A Cabaret Christmas

Attention all lovers of that rarified New York-lounge-scene singer known as the cabaret performer. This droll and sophisticated collection of Manhattan's finest features Karen Akers and Andrea Marcovicci on several tracks, as well as Ann Hampton Callaway, Barbara Cook, and Jay Leonhart, to name but a few on this engaging and at times jazzy, show-bizzy, and witty disc. The show stealer is easily Julie Wilson's "Season's Greetings." Wilson's greetings take you through every conceivable holiday of the year and then some--including Election Day ("don't forget to vote," she sings, sounding on every note unenthusiastic and overrun by all the good cheer, but wishing you well just the same). Wilson's mini-masterpiece of sarcasm, understatement, and cleverness ought to be on any collection that features "darker" Christmas fare. For this "Season's Greetings" alone, get a few copies for those friends who never seem to get in the merry mood. --Martin Keller