Diana Panton_christmas kiss

With a purr as smooth as whipped egg nog, Panton makes Christmas Kiss a sprig of audio mistletoe, backed by the light touch of jazz trio trumpeter Guido Basso, guitarist Reg Schwager and Don Thompson on bass, piano and vibraphone.

Stephen Cooke, The Chronicle Herald

Accolades

・2024 Holiday Album of the Year (Native DSD)
　for Excellence in DSD sound quality
・Marc Myers' Christmas favourites, featured
　on NPR
・2017 Yuletide Roundup, DownBeat Magazine
・Top Albums of 2017, DownBeat Magazine
・****!, DownBeat Magazine
・2013 JUNO Nominee
・Best Jazz Album and Best Female Vocalist,
　HMAs
・Top-selling Christmas Album, Taiwan
・LIVE broadcast, JAZZ.FM
・Top Albums of the Year: La Presse, Cool Jazz
　Set, FM93, Ottawa Citizen, JAZZ.FM
・Top 25 Songs of the Season, JAZZ.FM
・Best Sellers in Vocal Jazz, Amazon Canada
　and Japan
・2024 Album of the Year Nomination,
　Native DSD

Movie

"We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage (Canada Music Fund) and of Canada's Private Radio Broadcasters."

Songs

1. Kissing by the Mistletoe ♪
2. baby it's cold outside ♪
3. christmas kiss
4. winter weather
5. c'est noël chéri ♪
6. winter wonderland
7. have yourself a merry little christmas
8. december

9. snowbound
10. winter warm
11. the christmas waltz
12. winter weather
13. christmas time is here
14. let it snow!/c'est l'hiver
15. images of christmas
16. douce nuit/silent night

Personnel

Diana Panton - vocal
Guido Basso - cornet, trumpet, flugelhorn
Harrison Kennedy - guest vocal (track 2)
Reg Schwager - guitar
Don Thompson - bass, piano, vibes

Acclaim

This JUNO-nominated album is a delightful mixture of carefully selected chestnuts, obscure gems and new originals. It was released as part of the Sound of Jazz Concert Series and broadcast live by JAZZ.FM 91. Christmas Kiss has been recommended on numerous "Best of" Christmas lists, including those of Frank-John Hadley's 2017 Yuletide Roundup (DownBeat Magazine), Alain Brunet (La Presse), Paul Pearce (Cool Jazz Set 90.1), Christian Thibault (FM93 Gilles Parent's blog), Peter Hum (Ottawa Citizen) and JAZZ.FM91 (Top 25 Songs of the Season). Jazz host John Devenish (JAZZ.FM91) put it on his TOP 3 albums of 2012. In 2013, along with the JUNO nomination, the album won two Hamilton Music Awards, one for "Best Jazz Album" and the other "Best Female Vocalist". It was the top-selling Christmas album in Taiwan for 2012. Upon its US release in 2017, Christmas Kiss got a 4-star review in DownBeat and made the magazine's year-end list of the Top Jazz Albums of 2017. This album is well on its way to becoming a seasonal favourite!

perhaps one of the sweetest Christmas albums imaginable. [...] Brava, Diana! And hail Canada!

Marc Myers, JazzWax

****! [...] Diana Panton [is] a sensitive singer with a lovely voice who brings a warm glow to all 15 tracks on Christmas Kiss. She deftly uses gossamer shading and rhythmic subtlety to recondition conservative picks like “Winter Wonderland” and more thoughtfully chosen tunes, such as Ted Shapiro’s 1941 composition “Winter Weather” and John Leslie McFarland’s “Kissing by the Mistletoe.”

Frank John Hadley, DownBeat

Keeping things soft and sultry, Panton bridges the gap between Christmas and Valentine’s Day with the most romantic holiday songs she can muster. With a purr as smooth as whipped egg nog, Panton makes Christmas Kiss a sprig of audio mistletoe, backed by the light touch of a jazz trio of trumpeter Guido Basso, guitarist Reg Schwager and Don Thompson on bass, piano and vibraphone.

Stephen Cooke,The Chronicle Herald

The quality and the mood of the music on this CD is very different from your typical seasonal disc; you don't have to play it only in December. Personally, I could listen to this recording all year long and really get my money's worth out of it. Diana's voice is in top form here; she is like an instrument - mind you, I've never heard an instrument sound that good. Listening to this record makes one feel content, peaceful, loving, warm and cozy.

Guido Basso (excerpt from the liner notes)

Diana Panton est à mon avis l’un des trésors les mieux dissimulés du jazz canadien. Sa carrière discographique (cinq disques à ce jour) s’est amorcée en 2005 avec la sortie de …Yesterday perhaps, qui m’avait fait le plus bel effet : une voix sobre mais expressive, un timbre léger, aérien, mais aucunement surchargé de brillance inutile, une technique sûre et sans éclats ajoutés pour épater la galerie artificiellement, et surtout, des arrangements épurés, sans aucun fla-fla sucré, misant sur une combinaison inhabituelle voix-contrebasse-guitare, à laquelle viennent parfois se greffer flugelhorn, violoncelle ou piano.

Frédéric Cardin, CBC/Radio Canada, espace.mu
[Read the full review]

Her voice is simply so warm, pure and intimately sweet. I can think of no better new musical treat for the holidays. A Christmas Kiss indeed!

John Devenish, host of Dinner Jazz, JAZZ.FM 91

... a voice and style as warm and intimate as a shared cup of hot chocolate.

Arts and Entertainment, Toronto Life

The arrangements are simple, elegant and executed with great taste. Diana's voice is exquisite, warm and cozy, and the performance of the musicians impeccable. Harrison Kennedy adds charm as a guest singer in the duet performance of "Baby It's Cold Outside". As Guido Basso writes in his liner notes, I could listen to this recording all year long! Recommended!

Eastwind Imports

She makes me feel as if I have known her voice for a long time. This album brought to mind the image of a lovely fairy’s voice in a fairytale. Her voice is relaxed and warm, with a subtle nuance that speaks to the eternal boy or girl in all of us. An elegant jazz sound is created with excellent arrangements that support the voice - this is a gentle world filled with a feeling of happiness. This album includes obscure winter masterpieces, such as Randy Newman’s “Snow”, in addition to popular Christmas songs. A very charming winter songbook.

Japan's CD JOURNAL

Diana Panton’s Christmas album is more chic than the countless Christmas albums recorded by so many musicians, and I love the modern style that characterizes her album. Still, it’s interesting to note that non-American female singers (Canadian, Australian etc. ) are more popular in Japan now. On track 1, Guido Basso delivers a happy muted-trumpet solo and then Reg Schwager takes over with a modern touch on guitar - a bit like the Sweet Jazz trio. It’s fantastic. Track 2, by composer Frank Loesser, is great too. Also the balance of standard Christmas songs and obscure winter songs is perfect.

JAZZ JAPAN

Lyrical Christmas ballads with a cute fairy-like voice: Diana Panton sings two original songs along with obscure winter masterpieces, in addition to standard holiday numbers, in both English and French. The sweet and fairy-light vocal is, at every moment, charming and romantic. The playful rendition of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” with Harrison Kennedy reminds me of a scene from a musical - just great! To tell you the truth, right now I’m listening to this album, wearing a short-sleeved t-shirt (*the writer wrote this review during a hot early autumn), but I don’t feel any strangeness about it at all. I think one can enjoy this album in non-Christmas seasons too.

Japan's JAZZ LIFE

This tender Xmas Kiss is steeped in tradition, with the likes of : Winter Wonderland, The Christmas Waltz, Douce Nuit (in french), Let It Snow (c’est l’hiver), etc. It's hard to re-invent the Xmas Classics, and Diana Panton, unlike some others, does a great job doing it.

Christophe Rodriguez, sortiesJAZZnights
[Read the full review]

If the post isn’t already taken, I’d like to nominate Diana Panton as Canada’s jazz sweetheart. With this, her fifth CD in about as many years, Panton firmly establishes herself as a steadfast source for pretty and accessible song collections.

Cathy Riches, The Wholenote
[Read the full review]

À l’approche de Noël, voici une série de suggestions d’albums pour votre collection d’albums de Noël. Bien sûr, le temps des Fêtes implique forcément le retour des albums qui ont agrémenté les Noël de notre existence entière, quelques ajouts supplémentaires ne feront certainement pas de tort.

Alain Brunet, La Presse
[Read the full review]

[...] grab yourself a festive drink and find someone to cuddle with and put in your Diana Panton Christmas Kiss disc.

Ric Taylor, Music Notes View Magazine
[Read the full review]

This is not a set of traditional carols, but the 15 tunes [62:16] are, without a doubt, jazz and Christmas infused with Basso’s and Panton’s warmth.

Papatamus, Cadence Magazine

Il n’est plus un secret que la chanteuse ontarienne Diana Panton est une des voix jazz qu’on aime le plus suivre depuis quelques années, grâce à sa chaleur et à sa sensualité qui rend à peu près tout ce qu’elle touche magnifique à l’oreille. On s’est aussi penché sur son album de Noël publié en 2012, Christmas Kiss, où elle s’entoure d’un discret trio pour livrer ses versions feutrées des classiques des fêtes.

Olivier Dénommée, Critique de salon

Diana Panton and her Jazz Trio bring listeners an interesting set of 15 tracks that feature not only holiday favorites but also some lesser known tunes and some original songs. Panton’s warm and gentle vocals compliment the songs wonderfully. Just the thing to put you in the Christmas spirit.

2024 Album of the Year Nomination, Native DSD