The Season [DualDisc]

Disc 1
1	This Christmas 3:50
2	Merry Christmas Darling 4:35
3	The Man with the Bag 2:02
4	Moonlight in Vermont 5:01
5	Sleighride 2:47
6	Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas 5:58
7	Medley: I Love the Winter Weather/I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm 3:39
8	The Christmas Waltz 2:51
9	I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day 2:43
10	Santa Claus Is Coming to Town 2:50
11	My Grown Up Christmas List 5:01
Disc 2
1	This Christmas DVD
2	Merry Christmas Darling DVD
3	The Man with the Bag DVD
4	Moonlight in Vermont DVD
5	Sleigh Ride DVD
6	Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas DVD
7	Medley: I Love the Winter Weather/I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm ...
8	The Christmas Waltz (Introduction) DVD
9	I Hear the Bells on Christmas Day DVD
10	Santa Claus Is Coming to Town DVD
11	My Grown Up Christmas List DVD
12	The Man with the Bag Live / DVD
13	Merry Christmas Darling Live / DVD
14	This Christmas Live / DVD
15	My Grown Up Christmas List Live / DVD

All Music Guide

Jane Monheit follows her 2004 Sony debut, Taking a Chance on Love, with the Christmas album The Season. It's an inevitable release. Monheit's star has risen consistently -- she's one of the darlings (or saviors) of contemporary vocal jazz alongside artists like Madeleine Peyroux and Norah Jones -- so something as pretty and easily salable as The Season ensures even more name recognition. Which is just fine. Monheit's rich, if mannered delivery is perfect for the classics ("Sleighride," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"), and her interpretations of "I Love the Winter Weather/I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" (where Ella Fitzgerald's influence is strong) and the Carpenters ("Merry Christmas Darling") mix striking professionalism with a gentle, breathy swagger that's pretty endearing. Monheit worked with her usual quartet for The Season, though the arrangement for "Merry Christmas Darling" is filled out with a string section and the horns on "Man with a Bag" combine with Monheit's winsome, scatting vocal to really take it out of time. Is this 2005 or a classic Perry Como special? The Season is a nice holdover for Monheit, a chance to have some fun with some standards while keeping her name and wonderful voice top of mind. Johnny Loftus

All Music Guide

Jane Monheit followed her 2004 Sony debut, Taking a Chance on Love, with the Christmas album The Season. It's an inevitable release. Monheit's star has risen consistently -- she's one of the darlings (or saviors) of contemporary vocal jazz alongside artists like Madeleine Peyroux and Norah Jones -- so something as pretty and easily salable as The Season ensures even more name recognition. Which is just fine. Monheit's rich, if mannered delivery is perfect for the classics ("Sleighride," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"), and her interpretations of "I Love the Winter Weather/I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" (where Ella Fitzgerald's influence is strong) and the Carpenters ("Merry Christmas Darling") mix striking professionalism with a gentle, breathy swagger that's pretty endearing. Monheit worked with her usual quartet for The Season, though the arrangement for "Merry Christmas Darling" is filled out with a string section and the horns on "The Man with the Bag" combine with Monheit's winsome, scatting vocal to really take it out of time. Is this 2005 or a classic Perry Como special? The Season is a nice holdover for Monheit, a chance to have some fun with some standards while keeping her name and wonderful voice top of mind. [The DualDisc edition features the entire album in enhanced stereo, plus four live performances.] Johnny Loftus