Joy to the World

Bubbly jazz, retro lounge and technicolor fantasies of '50s era holiday music come together in the festive potpourri of Pink Martini. The band, who has developed a following with their nouveau martini-bar multicultural fusion music, brings many of these same sensibilities to their first holiday outing, proving unique renditions of classic holiday songs, Jewish Hanukkah pieces, the opera music of Verdi and even a taste of Christmas in Hawaii. All of the songs have a jazz lounge essence to them, pairing shuffling rhythms with piano, keyboards and strings, as China Forbes' intoxicating voice leads the way. Things get particularly fun with the island slide guitar-laden "Snowglobe Christmas" and the percolating Latin jazz rendition of the Jewish song "Ocho Kandelikas," which recalls the vintage sound that made "Amado Mio" a hit.