Christmas songs

"A smoky, sophisticated, and slightly melancholy album perfectly suited to accompany egg nog cocktails and romantic afterglow holiday affairs ... Krall coos life into such standards as "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve," and "I'll Be Home for Christmas" ... She gains top-notch support from the Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra, whose urbane arrangements help bring to mind similar works by such iconic vocalists as Nat King Cole, June Christy, and Frank Sinatra. But it's not all deep sighs and bedroom eyes; on the contrary, Krall keeps things swinging with such uptempo numbers as the joyous "Jingle Bells," "Winter Wonderland," and the Blossom Dearie-inflected "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town." If you like your holiday albums cool and classy, Christmas Songs is a stocking stuffer that's sure to please".

"Eleven years after its CD release, this album has become a paragon of Christmastide jazz singing in the new millennium. Krall is particularly adept at using the reflective side of her sensibility to interpret ballads like "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" and "White Christmas". Her contralto mixes vulnerability and sensuousness, and the music sparkles. Rarely mawkish or bound to propriety, Krall give sthe impression she genuinely feels the emotion behind the lyrics. Her paino work has something of Nat "King" Cole's touch".