New music for the holiday season (Pt 2) from Norah Jones

As you may have guessed, I love holiday music!

It’s always been a great way to close out my musical year – allowing time for both celebration and reflection. I’m always on the look-out for new collections that I want to share with others… Up next on my “12 Faves of Christmas” is this one from Norah Jones called I Dream of Christmas.

Even though she says she likes holiday music, Jones says she never really thought of recording a Christmas album herself … until the pandemic, when she found herself taking refuge in isolation with the comforting strains of her favorite holiday albums - James Brown’s Funky Christmas & Elvis’s Christmas Album from ‘The King.’

The result of her efforts is wonderful & catches a cozy holiday vibe, soothing and sometimes playful as well as occasionally melancholy.

While she contributes six new originals here, it's her interpretations of the standards that truly stand out for me – Her take on "White Christmas" is a refreshingly bright reinvention—it's almost as if Bing Crosby's definitive version never even existed. In her hands, it's jaunty, up-tempo, and swings like crazy. Her version of "Blue Christmas" slows the Elvis classic down to a New Orleans-style dirge. Her vocals float just a touch behind the beat on her piano, and she keeps it fairly mellow. "Christmas Time Is Here" (from A Charlie Brown Christmas) is no less sentimental in Jones' hands, but is performed a touch lighter and is both mesmerizing & sparkling at the same time. Her expressive voice lends itself to the romanticized lyrics in a manner that conveys the tugging of heartstrings without veering into the maudlin. She saunters through an improbably hypnotic take on The Chipmunks’ “Christmas Don’t Be Late,” and her unlikely hints of steel-guitar-fueled tropical flavor in “Winter Wonderland” may place her cover among the best versions of that tune you’ll ever hear.

As for the originals, the album is replete with the signature sleek, jazzy tones Jones has employed since her 2002 debut, Come Away with Me – from the easy sway of opener “Christmas Calling (Jolly Jones)” to the sentimental “A Holiday with You,” and “Christmas Glow.” There are also a few expeditions into R&B and blues, and though most of the songs are secular, Jones is all in for the spiritual reassurance of “You’re Not Alone.”

You can check out samples from the record here: https://www.norahjones.com/

Not only do I love Christmas music, I also love the talents of Norah Jones – The serendipity of both these worlds colliding for this holiday season should make this a VERY merry Christmas season indeed!