Christmas Songs With the Ray Brown Trio

Ray Brown’s got the right idea about making Christmas music: swing it, shout it, blues it up and down, riff with it, and, above all, never let it become boring. With a handful of top-line jazz vocalists on board, and a sax and guitar sitting in with the trio, he and his cool company can’t miss the mirth of improvising or the mistletoe magic of rejuvenating a baker’s dozen seasonal standards. Dee Dee Bridgewater demonstrates her versatility on “Away in a Manager” while the sublime Diana Krall scats with the creeping bass line on “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.” With Nancy King, Etta Jones, Marlena Shaw, Vanessa Rubin, and Kevin Mahogany singing, Brown delivers the goods musically (just check out his lyrical work on “Rudolph.”). –Martin Keller