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Hot plates for cold days

Suggestions for the jazz lover on your list

by LEN DOBBIN

A s Bill Dana, in his guise of “Jose Jimenez,” used to say, “It’s Jo Jo time” again. Among the new seasonal CDs, you have a fair amount to choose from. A Montreal Jazz Christmas (Soundgood) includes John Labelle’s wonderful “Santa’s Blues.” Jazz pour Noel/For Christmas (Analekta) is by the Lorraine Desmarais Trio plus Jean-Pierre Zanella, while Royce Campbell has A Jazz Guitar Christmas (Moon Cycle). Vocally, try It Ain’t Over ’Til the Fat Man Sings (SKM) by the group Tonic, or Diana Krall’s Christmas Songs (Verve), The Season (Epic), which is Jane Monheit’s latest, Noel: One From the Heart (Two Beans) by Barbara Montgomery or I’ll Be Home for Christmas (Big Bang) by the David Leonhardt Jazz Group, with singer Nancy Reed.

New to record are some beauties—Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945 (Uptown) by Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker is one, Diva (Gala), vintage 1946 radio featuring Alys Robi, is another. Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall (Blue Note) is a superb 1957 concert, and One Down, One Up (Impulse) is a powerful 1965 live set from NYC’s Half Note by the classic Coltrane quartet.

In the “buy Canadian” department, there’s Hommage à Oscar Peterson (VV). Pas à Pas (Propella) is a trio CD with Daniel Lessard on piano, while Common Thread (Ombu) is bassist Miles Perkins’ debut as a leader. Pianist Matt Herskowitz has Forget Me Not (Tout Crin) and, in the vocal department, Diana Panton’s Yesterday Perhaps (Panton) is one of year’s best. Trevor Payne’s I’ll Take You There (Justin Time) is a decidedly different outing by his Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir.

The latest releases by Bill Charlap (with his mom Sandy Stewart), George Shearing, Gerald Wilson, Enrico Pieranunzi, Ilona Knopfler and Jessica Molaskey make great gifts, as do reissues by Andrew Hill, the duo of Dick Hyman and Dick Wellstood, and a wonderful Shirley Horn CD that combines the vintage with some 2005 material.

When it comes to music-related books, I can suggest Bill Crow’s Jazz Anecdotes: Second Time Around, Lullaby of Birdland (a Shearing autobiography), Skylark about Johnny Mercer, With Billie concerning “Lady Day,” Oliver Jones (in French only) by Marthe Sansregret and Doug Ramsey’s Take Five, a coffee-table book about Paul Desmond. Happy shopping—stay cool!