Carole J. Bufford
Yuletide Carole
54 Below, NYC, December19, 2024
Review and photos by Alix Cohen
Leave it to Carole J. Bufford to come up with a Christmas show that skews more mischievously nasty than nice. There were a few classic songs for those of you who prefer them, but the artist made her own winking choice clear. The show was full of eclectic numbers and original arrangements; the non-traditional holiday numbers were introduced by smart explanations.
Bufford opened the show by standing at the bar dressed in a candy cane-covered onesie; the vocalist-as-little-girl not only saw “…Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” (Tommy Connor), but also saw her undressing and fondling the big guy. By the time she wended her way to the stage, her little girl persona had disappeared. She reappeared in slinky green sequins to sing a “Bad Girls Christmas Medley” followed by “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” (Edward Pola/George Wyle), which whooshed with exhilaration.
We were told that when The Mamas and The Papas made it big, recording bigwigs forced them—in December—to leave California for New York. Michelle Phillips was cold and miserable. Inspired by this travel, her husband John wrote “California Dreamin’.” Bufford eeeased into the nostalgic melody, and then—whomp! The song took on its bopping, freewheeling tone. She discreetly bounced, and Ian Herman showed the piano who was boss.
Among novelty songs, “Zat You Santa Claus?” (Jack Fox), which she discovered on a 1953 Louis Armstrong recording, was droll: “Hangin’ my stockin’, I can hear him knockin’.” “The Man with the Bag” (Irving Taylor/Dudley Brooks/Hal Stanley), Kay Starr’s biggest hit, was playful and flirty. Bufford strutted across the stage metaphorically wrapped in tease. Drummer Daniel Glass added rhythmic frisson. The timeless “Skaters’ Waltz” prefaced Stephen Flaherty’s and Lynn Ahrens’ “Once Upon a December” from Anastasia. Herman’s lush arrangement maintained a gliding effect even as it surged. One imagined an expanse of river, not a pond. Its texture made it sound distinctly Russian. Bufford’s vocal bristled with longing.
Frank Loesser’s “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” was sheer nightclub chanteuse. Couples at tables laid an affectionate hand on each other. Bufford’s “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” (Hugh Martin from Meet Me in St. Louis) was performed as though she meant it; it was both understated (in her own inimitable style) and lovely.
“Christmas in New Orleans” (Joseph Van Winkle/Richard Sherman), from another Armstrong recording, had with a Dixieland feel. Bufford jubilantly swung—step, touch, step, touch— and then shimmied. Herman played the hell out of it.
A terrific treatment of “Blue Christmas,” which Elvis initially refused to record, ambled. Bufford put a hum and a lag into her interpretation. She had the attitude down, and Herman evoked Jelly Roll Morton. Yowza! An Edward Gory-ish “The Pretty Little Dolly” (Mona Abboud) morphed from coy to demanding and then to threatening; gleeful violence ensued. This and a horror-film version of “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” (Fred Coots/Haven Gillespie) were a bit much for me; however, bassist Jerry DeVore showed off serious jazz chops. Scotty Morris’s “Last Night (I Went Out with Santa Claus)” was the encore: “We hit the town and broke a couple of laws:” it sashayed in with a rockabilly style and the piano skillfully boogied. The iconoclastic Carole J. Bufford swayed, dipped, and wiggled, and delivered.
