New from the Emory Lester, Christmas Carols .

The challenge of any marketable Christmas music project will always be finding that happy intersection of novelty and homage to tradition. People want "convention," yet they don't want "retread" out of their audio Yuletide gurney...

Emory Lester has accomplished the assignment well in his latest release "Christmas Carols." Really, throughout all his recordings and playing, his signature sound is a pleasant combination of tonally pure "ear candy," and a vibrant energy that fully animates yet soothes. It would only seem appropriate this kind of musician would demonstrate that "commercially artistic" need not be an oxymoron in contemporary recordings of Christmas music.

Strutting his multi-instrumentalist talents, he supports his bell-like, smooth linear mandolin sound with mandola, guitar, piano, violin and others in such Holiday classics as "We Three Kings," "Carol of the Bells," and "Angels We Have Heard on High." Cleverly arranged and tastefully performed the CD is an engaging palette of light acoustic tonescapes.

Regarding his sound, it would be criminal to go without mentioning the luthier wizardry of Dale Ludewig, credited with designing the special EL mandolin and mandola, equipment extraordinarily capable of maximizing Lester's pure reverberating sound and unbounded sustain. It would be hard to find literature more appropriate than Christmas music for the exhibition of this magical combination of player, artisan, wood and steel.
See review: Emory Lester Mandolin

On many levels, this is incredibly easy on the ears, music delightfully subdued for Christmas party background, yet harmonically fresh and compositionally poignant enough to explore in seclusion, sitting by an Evergreen-trimmed fireplace (with a warm mug of cocoa, of course).

Though not a restrictively jazz CD, we thought it worth mention on the site. The jazz mandolinist would still do him/herself well in studying this along with other Emory Lester recordings and aspiring toward the pleasing 8-string "croon" of this Canadian master of tone.

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Selections:
We Three Kings Of Orient Are
Do You Hear What I Hear
Silent Night
The Coventry Carol
The First Noel
Carol Of The Bells
O Little Town Of Bethlehem
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Angels We Have Heard On High
O Come, O Come Immanuel
O Holy Night