Christmas Time Is Here (Blue Note)
Diane Reeves
Released September 28, 2004
WDUQ 10 Best Holiday Jazz
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mC7E0V5-8ww-ai8ZUpfQ_03qAi61u_3aY
Spotify:
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About:
Five-time Grammy winner DIANNE REEVES is the pre-eminent jazz vocalist in the world. As a result of her breathtaking virtuosity, improvisational prowess, and unique jazz and R&B stylings, Reeves received the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance for three consecutive recordings – a Grammy first in any vocal category.
Featured in George Clooney’s six-time Academy Award nominated Good Night, and Good Luck, Reeves won the Best Jazz Vocal Grammy for the film’s soundtrack.
Reeves has recorded and performed with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. She has also recorded with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Daniel Barenboim and was a featured soloist with Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic. Reeves was the first Creative Chair for Jazz for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the first vocalist to ever perform at the famed Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Reeves worked with legendary producer Arif Mardin (Norah Jones, Aretha Franklin) on the Grammy winning A Little Moonlight, an intimate collection of standards featuring her touring trio. When Reeves’ holiday collection Christmas Time is Here was released, Ben Ratliff of The New York Times raved, “Ms. Reeves, a jazz singer of frequently astonishing skill, takes the assignment seriously; this is one of the best jazz Christmas CD’s I’ve heard.”
Track Listing:
1. Little Drummer Boy 5:02
2. Carol Of The Bells 3:57
3. Christmas Time Is Here 3:21
4. This Time Of The Year 4:55
5. Christmas Waltz 3:42
6. I´ll Be Home For Christmas 5:28
7. Christ Child´s Lullaby 3:48
8. A Child Is Born 5:01
9. This Christmas Song (Chestnuts) 5:30
10. Let It Snow 3:24
11. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas 4:19
Personnel:
Dianne Reeves: vocals
Peter Martin: piano
Reuben Rogers: bass
Gregory Hutchinson: drums
Romero Lubambo: guitar
Steve Wilson: saxophone
Joe Locke: vibraphone
Munyungo Jackson: percussion
Sirius String Quartet
Meg Okura, Gregor Huebner: violin
Ron Lawrence: viola
Dave Eggers: cello
Recorded May 26-29, 2004 at Bennett Studios, Englewood, NJ
Produced by Dianne Reeves & Peter Martin
Engineer: Rich Breen
Executive-Producer: Darryl Pitt
Mastered by Dave Collins
Review:
This is one of those albums that’s not really ideal for playing while
opening gifts Christmas morning—in a very good sense.
Christmas Time Is Here is an above-average and sometimes spectacular album
that doesn’t deserve to compete with screaming kids and tearing paper for the
listener’s ear. Reeves is on a tear lately with three straight Grammy-winning
albums, and this release will undoubtedly win a place on the long-term holiday
playlists of fans and new listeners. But just a shade too much restraint keeps
it from being an all-time classic.
It’s not that the album has a restrained feel. On the contrary, enough of the
familiar songs feature such a tastefully intense modern jazz treatment that a
handful of merely ordinary interpretations become a disappointment of lost
potential.
Innovation that stands the test of time can be a tough balance on a holiday album, but Reeves nails it dead-center on the opening “Little Drummer Boy” and “Carol Of The Bells.” She has a rich voice and has developed an exceptional sense of staying tastefully melodic while constantly exploring her substantial range. Drummer Greg Hutchison matches her playful intensity throughout “Little Drummer Boy” with a reggae/modern jazz beat that avoids the too-common habit of percussionists using the song as a personal opportunity to overindulge. Her rapid-fire swing version of “Carol Of The Bells” is shaken to the traditional song’s core—not even a hint of that famous opening piano riff—but so well-performed even devotees normally offended by such liberties (i.e. me) can’t help but be appreciative.
Thus it’s a disappointment when there’s nary a hint of adventure on the dreamy “Christmas Time Is Here” and Latin-tinged “This Time Of The Year.” Both are solid and soothing on their own and would fit nicely in the background during the aforementioned gift-giving. But Reeves, having all but demanded the listener’s attention with her first two songs, drops off a bit abruptly here.
The somewhat awkward cadence continues throughout the album, with the slow-burning heat of “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” and flat-out improvisational fire by Reeves and saxophonist Steve Wilson on “A Child Is Born” being doused by a mall-mood treatment of “The Christmas Song.”
Reeves may see her Grammy streak end with this album, but there’s more than enough material to remind listeners why she won the awards. She avoids the common pitfall of presenting material so modern it quickly becomes unfashionable, but takes things far enough that it’s probably not a good choice for hard-core traditionalists. Still, truly intriguing holiday albums are a rarity, and this will almost certainly rank among the best such releases this year.
Mark Sabbatini (All About Jazz)
