This bright little compilation of Christmas tunes done New Orleans style takes on a little extra poignancy given the city's continued efforts to rebuild and rebound from the tremendous destruction that came with the landfall of Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. But hurricane or not, Christmas is a time of celebration, and the musicians of New Orleans have never had any kind of problem with celebrating, so a kind of reaffirmation is at work here that is cool to hear. Among the highlights are Big Al Carson and Lars Edegran's jazzed-up version of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," singer James Andrews' hybrid jazz and R&B approach (which owes more than a little to Louis Armstrong) on "Christmas in New Orleans," and the delightfully ragged, loose and joyous "Santa's Second Line" by the New Birth Brass Band, which also features some improvised singing from Andrews in the outro. This isn't the end-all and be-all of Christmas collections, but it has a refreshing feel of normalcy, and that, given all that New Orleans has been through, is a comfort. ~ Steve Leggett
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