Mas! A Caribbean Christmas Party

Mas! isshort for Christmas, short for "masquerade," and heralds back to a time when Calypsonians donned costumes to illustrate their characters in son. "Playing Mas" means to "party." to "celebrate." This collection of Caribbean Christmas music offers a non-traditional way to dance in the season. Warm balmy nights, alm trees, toasted pig skin, fuzzy rum drinks, cuatros, dub, rice pudding and a dip in the ocean--sounds like a holiday to me.

You'll definitely bring some tropical warmth into a chilly holiday season with this great collection of music from around the Caribbean. Wind your waist to the calypso sound of Lord Nelson and 15- year-old Soca sensation Machel. From Haiti come Lionel Benjamin and Claudette et Ti Pierre with songs of Kreole Noel. Jamaican Reggae rocks it in a roots dub style with Jacob Miller, Ray I, and Carleen Davis asking the question, "Santa Claus, do you ever come to the ghetto?" Salsa spices up the dance with Puerto Rico's El Gran Combo doing a "Christmas Serenade." Silky smooth zouk sounds from the Antilles by Eddy Gustave and an all-star band help to ease the holiday crush. And from the Bahamas, in a category all his own, the grumbling and growling Joseph Spence adds the ribbon and bow to top off this batch of holiday treats. --Jeff Grubb