Amazon.comIn the smooth tradition of David Sanborn (minus Sanborn's more directed tone and attack), Warren Hill proficiently blows his way through a dozen standards with a sparse combo. From the strip-club-like workout of Eartha Kitt's seductive and playful "Santa Baby" to an adventurous arrangement of "White Christmas," Hill serves up a generally predictable soundtrack for roasting chestnuts or jumpstarting a holiday romance. What's lacking in imagination and improvisation on this saxophonist's first Christmas effort is made up for in emotionalism. His only real surprise is a passionate rendition of John Lennon's "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)," where his gnarly roots in rock surface. --Martin Keller