Smooth Sounds of the Coming Season

How durable is Christmas music? We find out every year when the holiday season rolls around and the familiar songs are squeezed into every imaginable stylistic format, often with disastrous consequences. Smooth jazz Christmas, grooving jazz Christmas, straight-ahead jazz Christmas--you name it, someone’s probably doing it. About the only thing that’s missing is avant-garde jazz Christmas, perhaps because the demand for it would likely be minimal.

As it turns out, the music has the potential to be more powerful than the medium--sometimes. A random sampling of current jazz-related Christmas recordings--offered early enough for listeners to obtain maximum seasonal value--reveals that otherwise bland styles, and otherwise bland players, can be surprisingly attractive when the programming has a sturdy connection to yuletide material.

There was a time when artists and record companies were reluctant to release Christmas albums, citing the limited window for sales and enjoyment. But there are more than a few selections here that easily deserve more extended exposure.

* * * “Making Spirits Bright: A Smooth Jazz Christmas,” GRP Records. Here’s a catchy collection that uses the smooth jazz umbrella as a rubric to sell a collection of performances actually too diverse to fit into such a limited definition. Yes, there are some in-the-style appearances by the likes of Gerald Albright (who goes a bit over the top at times with Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas”), Joyce Cooling (with a version of “The Christmas Song” enlivened by the brisk scat singing she does with her guitar improvisation), Richard Elliot and others.

But there is also David Benoit’s lovely treatment of “The First Noel” for piano and string quartet; Al Jarreau’s surprisingly understated, sweetly tender “Silent Night”; Joe Sample’s curious conversion of “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” into a cameo suite filled with rhapsodic harmonies and off-center stride rhythms. The oddest inclusion is Dave Grusin’s arrangement of selections from Ariel Ramirez’s “Suite de Nuestra Navidad,” and the best is Diana Krall’s “Jingle Bells,” galvanized by her walking bass lines on the piano and typically upbeat vocal.

* * * “Dave Koz & Friends, A Smooth Jazz Christmas,” Capitol Records. This is essentially the soundtrack for the holiday show that Koz, Brenda Russell, Rick Braun, Peter White and Benoit have been touring for the past few Christmas seasons (coming this year to the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1). Although there are moments when the slickness of the packaging takes over, the fluent ease of communication among the artists makes for an easygoing, pleasantly entertaining package.

Among the high points: Braun’s trumpet work, especially on “Jingle Bells,” sneaking back and forth between Herb Alpert and Miles Davis; Russell’s transformation of her hit “Get Here” into a tune with holiday implications; White’s fine acoustic guitar on “Silent Night”; a full-roster, big band-style romp through “Boogie Woogie Santa Claus” and a doo-wop tinged “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”; and a rare new holiday tune--Koz’s lovely “December Makes Me Feel This Way,” sung by Kenny Loggins.

* * * “Christmastime in Swingtime,” Koch Jazz. Tenor saxophonist Harry Allen, his sound and method resonating with the sound of Stan Getz, the drive of Zoot Sims and a sprinkling of Ben Webster’s sensuality, takes on a program dominated by familiar themes--”O Christmas Tree,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (done in a Coltrane-esque 6/4) and “Winter Wonderland,” among others.

There’s not a lot that can go wrong with a group that includes organist Larry Goldings, guitarist Peter Bernstein, drummer Jake Hanna and, singing the vocal on “Blue Christmas,” John Pizzarelli. And nothing does. Setting aside the seasonal program, this is simply a fine, straight-ahead jazz outing. The only thing missing are Alan and Marilyn Bergman’s words to Johnny Mandel’s tune for “A Christmas Love Song.” Too bad Pizzarelli couldn’t have been kept in the studio long enough to make the number more complete.

* * * “A Nancy Wilson Christmas,” Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild. Setting aside many of the mannerisms that have afflicted recent performances, Wilson delivers one of her best recent efforts. For once, it’s possible to appreciate the inventiveness of her phrasing and the clarity of her sound without being distracted by yodels and microphone manipulation. Wilson is aided by a superb all-star lineup of musical associates: the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Star Big Band, led by Jon Faddis, pianist Monty Alexander, the New York Voices and Herbie Mann, as well as a raft of first-rate arrangers.The soloists--including trumpeter Claudio Roditi and tenor saxophonists James Moody and Jimmy Heath--are equally first-rate. All told, it’s as much as a singer could ask for--tender spiritual passages alternating with soaring gospel rhythms--and Wilson’s generally makes the best of the colorful musical frameworks she has been provided.

* * 1/2 “Maxjazz Holiday,” Maxjazz Records. Like the Harry Allen album, this comes across as a set of jazz interpretations of songs that just happen to be associated with Christmas. The lineup is dominated by the Maxjazz stable of vocalists (with pianist Bruce Barth the sole exception) in a pair of songs each from Carla Cook, Rene Marie, Laverne Butler, Mary Stallings and Phillip Manuel, and three numbers from Christine Hitt. But with the exception of Marie’s sensitive takes on “Let It Snow” and “Winter Wonderland,” the performances drift with little focus. Many of the best moments, in fact, are provided by the stellar, backing instrumentalists, especially Cyrus Chestnut, Mulgrew Miller, Peter Martin and Barth (who doubles as an accompanist on some tracks).

* * “Groovin’ Jazz Christmas,” Gold Circle Records. Most of the more unappealing qualities of the smooth/urban jazz genres surface in this bland compilation. Groove rhythms, repetitious synthesizer textures and undistinguished vocals don’t quite manage to eliminate the charm of songs such as “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “Let It Snow,” “Carol of the Bells” and others, but they come close. Although five saxophonists are featured, they are stylistically indistinguishable, one smooth jazz saxophone clone after another. If you need some seasonal wallpaper sounds to keep a lively beat going while climbing ladders to put up lights, here’s your solution.