HOLLY Cole figures she's earned the right to a little quality lounge time.

"Yeah, I'm sitting here in my bedroom, wearing my paisley jammies doing a few interviews -- it's rather luxurious," the singer jokes from her Toronto home.

Cole was just taking a little R&R before she sets of on her traditional set of pre-Christmas concerts, which include a three-day stint starting tomorrow at the NAC featuring the jazz/pop stylist joining forces with the NAC Orchestra.

"Oddly enough this Christmas tour has become more of a tradition in Ottawa then anywhere else. We're doing Christmas shows in Toronto and Vancouver this year but Ottawa is the only spot where I appear on an annual basis and every year now when I think about Christmas I think about Ottawa -- it's part of the season for me."

Music lovers are overjoyed about Cole's annual pilgrimage and she returns the emotion.

"I just love coming there and I think the bond has formed between myself and the audiences over the years with the NAC being the cement in all of this. People should realize that the NAC Opera is one of, if not the, most beautiful halls in Canada."

In fact, playing the NAC had been a goal of Cole's for some time.

"We worked our way up Elgin St. In the beginning we started at a little club called The Penguin and I guess the dream was to move up to grab the brass ring and that was the Opera stage.

"With this cross-country tour we have to initially rehearse with symphonies in the various cities but more than anything the difference is organizational. You can't just go on stage an call out song titles.

"Basically we send the orchestra the song charts way in advance and they have a chance to work on the arrangements before I show up and then we'll rehearse and pull it all together."

Cole agrees shows like this as well as the marriage of T.S. Monk and the NAC Orchestra during last summer's jazz festival are really the way to go when it comes to bringing in "new" audiences.

"It's good to bring in artists like myself because we draw from a younger audience than what you'd normally get with a symphony. It's important because the NAC needs to garner a newer, younger audience and something has to be done to replenish the audiences of the future. I really believe that it works both ways because when my own slice of fans come to see me play they might just get the bug to come back to the NAC for a symphony event.

"It's a win, win situation for everyone."

Cole says the concert is also an opportunity to get into the Christmas spirit.

"Whether it's Christmas music or the stuff I do on a normal show the songs still have to mean something to me. The tunes we include are pretty contemporary and the bottom line here is that I want a fun mood to prevail so let's say these are really holiday concerts with the emphasis in just having a good time and getting in the mood."