Jonathan Rosa

When veteran film composer Mychael Danna entered 2006, he probably thought his tradition-drenched, Renaissance-inspired score to this film about the opening chapter of "the greatest story ever told" would be heard by more people than the quirkier one he wrote for Little Miss Sunshine. But Sunshine was a Best Picture Oscar nominee and this one proved to be just a reasonably popular Jesus story. Recorded in Los Angeles, The Nativity Story score artfully blends native Middle Eastern instruments like Persian and Turkish ney flutes with more traditional pre-Baroque European ones like the viola de gamba, vielle, harp, and recorders. Danna's dual intent seemed to be to ground the story in its geographical roots while also underscoring the power the story had over the Western world in subsequent centuries.

The title of the popular trumpeter and composer's latest triumph is a wistful reference to a language created in the late 19th century (by Dr. L.L. Zamenhof, who used the pseudonym "Dr. Esperanto") to facilitate communication between people of different lands and cultures. It's representative of the unique vibe of the collection, which features distinctive Euro influences drawn from the realms of trance, electronica, and acid jazz, with dramatic orchestral touches as well. Before those kick in, however, listeners are treated to an extension of the old-school brassy soul of B.W.B., the Warner Bros. ensemble of Braun, Kirk Whalum, and Norman Brown.