VA Hit Mania Champions (2006)

Dubbed the "Prince of Pops" by the Chicago Tribune nearly 30 years ago, Erich Kunzel – one of the most successful classical crossover artists of all time – has recorded over 70 albums for Telarc; one of the most popular of those is 1990s Christmas with the Pops. The warm and wonderful Christmastime Is Here, named for the Vince Guaraldi classic from A Charlie Brown Christmas that's given a spirited reworking here, is something of a sequel to that collection. With the exception of a punchy Dixieland arrangement of "Jingle Bell Rock," Kunzel and the orchestra – working with the Indiana University School of Music Singing Hoosiers, under the direction of Dr. Michael Schwartzkopf – play most of the classics here very straightforwardly. That is to say, charming, elegant and engaging, just not overly innovative. Telarc's true stroke of genius is having some of its top jazz vocalists perform on lush but smartly restrained arrangements of various classics – like Tierney Sutton on "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and John Pizzarelli on "Silver Bells." The disc also showcases two of the label's newest artists, Ann Hampton Callaway (a haunting "I Wonder as I Wander") and Tony DeSare (doing Mel Tormé proud on a dreamy version of "The Christmas Song"). This is 2006's premier holiday disc for lovers of jazz, pop and classical music.

Fifty-six years in the making, the earliest track on the Ultimate Jazz Christmas album is Nat King Cole's rare 1946 original trio version of ''The Christmas Song'' written that year by Mel Torme and Robert Wells; the most recent track is Norah Jones's poignant version of Horace Silver's beautiful ''Peace,'' a 2002 track from the EP that Norah Jones recorded upon signing with Blue Note Records. Jazz has never been a slave to convention and this collection includes other contemporary pieces like Duke Pearson's haunting ''Christo Redenter'' by Donald Byrd with a vocal choir, That Jones's touching ''A Child Is Born'' by the orchestra he co-led with Mel Lewis, and Johnny Moore's ultra-cool ''Merry Christmas Baby'' sung by Charles Brown. And when it comes to holiday classics, Count Basie, Eliane Elias, Duke Pearson, and Booker Ervin swing them and Nancy Wilson and Lou Rawls sing them as never before. Unlike most Christmas collections, there's not a corny tune or a schlocky performance to make you reach for the skip button. I is, after all, the ultimate jazz Christmas album.