday. The original “Yule B’ Swingin’ ” is similarly programmed, with tracks by Louis Prima, Glenn Miller and Kay Starr juxtaposed with performances by Armstrong, Hampton, Fitzgerald and Peggy Lee.

* “Ella Fitzgerald Wishes You a Swinging Christmas” (Verve). Speaking of the first lady of song, Fitzgerald recorded a Christmas collection in 1960, available in this CD version. Accompanied by the Frank DeVol Orchestra, she offers lovely versions of “The Christmas Song,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” And her light-hearted joie de vivre surfaces in whimsical renderings of “Frosty the Snowman” and the ever-present “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.” Fitzgerald also recorded a much more traditional album--”Ella Fitzgerald’s Christmas”--in 1967, devoted to uncomplicated readings of a complete lexicon of familiar carols.

* “An Oscar Peterson Christmas” (Telarc). Peterson is featured in a six-piece ensemble in this relatively recent collection, released in 1995. The program ranges from carols (“What Child Is This?,” “O Little Town of Bethlehem” and “Silent Night”) to seasonal classics (“Winter Wonderland,” “Let It Snow” “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”). The instrumentation of fluegelhorn, guitar, vibes, bass, piano and drums provides appropriately soft-edged textures, and--although there are typically swinging passages--the framing allows Peterson to express his less-often-heard, gently lyrical touch.

* Al DiMeola. “Winter Nights” (Telarc). DiMeola offers a different seasonal take in this world music-oriented collection, released last year. Performing with Ukrainian bandura player Roman Hrynkiv and guitarist-percussionist Hernan Romero, DiMeola adds his own guitars, harp and keyboards to an unusually attractive aural mixture. The program includes a few familiar items--”Greensleeves,” “Carol of the Bells” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”--as well as “Ave Maria,” “Scarborough Fair” and a few DiMeola originals. A bit offbeat at first hearing, it is an album that becomes more rewarding with repeated listening.

* Frank Sinatra. “A Jolly Christmas From Frank Sinatra” (Capitol). OK, we can have a friendly disagreement on whether Sinatra was a jazz singer (I’ll take the safe position that sometimes he was, sometimes he wasn’t), but either way it’s hard to leave him out of a collection of warm and fuzzy, jazz-tinged Christmas music. He’s done other Christmas collections, but this 1957 release, with arrangements by Gordon Jenkins and Nelson Riddle, finds the Voice in rare form. It’s intriguing to hear him sing “The Christmas Song” after associating it with Nat King Cole for so many years, but it’s also fascinating to hear him apply his incomparable baritone to “Adeste Fideles,” “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” and “Mistletoe and Holly,” among numerous others. This CD version also includes alternate arrangements of “The Christmas Waltz.”