Kevin Bronson on December 14th, 2010

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If it’s December, my mailbox must be filling with holiday songs. Hopefully, you already grabbed that compilation of originals that I posted about a couple of weeks ago. Today, I have dueling versions of the same song. Which do you like better?

‣ Loch & Key, “Christmas Time Is Here.” The L.A. duo of Leyla Akdogan and Sean Hoffman [whom we previewed in August] offer up a languid take Vince Guaraldi’s holiday song – there’s a lot of Akdogan’s fluidity on their album “Jupiter’s Guide for Submariners.” Loch & Key will be performing at the massive (and free) L.A. County Holiday Celebration at downtown’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Christmas Eve (which will be televised live on KCET).
[audio:http://tinyurl.com/37hnyfp]

‣ Mayer Hawthorne, “Christmas Time Is Here.” The Stones Throw Records soul man (born Andrew Mayer Cohen), who is Jewish, wisecracks: “All the best Christmas songs were written by Jews, and Chanukah songs suck.” His take on Guaraldi is cool and understated – no big surprise there. Hawthorne is performing four consecutive nights in Las Vegas beginning Wednesday for the grand opening of the Cosmopolitan Hotel & Casino.
[audio:http://www.mediafire.com/file/p94uhh4q0s4b118/Mayer%20Hawthorne%20-%20Christmas%20Time%20Is%20Here.mp3]

Photos by Evi T’Bolt (Loch & Key) and Laurie Scavo (Hawthorne)