# New Christmas musics by Jamie Cullum, Terrace Martin, Cory Henry: Videos

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2020/12/15/new-christmas-musics-by-jamie-cullum-terrace-martin-cory-henry-videos/
- Published: 2020-12-15T15:57:47+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**Jamie Cullum, “Hang Your Lights”**

The Pianoman at Christmas So many holiday albums today stick to a tried-and-true
formula: dust off some old classics, put a new spin on that Mariah Carey tune, and
toss in one or two seasonal originals, hoping they stick. This isn’t at all the 
mindset that Jamie Cullum brought to — his first entry in the category, a batch 
of 10 new songs with attitude to spare, recorded at Abbey Road with an orchestra
conducted by Tom Richards.

Cullum is a singer-songwriter of cheery panache and puckish irreverence; see the
song here called “The Jolly Fat Man,” or its companion, “So Many Santas.” But he’s
also a sentimentalist, as the title track reminds us. What he delivers in “Hang 
Your Lights” is an invitation: “Sing, sing, sing of the mistletoe,” he begins, and
you can guess what comes next. But in the song’s kinetic video, Cullum broadens 
the aim of his charm offensive: if there’s an overture here, it’s between him and
us, his audience. Batteries not included!

**Terrace Martin, “The Christmas Song” (Feat. Alex Isley and Kenneth Crouch)**

Producer and saxophonist Terrace Martin didn’t slouch this year — consult the album
he released with Dinner Party, and a steady flow of standalone tracks like “Pig 
Feet” — but he still saw fit to deliver an intoxicating holiday EP. Titled _Village
Days_, it features tracks by an array of his active projects, Dinner Party included.

The EP, which just dropped on Sounds of Crenshaw/EMPIRE, doesn’t take a straightforward
approach to holiday music — until the closing track, a cozy take on Robert Wells
and Mel Tormé’s “Christmas Song.” Martin sets the tone on soprano before Kenneth
Crouch, an R&B and gospel veteran, adds some chiming electric piano. On vocals is
Alex Isley (daughter of Ernie, from The Isley Brothers), who infuses her whisper-
soft delivery with a bittersweet air.

**Cory Henry, “Christmas With You”**

If you tuned in to NPR Music’s A Jazz Piano Christmas this year, you surely took
notice of Cory Henry, who appeared alongside NEA Jazz Master Kenny Barron and on-
the-rise talent Redwood (f/k/a Sequoia Snyder) to deliver a fresh take on holiday
favorites.

A Motown-style shuffle featuring frequent collaborator Jay White, “Christmas With
You” is a blast of good cheer, complete with a mouthwatering holiday menu recitation
in the bridge. (“Chicken, macaroni and collard greens / Mmm, it all sounds good 
to me.”) Look elsewhere for moody, brooding holiday songs; this right here the gospel-
soul equivalent of a peppermint gingersnap.

**Ray Blue, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”**

A tenor saxophonist with an unabashedly oldfangled tone and approach, Ray Blue has
just what many of us want in a melodist — which makes him a prime candidate for 
an album of classic holiday fare. Put that wish on next year’s Santa list; for the
time being.

Blue recorded this version of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” as a duo 
with pianist Lafayette Harris. The breath and texture in his playing, and the ambling,
unhurried tempo, might call to mind a master like Houston Person — and one gets 
the sense that Blue wouldn’t balk at that comparison, though he isn’t out to sound
like anyone but himself.

**Dolly Parton, “Cuddle Up, Cozy Down Christmas” (with Michael Bublé)**

At some point over the last decade, it became a little complicated to embrace Frank
Loesser’s coy holiday duet “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” That hasn’t stopped dozens
of versions from cropping up — but there’s no denying the awkward gender politics
around the song. So what’s an enlightened singer-songwriter to do? If your name 
is Dolly Parton, the answer is: write your own flirtatious duet, ask Michael Bublé
to be your partner.

Parton’s tune keeps the original premise (we’re snowed in; let’s get naughty) without
the unfortunate hint of coercion. Not that she skimps on the sensual — at one point
she has Bublé croon the couplet “Nestle up against your skin / Do anything that 
we want to,” while she coos and murmurs approvingly. And while it’s doubtful that“
Cuddle Up, Cozy Down Christmas” will ever take the place of Loesser’s chestnut, 
you have to hand it to Dolly for turning the tables. No one who hears this could
have any doubt about who’s in charge.

![Jamie Cullum's first holiday album is 'The Pianoman at Christmas.'](https://i0.
wp.com/www.wbgo.org/sites/wbgo/files/styles/medium/public/202012/JamieCullum_2.jpg?
w=640&ssl=1)

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