Show delivers holiday warmth on chilly evening

Russ Wilson’s annual “Have Yourself a Swingin’ Little Christmas!” show succeeded splendidly in radiating yuletide warmth and joy to the audience on Dec. 18 at Isis Restaurant & Music Hall in West Asheville.

Among the highlights was the last song of the night, the 1958 Brenda Lee Classic, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”

The show, featuring a six-piece band and several vocalists including Wilson (who also served as emcee), drew a sell-out crowd of 154 people on a blustery, chilly night. The show featured two roughly one-hour sets, split by a 30-minute intermission.

Other singers were Blake Anthony Ellege, Jesse Earl Jr., Wendy Jones and Katie Cilluffo.

The band included Hank Bones, guitar (and also some backup vocals); Zach Page, bass; Rick Dilling, drums; Richard Shulman, piano; Rich Willey, trumpet, and Walter Kross, saxophone.

The first set opened with Wilson masterfully singing “I Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.” Also memorable from that set was a moving version of “Silent Night” by Jones’ students (one of the featured vocalists). The set ended aptly with all of the vocalists singing “Silver Bells.”

As the second set opened, Wilson prompted laughter from the crowd when he deadpanned with a pained expression, “You’re still here? I guess you didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

A woman in the audience yelled, “I love you, Russ!”

“I love you, too, dear!” Wislon answered back, as the crowd enjoyed the merriment.

Early in the second set, Wilson sang a song that, he said, was the first he performed on stage at age 6 — 44 years ago. It was “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

At that point, Jones took command of the show with her rollicking “Let It Snow.”

Earl then sang “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” with his deep, mellow voice (providing a soothing note, almost like a crackling fire) as a pleasing counterpoint to a mostly fast-paced show.

He also sang lead on “The Christmas Song” and a song set slightly beyond the Christmas season, “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?”

Notably, Cilluffo sang lead on “Mr. Grinch,” after which Wilson said her version was “the sexiest “ he had ever heard, of that usually dour song, prompting laughs from the crowd.

Cilluffo, who was visibly upbeat, also sang lead on “Jingle Bells”  — and an ultra-sensual version of the playful “Santa, Baby” that the crowd appeared to love.

Besides his knockout rendition of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” Ellege, who is an internationally recognized tenor in the opera genre (and based in Brevard), sang lead on “Santa, Bring My Baby Back” (Elvis Presley-style) and a show-stopping “Ave Maria” that showcased the depth and breadth of his operatic voice.

Besides her delightful “Let It Snow,” Jones’ sang lead vocals on “Christmas Time Is Here” and “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.”

Also memorable was a stirring rendition of the 1949 Bing Crosby classic Hawaiian Christmas song “Mele Kalikimaka” by a vocal quartet featuring Wilson, Bones, Cilluffo and Jones.

The concert ended with all of the show’s vocalists uniting on stage to lead the crowd in singing “White Christmas.”