Classic Christmas

Over the last few years, Brynn Stanley has been charming audiences on both coasts, from New Jersey to Los Angeles, honing her smooth, silky voice in preparation for this moment: the release of her brand new Classic EP. The disc presents a beautiful interpretation of some of Brynn s favorite American standards, wrapping her voice in a classic setting including a swinging rhythm section, a full big band horn section and a lush orchestra. Audiences and critics have raved about her voice, a unique blend of classic vocalists like Ella Fitzgerald and Peggy Lee with modern stars like Norah Jones and Diana Krall. Her style has been described as warm, classic, timeless, inspiring and sincere .

This collection features a sampling of four Tony Bennett Christmas albums – Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album, Our Favorite Things, Christmas with Tony Bennett, and A Swingin’ Christmas – released between 1968 and 2008. Highlights include such traditional holiday standards as "Silver Bells," "Silent Night," and "Winter Wonderland," plus “Christmas in Herald Square” taken from the album The Playground. This is a nice addition to any Christmas collection.

Michelle David & The Gospel Sessions, who kept us going during the lockdown with their Sunday Service concert series, are coming out with a Christmas album. It's A Soulful Christmas – out on December 4 – not only offers consolation, but especially cosiness for Christmas. That happens with soul, gospel and pop in various shades. In doing so, a bridge is built between the Christian Christmas with the birth of Jesus and the American interpretation of it with Santa Claus and presents under the tree. Everything contributes to an ultimate Christmas experience. Or as Michelle puts it: “It's a record that takes you through the Christmas season and beyond with a lot of soul.”

Building on her well-represented holiday catalog, Christmas with Judy Collins is essentially a reissue of the folk artist's 2000 release All on a Wintry Night, padded with two additional songs. All 14 tracks from Wintry Night are featured here in their original sequence with the addition of a new single, the western-tinged "Angels in the Snow" leading off the album, and a stirring, largely a cappella version of "Amazing Grace" closing it out. Fans of Collins' rich, warm voice will enjoy some of the more stripped-down arrangements, which feature her singing to a simple piano accompaniment on lesser-known carols like "In the Bleak Midwinter" and "Cherry Tree Carol." On the other hand, the dated synthesizer sounds on tracks like "Come Rejoice" and "Good King Wenceslas" sound rather homogenous and the spoken intro over the faux-strings of "Away in a Manger" is far too heavy-handed to take seriously. Fortunately, the bulk of the album's 16 tracks favor the more minimalist arrangements keeping Collins' lovely voice at the forefront without much distraction.

Singer, songwriter, and pianist Jamie Cullum is back with The Pianoman At Christmas – The Complete Edition, a deluxe repack of his 2020 holiday album which is due out Nov. 19 via Blue Note Records in the U.S. and Island Records elsewhere. The new release completes last year’s part 1 with a thoroughly enjoyable 13-track part 2 that features 11 covers of classic Christmas songs, as well as 2 festive original songs including the lead single “Christmas Don’t Let Me Down”.