Review and More

Our Review

The Putumayo label reliably delivers incredibly cool music, usually with around-the-world flair, but sometimes the focus is home-grown excitement. In fact, just last season I reviewed Putumayo's excellent New Orleans Christmas on this site. A natural outgrowth of New Orleans Christmas, Putumayo's A Jazz & Blues Christmas serves up more sizzlin' seasonal standards.

Although the music ends far too quickly (after 33 minutes), it's top quality every bar of the trip. Surprisingly, I enjoyed this ride even more than last year's New Orleans Christmas adventure. The highlights here are just astoundingly high, and that makes this album mighty easy to embrace. B.B. King reigns over all he surveys with his raspy opener Christmas Celebration, and Ray Charles absolutely kills with his outstanding Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. These two tracks alone are easily worth the price of admission. Wow!

Fans of soulful blues and traditional jazz will applaud A Jazz & Blues Christmas; it's the genuine article. Next time, Putumayo, please extend the seasonal offerings for at least 10 minutes more!

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2008)

More

From the liner notes:

Swing into the holiday season with this festive collection.

From the Website:

Putumayo World Music was established in 1993 to introduce people to the music of the world's cultures. The label grew out of Putumayo clothing company, founded by Dan Storper in 1975 and sold in 1997. In the past fifteen years, Putumayo World Music has become known primarily for its upbeat and melodic compilations of great international music characterized by the company's motto: "guaranteed to make you feel good!"

Various Artists

A Jazz & Blues Christmas

Artist link

Track List