Old-school jazz with brains and beauty!
Scott H. Andrews | Pardubice, Czech Republic | 01/19/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Ok, yeah, wow, can't believe I'm the first to review this. This is one of the BEST Christmas albums I've ever heard. See, it's weird cuz it's not like normal Crystal Lewis stuff. She took her voice which is SOOO jazzy anyway, nice bluesy quality, complete with odd vowel-sounds and everything, then she took herself, an AMAZING pianist/arranger (I think his name is Alan Pasqua, or somesuch), a great jazz drummer, and a great bassist (along with some others guest musicians here and there) and they went out west in the summer and cut this disc. But see, they did it the old-school way: live in the studio, recorded in one or two takes. And it really is evident, THIS ALBUM FEELS OLD. I mean that in the best way possible. This isn't pop-star croons christmas. This is like taking a trip back to the heyday of jazz, but with EXCELLENT sound quality and music theory that's just brilliant. Much more sound theory-wise than her "attack of the screamin' rays" swing project. It's fun enough and beautiful enough to win the masses, yet technically sound enough to stand up against the most brutal jazz musician's critique. Enjoy!"