Charles Brown's Cool Christmas Blues

Personnel: Charles Brown (vocals, guitar, celeste); Danny Caron (guitar); Clifford Solomon, Bobby Forte (tenor saxophone); Ruth Davies (acoustic bass); Johnny Otis (vibraphone); Gaylord Birch (drums).
Recorded at Russian Hill Recording, San Francisco, California.
COOL CHRISTMAS BLUES was nominated for a 1996 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.
This 1994 set was recorded and released in the midst of a resurgence in popularity for Charles Brown during the early '90s. It's also the singer's second Christmas collection, joining the much heralded PLEASE COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS. Throughout, Brown is in fine voice, as he is accompanied by a quartet of tenor saxophone, guitar, bass, and drums. As is usually the case, Brown's piano playing is both strongly supportive and marked by engaging solos. The warm set includes both original and traditional Christmas songs, tracks that Brown handles in a voice that's as smooth as eggnog. He seems to effortlessly wrap himself into and around each song with well-honed pipes that have seen more than 50 years of work.