Kermit Ruffins

Have a Crazy Cool Christmas

(Basin Street)

Kermit Ruffins’ role as the Bard of Good Times in New Orleans has led him into some musically dubious spots, places where clichés rule. Have a Crazy Cool Christmas suits him beautifully because it lets his personality dominate, and his exuberant sense of fun carries the day. You can hear his smile when he sings, “Santa Claus is swingin’ to town,” and when he sneaks the pick-up to “They All Asked for You” into “O Tannenbaum.” Throughout, the band swings with authority—a given on Ruffins’ albums—even at a breakneck pace on his version of Louis Prima’s “What Will Santa Say (When He Finds Everybody Swinging?).”

In a stroke of prescience, Ruffins wrote a new Christmas song, “A Saints Christmas.” Like many of his originals, the song’s success depends on the goodwill of his audience; those who love the sentiment will excuse some easy lines, and those who don’t, won’t. Fortunately for Ruffins, his songs comes out during the Saints’ best start ever, far stronger than it was in 2004 when Greg Barnhill and New Birth Brass Band cut “All I Want for Christmas is the Saints to Win.” The offhanded vibe that comes through on Ruffins’ album is part of his charm. There are points, though, where that borders on slack. The album includes a version of Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas” with Rebirth Brass Band, and they move the song to the street parade vibe beautifully, remaking an intimate track as a public celebration. But the song’s key is too high for Ruffins and he flounders with the high notes in the chorus. Fortunately, the version only includes one verse and chorus, so the moment passes, but it’s a sour note—literally—near the end of an album that in most ways is a fine addition to any Christmas collection.