The Carol Commission
This is one of the most amazing a cappella CDs to come along in a while! Contemporary men's quintet m-pact show their jazz roots as they commission the biggest names in vocal arranging to collaborate on some astounding pieces. Among the 11 tunes there's not an ounce of filler. The profound, groundbreaking centerpiece is Roger Treese's "Christmas Time Is Here," a nine-minute trance-inducing aural landscape (don't listen and drive at the same time!).  There's shades of Take 6 on Randy Crenshaw's "Caroling, Caroling" although Cedric Dent's contribution was "Away In A Manger." The majestic arrangement of "Do You Hear What I Hear?" by m-pact's own Marco Cassone is Singers Unlimited on steroids - wow!  Amy "Bob" Englehardt adds lyrics to "Sugar Plum Fairy" and Michelle Weir's arrangement transforms it into a driving 10/8 jazz masterpiece. Similarly "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" becomes a jazz waltz - very cool! m-pact gets funky on "Little Drummer Boy" before returning to classic vocal jazz on "Jingle Bells" and sublime, Singers Unlimited-style smooth vocals on "Snowfall." They go Caribbean on "De King Is Born Today" and are only "contemporary rock" - their more typical style - on original "December Fades Away."