Dianne Reeves - Christmas Time Is Here [Red]

Dianne Reeves wraps the season in velvet on Christmas Time Is Here, her 2004 Blue Note holiday album, pressed here on limited edition red vinyl.

One of the most admired jazz vocalists of her generation, Reeves brings the same rich tone, unhurried phrasing and improvising spirit to these songs that she brings to the great standards. Rather than playing it safe, she treats familiar carols as living songs, open to fresh rhythms and colours, and lets her band breathe around her, never rushing a phrase.

The title track, Vince Guaraldi's wistful favourite from A Charlie Brown Christmas, gets a gentle, glowing reading that honours the original while making it entirely her own. Elsewhere, "Carol of the Bells" and "Little Drummer Boy" give her room to play with rhythm and texture, and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" closes the set on a tender, late-night note that lingers long after the needle lifts.

It sits comfortably beside the great jazz Christmas records, sophisticated enough for a dinner party yet warm enough for a quiet night by the tree.

On red vinyl it makes a stylish addition to any holiday shelf that leans more toward smoky clubs than shopping-mall speakers, and it rewards close listening long after the decorations come down.