Dubbed the "Prince of Pops" by the Chicago Tribune nearly 30 years ago,
Erich Kunzel -- one of the most successful classical crossover artists of all time -- has recorded over 70 albums for Telarc; one of the most popular of those is 1990s
Christmas with the Pops. The warm and wonderful
Christmastime Is Here, named for the
Vince Guaraldi classic from
A Charlie Brown Christmas that's given a spirited reworking here, is something of a sequel to that collection. With the exception of a punchy Dixieland arrangement of "Jingle Bell Rock,"
Kunzel and the orchestra -- working with the
Indiana University School of Music Singing Hoosiers, under the direction of
Dr. Michael Schwartzkopf -- play most of the classics here very straightforwardly. That is to say, charming, elegant and engaging, just not overly innovative. Telarc's true stroke of genius is having some of its top jazz vocalists perform on lush but smartly restrained arrangements of various classics -- like
Tierney Sutton on "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and
John Pizzarelli on "Silver Bells." The disc also showcases two of the label's newest artists,
Ann Hampton Callaway (a haunting "I Wonder as I Wander") and
Tony DeSare (doing
Mel Tormé proud on a dreamy version of "The Christmas Song"). This is 2006's premier holiday disc for lovers of jazz, pop and classical music.