Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas
is a charming, warmly humorous -- and yes, swinging -- set of classic Christmas tunes. The program is familiar, from bouncy singalongs like "Jingle Bells" to slinky ballads like a downright sexy "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," but
Fitzgerald
treats each song with exactly as much respect as it deserves. And so
Frank Loesser
's "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve" is wistfully romantic and
Sammy Cahn
and
Jule Styne
's "Let It Snow" is kittenishly enticing. As always,
Norman Granz
's production avoids the schlock that drowns some holiday sets. This is as good as jazz Christmas albums get.