If you can find any Christmas CD’s on sale now, here’s one I recommend picking up.

The best Christmas album of the year is Jingle All the Way, the first Christmas record from Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. Roy Wooten – or Futureman, as he is known in the Flecktones – the drummer of the group, is a friend of mine, part of a group of music nerds that get together once a week to listen to classical music and dissect it. He played Twelve Days of Christmas for us after they recorded it, and once I was able to get a hold of the CD, it has become my favorite track. As the song progresses, you notice that every day is in a different musical style, and most of them (all of them?) are in a different key as well as different time signature, which gets quite head-spinning as the song winds down and you hear all twelve days together. My first thought after listening to the album once through was to remember the opening line in the program notes from when I heard the Flecktones play with the Nashville Symphony: “Béla Fleck and the Flecktones are proof that not all men are created equal.”

They performed on Late Night with Conan O’Brien last Monday, and did a great job. The album features a number of guest performances, including appearances by the Tuvan throat singers they introduced to their fans on their Live at the Quick DVD. All told, it’s a really fun album to listen to, and will make a great addition to your holiday music collection.

Tracklist: 01. Jingle Bells / 02. Silent Night / 03. Sleigh Ride / 04 The Christmas Song / 05. Twelve Days of Christmas / 06. J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio #14 / 07. Christmas Time Is Here / 08. Linus and Lucy / 09. Jingle Bells (reprise) / 10. Hanukkah Waltz / 11. Danse of the Sugar Plum Fairies / 12. What Child Is This/Dyngyldai / 13. O Come All Ye Faithful / 14. Medley / 15. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas / 16. River