It doesn't take long for people to start getting into the holiday spirit. Stores already have swapped out the orange and black colors of fall for shades of red and green, ornaments and snowflakes.

And sure enough, those familiar Christmas carols will start drilling their way into your heads. But your ears may perk up when you hear the Second Annual Holiday Jazz Express perform at 4 p.m. Nov. 22 at the Missouri Theater.

"It's a real upbeat, nice 90-minute show where we kind of jazz up the holiday hits and kind of swing them," says Tim Whitmer, pianist and band leader for the Holiday Jazz Express.

Last year's Holiday Jazz Express was a big success, according to the show's interim executive director Barb Heath. She thinks what helped give the show great attendance was a combination of accessibility and class.

"It's probably because of the quality of the program itself ... It was very elegant," Heath says. "It's also a great family thing. You can bring your family and kick off the holiday season with us."

This year's Holiday Jazz Express will feature musicians from the Kansas City and St. Joseph areas on drums, bass, guitar, saxophone and organ along with guest vocalists like Millie Edwards, Monique Danielle and local performer Kathleen Holeman. They will perform 16 classic and contemporary Christmas favorites, including "Silent Night," "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" and "Walking in a Winter Wonderland."

And Whitmer says despite the show's musical emphasis, this "toe-tappin" performance has great appeal to any music lover.

"You don't really have to be a jazz person to enjoy it. It's very accessible," he says.

Considering the Holiday Jazz Express is taking place well before people can get burnt out on Christmas and is reinterpreting the season's most well-known tunes, it might just be able to make those old songs sound new again.

"People are used to hearing the tunes a lot," Whitmer says. "I think it's a refreshing look at a lot of familiar music."

Tickets range from $10 to $20 for adults and $5 for students. Proceeds benefit Peace Unlimited. For more information, call 244-6838.