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The secret is out--Pamela Howland is having a love affair with her piano! How else could one explain the lively emotion and incredibly heart that spill from every note? "Carols for a Blue Christmas" is Howland's second holiday CD ("December Classics" is also reviewed on this site), and it is quite different from the classical standards she covered in that earlier disc.

In fact, it is difficult to label the type of music flowing from the artist's piano this time around. Although her classical training remains well-evident, the notes are not straight classical. And while the album's title suggests the blues, the music is too structured for that conclusion. New age is a possible fit, but that label suggests an ethereal approach somewhat removed from the warmth expressed here. Perhaps the best conclusion is that "Carols for a Blue Christmas" represents the happy, well-adjusted child of classical and jazz parents, bearing a stronger resemblance to the classical mom than to the jazzy dad, if you get my drift.

Having reviewed many holiday CDs of instrumental piano music, I can assure you that even well-crafted albums can sound a bit interchangeable. Howland's CD, however, is a standout; she makes the traditional carols spark to life. For example, her "Silent Night" is so expressive that I found myself listening to the song as though for the first time--listening so intently that I was almost holding my breath, fearful of breaking the moment. The lovely arrangements surely deserve some of the credit, but the rest must go to the artist's extremely talented digits.

The mood here is sometimes spirited, sometimes pensive, and always satisfying. Some carols (such as "O Come Little Children") stick to the straight and narrow, relatively speaking; others sail into new territory. For example, "Good King Wenceslas" swells under a super-creative, multi-layered gloss, and "Deck the Halls" blows the blues as much as any number on the disc. My favorites must include Guaraldi's "Skating" (you can almost see the skaters on the pond) and the painfully beautiful, but bittersweet, "Toyland."
The bad news is that Pamela Howland's love affair ends after only 32 minutes. The good news is that "Carols for a Blue Christmas" is one of the best piano CDs I have ever reviewed.

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2004)

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From the liner notes:

Recorded June 19 and 20, 2002 at HM Classics Studios in Lewisville, NC.

Pamela Howland trained at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and the Eastman School of Music, where she earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance and Literature. A former music professor, most recently at Wake Forest University, she performs extensively as a soloist and chamber musician. She has performed on live National Public Radio broadcasts in New York, Minnesota and North Carolina and was recently selected for the NC Arts Council's Touring Artist Directory for 2002-2004. This is her 5th recording on the HM Classics label.

Carols for a Blue Christmas is the most recent example of the elegance and life classical pianist Pamela Howland breathes into her music. These familiar carols are seasoned by the influences of jazz and blues and made new again. Full of expressive power they strike deep, pensive chords that resonate with often-conflicting emotions of the season. In the end, though, these carols are uplifting, a mix of major and minor, memory and melancholy, music that is both moving and reassuring.

Pamela Howland

Carols for a Blue Christmas

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Track List