April Varner is in a Holiday Mood
April Varner - Winter Songs Vol. 1 (Cellar Music, 2024) & Winter Songs Vol. 2 (Cellar Music, 2025)
Twenty-eight-year-old New York City-based singer and composer April Varner has been on the fast track since graduating in 2022 with her Master’s degree in Jazz Voice Performance from the Manhattan School of Music under the guidance of 2-time Grammy© nominated vocalist and teacher Theo Bleckmann.
She quickly released a self-produced EP, Hummingbird (2022), featuring both original compositions and original vocaleses. In 2023, Varner won the 2023 International Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition, and she most recently received a 2024 Honorable Mention Award in the ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers Competition. Let’s catch our breath, shall we?
The singer released her first full-length recording in 2024 on the Cellar Music Group label, the Spring-themed April By April, which met with favorable reviews from all corners of jazz reportage. In the same year, Varner released her Winter Songs Vol. 1, which she has now followed with Winter Songs Vol. 2. Youthful and precocious, Varner delivers the holiday goods in style.
The first volume is an eight-track EP focusing on the less covered of the holiday canon. Supported mostly by the Emmet Cohen Trio (Cohen on piano, bassist Philip Norris and drummer Kyle Poole) with appearances by Brazilian guitarist Chico Pinheiro, vocalist Nicole Zuraitis, and The Sunhouse Singers. Varner’s recital begins with “White Christmas” at an impressive velocity supplied by Cohen and company. Not afraid to show off, Varner scats her way to a robust coda that swings with a nosebleed momentum.
The singer shares Antônio Carlos Jobim’s “Looks Like December” with guitarist Chico Pinheiro, who provides the string bona fides to the song. Varner invites peer Nicole Zuraitis to duet with her on the Abbey Lincoln / R.B. Lynch “Christmas Cheer,” bringing forth yet another rarely heard song to the canon. Singing con brio with Zuraitis, both singers show their considerable scatting talents. “Chestnuts for Dexter” is a tacit vocalese on Gordon’s recording of Mel Torme’s holiday classic. Varner changes many things here without robbing the song of its spirit.
The surprise inclusion is Gustav Holst’s “In the Bleak Midwinter,” which Varner sings with the fine Sunhouse Singers in a very jazzy, quiet post-bop fashion. Synth-strings provide a plush cushion for the song, imparting warmth and pathos. Ennis Harris’ “Snowbound” closes the recording with Varner providing a plaintive and gentle performance.
On Volume 2, Varner expands her band and addresses a collection of the more popular holiday fare. A stellar band joins the singer, including: drummer (and producer) Ulysses Owens Jr., bassist Yasushi Nakamura, pianist Luther Allison, guitarist Leandro Pellegrino, and vocal trio The Sunhouse Singers, featuring June Cavlan, Kate Kortum, and Joie Bianco.
Varner opens the holiday festivities with a “Jingle Bells” that could be considered the rightful heir to Sinatra’s 1957 performance of the song. Varner challenges The Sunhouse Singers in a playful musical dialogue reminiscent of the Andrews Sisters. The arrangement by June Cavlan creates a spirited jaunt through the snowfall of key changes. Luther Allison arranges “A Holly Jolly Christmas” in the guise of a beat take on Nat Simon’s “Poinciana.” Varner and the Sunhouse Singers transform Andy Williams’ “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” re-harmonizing the piece.
Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” is surgically repurposed as a solid hard bop anthem. Vaner delivers her longest scat on the recording, amply enriched with ideas and holiday mirth. In a similar vein, Varner appropriates Chuck Berry’s “Run, Run Rudolph” as a forceful gospel hoedown delivered from the stage of some nameless roadhouse. The singer makes an impression, as does pianist Luther Allison.
Balancing the recording is Theo Bleckmann’s magical arrangement of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” Engineers employed multi-tracked voices from Varner, Bleckmann, and The Sunhouse Singers to create a stunning alternative to any previous treatment of the song. An inspired Sunhouse Singers arrangement of “Sleigh Ride” that features both Varner’s amiable lead vocal and searing scat chops. The party concludes with a hard-swinging “Winter Wonderland” changing time throughout the song. April Varner has the stuff to deliver whatever music she wishes. Her homage to the holidays is a highlight this year.