A poetic and lyrical holiday-themed album, vocalist 's is much more than a seasonal production. The album follows up his eclectic 2015 album, , and arrives on the heels of his collaboration with saxophonist , 2016's . Here, applies his urbane sensibilities and warm baritone to a set of thoughtfully curated traditional songs reworked in his own sophisticated, harmonically rich fashion. However, as his first ever holiday-themed effort, chose to sidestep the usual cull of Christmas songs and instead picked pieces that are lesser known, or more subtle in tone. The result is a production that is as literate and full of new discoveries as his previous studio albums. Helping achieve this is an adept ensemble of longtime and more recent associates including guitarist , pianist , bassist , and drummer , as well as saxophonist , trumpeter , cellist , and percussionist . Working as statement of purpose, kicks things off with a soaring version of 's "Sing a Christmas Carol," from the 1970 musical film . transforms the classical-leaning choral number into a flowing, contemporary jazz anthem, coyly amending the intro with a quick medley of well-known holiday themes. He then shifts gears, offering the first of three recurring interludes based on the classic "Good King Wenceslas" carol. Atmospheric and centered on 's wordless vocalizations, the "Wenceslaus" interludes ground the album in a palette of winter-toned calm. Elsewhere, offers a haunting, crystalline reading of the traditional "We Three Kings," smiles his way through a New Orleans second-line take of "Little Drummer Boy," and applies his longstanding knack for setting spoken word to music with "The Michigan Farm," which features his evocative lyrics framed by composer 's "Cradle Song, Op. 41/1." While artful complexity is one of 's distinctive traits, he is also an adroit crooner, as evidenced here by his soulfully buoyant take on 's "This Christmas" and his heartfelt performance of 's "Same Old Lang Syne." Also adding to the tender emotion of the album is 's daughter, , who duets with her father on the title track. Ultimately, with , has crafted an album that evokes the holiday spirit in all of its wondrous complexity. ~ Matt Collar