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Christmas Is You’ becomes a swinging boogie, with doo-wop type backing vocalists

adding to the festive fun, and George Michael’s ‘Last Christmas’ rolls along over a
slower boogie piano, jazz-blues guitar – and nice backing vocals again.

Older standards like ‘Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!’ and ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ get

a jazzy or a rocking treatment (and do try ‘Jingle Bells’), whilst ‘Noël Blanc’ – a.k.a.
‘White Christmas’ - becomes a rolling blues-ballad, sung in French of course. ‘Zat You
Santa Claus’ is a fine piece of greasy jive. There’s even an appropriate (?) original in

‘I Hate Christmas Time’, and as a special Christmas present, the set ends with Prima’s
own ‘Just A Gigolo/ I Ain’t Got Nobody’.

The whole set’s as tasty as a whisky-steeped Christmas pudding. Joyeux Noël!

Norman Darwen

Mercedes Nicole—Dare to Love—Dare to Dream-

Independent
(www.mercedesnicolemusic.com)

Based in Seattle, Washington, Mercedes is equally as
comfortable with jazz as she is with the blues, and this
set’s predecessor, the well-received “Constellation”,
focused more on the latter. This release shifts more

towards jazz, though there is no denying that Mercedes is
a very soulful singer. She is always very much in control

though; her vocals have been described as “lingering”, and
every track on this album serves as a good example of just what that means.

With a top-notch band behind her, Mercedes herself showcases her talents on a varied

range of material. ‘I Love Being Here With You’ is a good example of her admiration
for Peggy Lee’s style, but she has drawn even more influence from Nancy Wilson. Her
version of Nancy’s ‘Save Your Love For Me’, originally done in the early 60s, is a lovely
bluesy performance.

Other bluesy jazz material includes ‘Too Young To Go Steady’, associated with Nat
“King” Cole in the mid-50s, and ‘Candy’ which was covered by both blues singer Big
Maybelle and Ella Fitzgerald. Many others have also chosen it, but Mercedes may

draw from either of those, or maybe both. The standard ‘Misty’ closes the album and
the vocal does indeed “linger” on this one.

Ms. Nicole’s soul side is strong on Stevie Wonder’s ‘If It’s Magic’ and Marvin Gaye’s
classic ‘What's Going On’ becomes a strong jazz item. The sadly under-rated Donny
Hathaway’s ‘Sack Full Of Dreams’ rolls along very nicely, and ‘Rio De Janeiro Blue’ is

a fine soul-jazz groover, not what you would expect maybe from a Randy Crawford
song.