Christmas Jazz! (Part 2) 🎄
A semi-legendary thread, now in your inbox.
Like the Polar Express, the Christmas Jazz thread rolls on! In case you missed the explanatory preamble and the first dozen albums, here’s Part 1.
Before we dive back in, I’ll add that a friend and former colleague, Gary Chun, took the thread last year and built a nifty Spotify playlist. (Run time: 3 hours 45 min.) And yesterday, George Beckwith wrote to remind me that his show Cliff Notes, on Radio Free Rhinecliff, ran a Christmas special with a bit of intentional overlap.
Now without further ado, here are the next dozen Christmas jazz albums (actually a baker’s dozen), originally posted in 2019 and 2020. Tomorrow I’ll do my best to wrap this up with one more batch, bringing us up to the present day.
The Semi-Legendary Christmas Jazz Thread (Part 2)
These are for real. Big ups for Cécile on vol. 1 and Cat Russell on vol. 2
Respect Sextet does a smart job with this one — swinging, punchy, just the right dash of irreverence.
Hot jazz + Christmas songs? 👏🏽
Finally got this on vinyl a few weeks ago. SO great.
Brother Ray is always a good idea.
New addition this year: a soul-jazz winner from the Eight Track band.
Lion in winter: Tony Bennett’s late career >> most folks’ prime.
Here’s an adorable late entry by Martina DaSilva and Dan Chmielinksi.
Sorry, one more! My mother-in-law has a copy of this, which still sounds fresh. Dig Harry’s hip arrangement of “Sleigh Ride,” a super-fun “Rudolph,” and the A+ original “When My Heart Finds Christmas.”
When I posted last year’s thread, someone said “What, no John Zorn’s Dreamers Christmas??” Asked and answered. Vibes for days (often literally, thanks to Kenny Wollesen) 🎅🏼🎸🎁
Jamie Cullum always seemed a bit like a manic elf. Here he dives headfirst into a Christmas bag, with a mood-swingy platter of pithy originals, backed by an expensive-sounding studio orchestra.
This year’s in-the-pocket entry, featuring Warren Wolf on vibes, piano, Rhodes and more. Nice mix of tunes, including some Guaraldi, some Tchaikovsky, and some Hathaway (you know which one).