A, B... CD

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A, B…CD

“A” (new)

I always have so many CDs that I want to tell people about - current and past - that I never know where to start. Having been asked to write regular CD reviews about new and old albums for Cabaret Exchange, I’ve decided where to start - I’ll simply go alphabetically. That’s the reason for the column title: A, B…CD, and why this first column’s featured artists’ name begins with the letter A: The Accidentals.

The Accidentals, a vocal group that generally sings a capella, has just released I Won’t Be Home for Christmas, just under the wire for Christmastime listening and gift-giving. At the moment it’s just available at their website, www.TheAccidentals.com and at their personal appearances. I was happy to catch them this week at The Reprise Room at Dillon’s on West 54^th Street, where they sang the selections from this album to a receptiveaudience and were joined by guests Michele Ragusa and David Friedman. You can find the group on Saturday, in the first part of the day at the Winter Garden in the World Financial Center, doing a free holiday concert and then they dash away, dash away, dash away all, to appear in the Christmas concert at Symphony Space with Karen Mason, Liz Callaway and others.

With their pristine harmonies, glorious blend, and skill at handling sacred songs and lighter fare with equal flair and care, The Accidentals have a great deal to offer. Their various members often do the special arrangements themselves. Even with ancient carols and the most solemn of pieces, there is little museum quality or starch in their performances. They sound fresh, singing with joy to the world or warm reverence, and it comes through whether they are singing in English or not (in the “or not” category, they have “Tota Pulchra,” “Balulalow” and others). Of course, their skill and beautiful sounds come through all the more directly because they sing these carols and secular pieces a capella. Of the serious ones, I’m especially impressed with the stunning, layered arrangement of “What Child Is This?” honoring the grand old “Greensleeves” melody and showcasing the precision and glory of the group’s blend. (The arrangement is one of three by longtime group member, the versatile Dennis Deal.) Group leader Margaret Dorn shines as soloist in a specialty arrangement of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” first fashioned for 1960s’ hit “Downtown.” The group shows its jazz chops on a swinging “Frosty the Snowman,” and the album could have used another track along these lines as it feels like a cheat to only get one.

The Accidentals are now in the club with Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis, Barbra Streisand, Barry Manilow and the Chipmunks, as artists who have released more than one Christmas album. This is their second, but there have been other nods to the season, too. The album has a few tracks that were previously released on other albums. You may have heard their opening track “Carol of the Bells” on The Season, the Christmas album by Jamie deRoy & Friends, and their city-specific cute version of “Winter in Manhattan,” by singer-songwriter Christine Lavin, was released by her. Two laugh-out-loud tracks were first on a very tongue-in-cheek project by Dennis Deal, Lost Christmas, Volume 1: The Girls. They are “The Last 12 Days of the World” and “This Gift” (about a reviled present received with a decided lack of gratitude), and they are the non-a capella tracks here.

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That quick reminder of earlier projects is a just a hint of what many of these alphabetical columns will be: looks at older CDs that deserve another look - and listen. We’ll be concentrating on albums released in the 1990s when more and more cabaret singers started putting out their own releases, as CD technology and the internet made that a more viable option. Going alphabetically, we’ll flash back to many of these, some you may have missed the first time around if the artist was just beginning or if you were living under a rock - or listening to rock - in the 1990s. It’s never too late to catch up on recorded music.