A Big Phat Christmas Wrap This!

When Gordon Goodwin's 18-piece big-band combo tackles the Christmas canon, it not only makes for dazzling holiday listening—their complex arrangements and masterful performances manage to transcend the songs' seasonal associations altogether. Goodwin's A-list session players offer a sassy take on Eartha Kitt's "Santa Baby" and a swaggering, Latin-tinged version of "A Christmas Carol." Scatting guest singers Take 6 enliven "Do You Hear What I Hear," and this "Little Drummer Boy" has more in common with Gene Krupa than it does with the usual pa-rum-pum-pum-pum.