Judy Whitmore • Christmas

Judy Whitmore’s Christmas sits in a different universe from the other holiday records in this batch, but that isn’t a drawback. She’s not trying to swing a band through “Mele Kalikimaka” or lead dancers around a floor; she’s looking squarely at the mid-century orchestral tradition of Barbra Streisand, Julie London, and the better MGM soundstages. It’s a glittering, widescreen kind of Christmas album, produced and arranged by Chris Walden, whose résumé, which includes collaborations with Sir Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, and Barbra Streisand, tells you exactly what kind of lushness we’re dealing with.

Whitmore has had a diverse set of pursuits straight out of the era she emulates. She is a licensed pilot, best-selling novelist, psychotherapist, philanthropist, and vocalist. What matters here is that she takes the music as seriously as she has her other pursuits and delivers it with poise.

This album belongs to the orchestral holiday canon. Walden’s arrangements shimmer and swell in all the expected places, but they never drown her out. The opener, “Kay Thompson’s Jingle Bells,” is all clean brass sparkle and brushed percussion, more cocktail gala than family hearth. Whitmore fits comfortably into that world. Her voice is centered and unforced, the diction crisp, the phrasing measured. There’s none of the over-singing or aspirational belting you sometimes hear from crossover jazz singers. She presents the melody, leans into it lightly, then steps aside for the arrangement to glow around her.

The new original that closes the album, “The Ghosts of Christmas Past,” has already been praised elsewhere as “a cinematic moment that feels both intimate and grand.” It’s the emotional anchor of the album, an ode to reflective December evenings. The track has a fully produced video on YouTube, with the lyrics included. On the standards; “Christmas Time Is Here,” “Home For The Holidays,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and others she keeps everything tasteful and unhurried. These are lovingly burnished performances, not reinventions. And that’s fine; the album isn’t reaching for novelty. It’s reaching for comfort.

One thing that works in her favor is that she doesn’t fall into the trap of syrupy sentimentality. Even the more sentimental numbers keep a bit of air around them. When she turns it up for “The Man with the Bag” or “Happy Holiday/The Holiday Season,” the band swings lightly in that mid-century pop-jazz way. She knows the sound she is going for, and is smart enough to let the orchestra help her get there. Walden writes with a cinematic pen, and these arrangements would sound at home in a 1960s holiday film that never quite existed, several titles are relatively obscure, and his tone makes them instantly recognizable as Christmas music.

This is a polished, elegant holiday album by a performer who understands that style matters in this tree-lit corner of the musical world and has a knack for finding good partners. In a season full of noise, there’s something refreshing about an album that simply wants to sound lovely, and succeeds.

Judy Whitmore
Christmas
judywhitmore.com