Among the many joys of the holiday season is the opportunity to savor a wealth of wonderful Christmas music. It takes a rare artist like Harry Connick, Jr., however, to both honor the tradition evoked by cherished sacred and secular holiday songs and personalize the effort with new interpretations and his own new compositions. Connick does just that on his new Columbia disc Harry for the Holidays, which is sure to be one of the most acclaimed and enjoyed efforts of the year.

Connick has taken this particular sleigh ride before. His 1993 album, When My Heart Finds Christmas, is among the most popular holiday collections of the past decade. After ten years of hearing requests for a sequel, the multi-talented singer/pianist/composer/arranger decided that the time was right. "It wasn't about the success of the last Christmas album as much as the opportunity to record some more of the great Christmas songs," he explains. "After ten years, it was time to do it again."

Harry for the Holidays began with a search for songs he liked. "I wasn't really looking for any specific balance," he notes. "I just start with the melodies, and then look at the lyrics to make sure that they work for me." This time out, the process has yielded a generous program of 16 songs, ranging from the frolicking joy of "Frosty the Snowman" to the solemn grandeur of "Silent Night," with four of Connick's own originals along the way.

Family input played a part in the creation of the album. "My kids didn't influence me that much," he laughs, "because if they had their way all of the serious songs would be saved for the next Christmas record and I'd just do 'Frosty' and 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town' over and over again. But 'Frosty' does bring back personal memories, because in my pre-cable youth it was always a big night when the 'Frosty' cartoon came on the TV. And 'This Christmas' is included because my wife Jill loves that song, and loves an earlier version that I had done [with Branford Marsalis, on the Columbia anthology A Jazzy Wonderland]. I was reluctant to do it again, but you know how it goes, you must obey."

Among Connick's own contributions to the program is a duet with George Jones on "Nothing New for New Year (for Me). "He's an amazing talent," Connick says of the legendary country singer. "I don't know how someone can be that musical naturally. The sound of his voice is like something sent from God. George got the winning lottery ticket when it comes to a voice." Connick's other compositions touch on different seasonal emotions. "'I Come with Love' is a Catholic layman's view of Christ's life in three stages, paralleling the Holy Trinity. It was actually based on the second Omen movie, the scene where the boy realized that he was the Antichrist, and how he must have felt. The song is about what Christ felt when he found out that he was different. 'I'm Gonna Be the First One (Up on Christmas Morning)' is just from personal experience. I was always the first one up as a kid, but I still couldn't open any presents until everyone else got up. I wanted to capture that 'hurry up and wait' thing that kids go through every Christmas. And 'The Happy Elf' is another kid's song that came from thinking about how cool it would be to work in Santa's shop."

All of these songs -- for that matter, all of Harry for the Holidays -- are graced by Connick arrangements for his stellar big band or orchestrations for a full complement of strings and winds. "My last Christmas album was the first time I had ever written orchestral arrangements," says Connick, "and I cried when I found out that I had figured it out. I'm still young as an arranger, and I'm trying to learn as I go. My writing is subconsciously influenced by the great arrangers I heard when I was focused on great singers and instrumentalists, like that shout chorus in 'Blue Christmas,' which I can see my Dad moving his body to." At the same time, Connick can maneuver the strings on "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem" and raise images of Beethoven. "Different songs call for different treatments," he acknowledges. "The only version of 'Blue Christmas' I knew was Elvis' version, and although there were numerous ways to interpret it, I thought it was best to leave it -- except for that shout chorus. On 'Oh Little Town of Bethlehem,' in contrast, I wanted the music to reflect my version of Bethlehem, sort of globally Middle Eastern."

Every one of Connick's notions is interpreted flawlessly by the accompanying musicians, with a special nod going to the members of his dynamic big band, who excel in both ensemble and solo passages. "That sax section is like having four wide receivers on a football team who can all catch the ball," Connick marvels, in a compliment that could equally apply to his talented brass and rhythm players.

Harry for the Holidays is just the latest chapter in Connick's celebrated and uncommonly diverse career. Growing up in New Orleans, he studied piano with keyboard legends James Booker and Ellis Marsalis. A performer from the age of five who made his first jazz album at age ten, Connick moved to New York at age 18 and quickly made his Columbia Records debut at the head of a jazz trio. His next effort, 20, added Connick's vocals to the mix, and his singing was also featured on his first big-band album, the multi-platinum When Harry Met Sally.

In the '90s, the full scope of Connick's artistry emerged. His albums featured original instrumental and vocal music (Lofty's Roach Soufflé and We are in Love, respectively), explored funk (She and Star Turtle) and romantic balladry (To See You), and then pulled all of these strands together in the decade-ending tour de force Come by Me. Recent years have seen further triumphs, including his Grammy-winning reflection on favorite music of his youth, Songs I Heard, and his recent jazz quartet triumph Other Hours. This last disc, the first of a "Connick on Piano" series to be released by Marsalis Music, contains instrumental versions of the Tony-nominated songs Connick composed for the Broadway musical Thou Shalt Not. At the same time, Harry Connick, Jr. the actor has made a major impact in theatrical films and on television. His Hollywood credits include Memphis Belle, Hope Floats and Independence Day, while his small-screen triumphs include the ABC production of South Pacific and his recurring role on NBC's Will & Grace.

All of these achievements -- not to mention his album sales of over 20 million, his three Grammy awards and his nominations for Tony, Emmy, Oscar, Golden Globe and Cable Ace Awards - reflect a creative energy that make Harry Connick, Jr. unique in the world of contemporary entertainment. Harry for the Holidays is the latest example of that energy and creativity, a burst of seasonal joy that should carry Connick's world of fans well into the New Year.