While there have been many albums featuring pop/jazz artists performing Christmas music, there haven't been many albums celebrating Jewish holidays. While the focus of FESTIVAL OF LIGHT 2 is on Hanukkah, the artists--an intensely varied lot--put their personal and unique spins on many Jewish holiday traditions. This set covers a dizzying array of artists, each of whom is aware of his or her cultural roots, yet there's no limitations on the performers stylistically. You get the daffy, XTC-by-way-of-Brooklyn pop of They Might Be Giants (their "Feast of Lights" rhymes "Hanukkah" with "harmonica"); the Quiet Storm-mellow stylings of Dave Koz; the whopping, swaggering bop-oriented jazz of the Frank London Big Band; the invigorating, swirling electronic-pop-tinged textures of Continuo and Le'eyla. For the eclectic, for the curious, for those who can appreciate all music regardless of style, FESTIVAL OF LIGHT 2 is cause for celebration.
