Music Review: Yo-Yo Ma & Friends, Songs of Joy and Peace

By Steve Morley

After establishing himself as a world-class cellist in the 1980s, Yo-Yo Ma began making overtures to audiences outside the sphere of classical music. Ma’s interest in bridging musical cultures is the motivation for his crossover projects, which leave the tuxedos behind but retain the virtuosity and high standards of the cellist’s classical endeavors. Ma put together a globe-spanning guest list for Songs of Joy and Peace, an ambitious collection that observes the holiday season in a particularly inclusive manner. The package encompasses an unusually broad variety of styles and moods but focuses on the peace and global goodwill embodied by Christmas, symbolized by the international community of musicians and singers who bring their considerable gifts to the table. As host, Ma sits in on nearly two dozen selections, but graciously keeps the spotlight trained on his worthy collaborators.

Jazz piano legend Dave Brubeck, joined by reed player Paquito D'Rivera, delivers a jaunty version of “Joy to the World” that recalls Vince Guaraldi’s enduring soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas. D'Rivera is later featured on a free-flowing Cuban fantasy and an improvisation on the Latin hymn “Dona Nobis Pacem,” one of several variations that help to link the diverse track list. Most of these are vehicles for Ma to spar with his fleet-fingered guests, who include Nickel Creek mandolinist Chris Thile, saxman Joshua Redman and acoustic bassist Edgar Meyer. In this improvisational context, even well-known tunes take on a different identity. “My Favorite Things” finds trumpeter Chris Botti on a jazz excursion reminiscent of ’50s-era Miles Davis. “This Little Light of Mine” keeps the familiar melody intact but gets a lively and rhythmic treatment featuring Amelia Zirin-Brown, who provides the album’s most spontaneous vocal performance.  

Due to the emphasis on musicianship and interplay, discriminating listeners will get the most out of the disc, which leans toward the highbrow despite crowd pleasers like James Taylor’s three-quarter-time arrangement of the Beatles favorite “Here Comes the Sun” and Diana Krall's playful “You Couldn't Be Cuter.” The album is heavily weighted with pieces that are either non-seasonal or relatively obscure, like fiddler Natalie MacMaster’s rousing “A Christmas Jig” and the sedate but stirring jazz vocal number “Touch the Hand of Love,” a notable departure for operatic soprano Renee Fleming.  

With its largely secular blend of jazz, world music and Western pop and its chamber music overtones, Songs of Joy and Peace might be considered by some as too diffuse for a traditional Christmas dinner soundtrack. But the sophistication and emotional depth of its performances will leave hungry listeners with something substantial to chew on long after the figgy pudding is a pleasant memory.  

Audio Clips

"Dona Nobis Pacem"

"You Couldn't Be Cuter"

"Joy to the World"

"Here Comes the Sun"