12 SONGS OF CHRISTMAS
Etta James
Sony BMG Special Products
Released: 1998

Forty-three years after her first hit, 1955’s "The Wallflower," Etta James got around to recording a Christmas album. She did it right, enlisting producer John Snyder and assembling a steamroller of a small jazz combo, anchored by legendary instrumentalists who honed their skills in some of the top jazz outfits of the '40s and '50s, along with some younger lions who burst onto the scene in the '60s. Constituting this tight little unit are Cedar Walton on piano, Red Holloway on alto and tenor saxophones, and Billy Higgins on drums, all ably abetted by guitarist Josh Sklair, bassists John Clayton and (on electric) Etta's son Sametta James, trombonist George Bohannon and flugelhornist Ronnie Buttacavoli. Though all familiar seasonal offerings, the songs are given the intimate feel a small ensemble can provide, sounding very much like a set fashioned for a late-night club audience--that is, medium-cool, with some exciting instrumental interplay along the way and James playing it pretty straight vocally while allowing herself an occasional excursion into improvisational fancy, as she does in breaking out of the rhythmic stride of a bustling "White Christmas" arrangement to set up a closing flurry of instrumental bellicosity (in its most positive sense).

From 12 Songs of Christmas, Etta James, ‘O Holy Night,’ in English and French, accompanied only by the trebly, lonely sound of Sklair's shimmering, brooding electric guitar

Some of the attendant joys here include Walton's clever keyboard ripostes to James's sturdy vocal on a driving treatment of "Winter Wonderland" further spiced by witty solo courtesy bassist Clayton; smoky, grinding, deep blues treatments of "This Time of Year" and Charles Brown's "Merry Christmas, Baby," both featuring swaggering vocals from Etta and busy, atmospheric tenor sax solos by Holloway, with the latter tune rising to an exuberant, horn-embellished crescendo behind James's searing shouts. In a new arrangement by James and Sklair, "Silent Night" incorporates both blues and gospel elements-the former by way of concise, robust guitar solos and crying tenor sax, the latter in James's emotion-laden, expressive behind-the-beat phrasing as she stretches out the lyric lines for maximum emotional impact. It's a quiet gem. And to top things off, her stately, respectful reading of "O Holy Night" is delivered in both English and French, her only accompaniment being the trebly, lonely sound of Sklair's brooding electric guitar--a magnificent, understated rendition in all aspects and a smart choice to close an album rich in seasonal spirit but respectful of its larger meaning. --David McGee

Etta James’s 12 Songs of Christmas is available at www.amazon.com