to listen or purchase
An actress, attorney and vocal powerhouse, Yolanda Rabun is a triple threat who succeeds mightily in whatever she sets her mind to. After building an enviable professional resume thanks to working with the likes of Jennifer Holiday and the late Isaac Hayes, Ms. Rabun created considerable buzz for her own skills with her 2011 release, So Real and is destinedto do it again with her sultry and sophisticated take on holiday standards, Christmastime.
An actress, attorney and vocal powerhouse, Yolanda Rabun is a triple threat who succeeds mightily in whatever she sets her mind to. After building an enviable professional resume thanks to working with the likes of Jennifer Holiday and the late Isaac Hayes, Ms. Rabun created considerable buzz for her own skills with her 2011 release, So Real and is destinedto do it again with her sultry and sophisticated take on holiday standards, Christmastime.
It can be hard to get enthused about hearing the same expected yuletide songs year after year and over and over again, but thanks to the capable ear of musical director, Chris Evans, along with original tunes penned by Alton Tisino, Mitch Uscher and Ms. Rabun herself, the ten-song collection offers smatterings of classical, jazz, R&B and inspirational influence and pours into the ears and subconscious like a rich and rare blend of cocoa. Rabun’s tender, yet throaty vocals are what make the difference----the melodic, yet methodically-paced “Sleep Oh My Little One” could lull the most holiday-hyper of tots into La-La Land, and “I’m Coming Home For The Holidays” is a masterful blend of lilting regret and a lovelorn nostalgia for the simplicity of familiar surroundings (or at least less hectic ones). The fact that she entwines verses with Shakespearean couplets on the opening track, “Twelfth Night- O’Mistress Mine” is enough of a reason to give Ms. Rabun the prolonged spotlight she demands and deserves.
The quality of the original tracks is so elevated that Christmastime doesn’t really need to delve into the traditional numbers, but when Rabun goes there, the arrangements and vocals treat them all with an agility and aplomb that give them new life : “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is a smoky jazz jaunt, “O Holy Night” is warm and wonderous and the longest selection "Children, Go Where I Send Thee," is so invigorated with ragtime swing and sass that it’s all but unnoticable.
With her passionate, yet precision-filled pipes and expert arrangements, Ms. Rabun has nowhere to go but up, and Christmastime is one of the worthwhile stepping stones that should reinforce her talents to a public yearning for quality singing, artful lyrical interpretation and meticulous musicianship. For those who want to treat their palettes to a delectable seasonal set or even those can’t endure their well-worn holiday collections one more time, Yolanda Rabun’s Christmastime is a gift that keeps on giving and should be required listening for many seasons to come. Enthusiastically Recommended.
By Melody Charles