by Scott YanowRecorded several years before David Benoit hit it big commercially, this set of Christmas songs (originally recorded for AVI and reissues on CD by Bluemoon) is surprisingly jazz-oriented. Pianist Benoit performs ten traditional songs in a quartet with guitarist Jimmy Fox, bassist Wade Short and drummer Tony Morales and really digs into some of the familiar themes, particularly "Christmastime Is Here," "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" and "Greensleeves." Much better than expected.