All Music GuideGrammy Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell's first holiday record is a star-studded affair. Highlights include the Rob Moose-arranged "Let It Snow," which commences as a Gypsy violin solo, then bursts into swing à la Stéphane Grappelli/Django Reinhardt as Bell duets with classical guitarist Julian Lage. Alison Krauss lends her voice to a stirring reading of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," while Frankie Moreno's piano and vocal adorn the Great American Songbook era tune "I Want an Old-Fashioned Christmas," written by Fay Foster. Another instrumental highlight is the Jewish song "Baal Shem: Simhat Torah (Rejoicing)," performed as a trio with Steven Isserlis on cello and pianist Sam Haywood. The tune has been reimagined ...
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