Wycliffe Gordon: Holiday Fun!

Trombonist Wycliffe Gordon takes listeners on a pleasurable trip to his childhood and invites them to summon their own precious memories of Holiday Fun! on this splendid new seasonal recording from Arbors Jazz.

Gordon has enlisted an all-star ensemble of like-minded musicians and friends to heighten the fun, stepping merrily through a litany of holiday favorites from "Winter Wonderland" to "Frosty the Snowman," "Silent Night" to "Joy to the World," before closing with the venerable "Auld Lang Syne" (and some farewell remarks from Gordon himself).

There are more than half a dozen vocals on the menu, most of them by Ashley Elim, either alone or with others, starting with the Judy Garland vehicle, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," and including "Winter Wonderland," "Silent Night," "Auld Lang Syne," "What Child Is This?" and an amusing duet (with Carl Maraghi?) on "Baby, It's Cold Outside," wherein the gender roles are reversed. Elim "is from my hometown," Gordon announces, which would be Waynesboro, Georgia.

Maraghi's lissome baritone sax is showcased on "The Christmas Song," Philip Norris's growling tuba on "Frosty the Snowman." The jazz element isn't completely downplayed, making its presence felt on "Joy to the World," the bustling "Green Chimneys" and especially "The Mistletoe Blues," on which Gordon, Maraghi, alto Will Anderson, guitarist Michael Tanksley, trumpeter Joe Boga, drummer Alvin Atkinson, Jr., tenor Adrian Cunningham and Norris (on bass) deliver crackling solos.

Holiday Fun! powers the agenda, and that is precisely what Gordon and his teammates dispense. Hardly a classic, but containing enough pleasurable music to earn a hearty endorsement.