Christmas Jazz! (Part 1)

A semi-legendary thread, now in your inbox.

Hey, hope you had a good weekend. Today I want to share a couple things, right quick. First: I’ll be moderating The Year in Jazz, my annual critics’ roundtable at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, next Tuesday, Dec. 12, 7-9 p.m. I’m excited to be joined by

Harmony Holiday

and Ashley Kahn, deep listeners and brilliant observers who both did tremendous work this year. If you’re in the NYC area, come out and join us! If you’re not, hang tight; I’ll let you know how to watch from afar.

Here’s the second thing. It’s been just over a year since I broke up with Twitter, and given how much worse things seem to have gotten over there, I haven’t looked back. But this week, I’d like to look back at a popular thread of Christmas jazz albums I started in 2019, and then updated every year. Rather than link to the thread on X, or noisily bombard Substack Notes, I’m recreating it as a multi-part newsletter.

These are all still albums that routinely get airplay in my household this time of year. (Out of this batch today, only one or two has yet to be played in 2023.) The only change I’m making from the original thread is to provide a link to each album. If you want to cue up the whole list, the artist Hal Wilke created a YouTube Music playlist in 2021.

So without further ado, here are the first dozen albums. Enjoy!

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The Semi-Legendary Christmas Jazz Thread (Part 1)

My family takes holiday music seriously. And while we listen to our share of Mariah and Kacey and Sia — all of which I truly enjoy! — our rotation includes mondo Christmas jazz. Herewith, a thread of some favorites, old and new.

Ella, the gold standard. Playing as I type this.

Geri Allen went deeeep on this one. A profound reflection on the nativity; a 100% Santa-free zone.

A true household fave. Matt Wilson, Jeff Lederer and Paul Sikivie, swinging the heck out of holiday standards 🥁

Carla Bley, Steve Swallow and the Partyka Brass Quintet — with a distant echo of Emil Borg? Perhaps. 🎺

Hadn’t heard this Dianne Reeves joint in a while, but wow, does it hold up. The most soulful “Little Drummer Boy”

Remember the Verve: Remixed series? Their Christmas entry is a gas. Especially dig Billie Holiday’s “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” as produced by Yes King.

Nat: Another gold standard. Impossibly great.

Diana really did the work here. Strong vocals, some Oscar Petersonian piano, and a spit-and-polish performance by the Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra.

One from my back pages. Arthur Lyman plays up the kitsch, but also plays it cool. Best “Mele Kalikimaka” you’ll ever hear, obvs 🌴🥥🍍

Kurt Elling doesn’t take the easy route here, in any respect. A deep, soulful meditation, brimming with style.

Next-generation Jazz classics. Special citation to Christian McBride for his take on “Santa Claus, Go Straight to the Ghetto” ✌🏾

I mean, it goes without saying, right?