Various Artists,
To Kate: A Benefit for Kate's Sake



Label: Western Beat Records

(4½ out of 5)

The weather outside is frightful at last. After an unseasonably warm autumn to-date, tonight finds central Texas dipping into the 20s, with freezing rain coating highways and overpasses. No snow, alas, but close enough to finally enjoy some wintry holiday music.

And what better way to settle into the holidays than with To Kate: A Benefit for Kate's Sake.

Three-year-old Kate Kirk is fighting a rare and typically fatal genetic disorder, Niemann-Pick Disease. Doctors at Duke University were able to perform a bone marrow transplant this summer, offering Kate a chance at a healthy, productive life. But the procedure set the family back an estimated $150,000, even after insurance. And no monetary calculation can possibly even begin to factor in the fact that Kate's 6-year-old sister Caroline suffers from the same disease, which is so far advanced it is considered inoperable.

To help the Kirk family through these difficult times, producer Gary Tallent assembled a group of Nashville artists to create what is billed as the first ever Americana Christmas album.

To Kate features contributions from artists like Jim Lauderdale ("Holly & Her Mistletoe"), Buddy & Julie Miller ("Away in a Manger"), Joe Ely ("Winterlude"), and John Prine ("I'll Be Home for Christmas") — as well as several outstanding holiday carols at home in any collection, including Raul Malo's rendition of "Pretty Paper," Steve Earle and Alison Moorer's duet on the Earle original "Nothing but a Child," and Jeff Black's fireside-jazz "Winter Wonderland."

But Jason & the Scorchers steal the show with their rockabilly take on the typically staid "Oh! Holy Night." This is the first time I've ever hit repeat on a Christmas song, just to keep the groove alive. It's become my favorite Christmas song period — regardless of era or genre.

Overall, it's a great album for a great cause. Buy To Kate, make a donation, and learn more about Kate and Caroline, their disease, and their family at www.forkatessake.org. After all, isn't the holiday spirit all about helping others?

December 07, 2005