Christmas Jazz Music

Asides

I love Christmas: the lights, the food, the music. The music part can sometimes be fraught, though. There’s so many cheesy and badly done Christmas albums out there. Fortunately my favorite genre, jazz, has actually a really impressive collection of interesting interpretations of Christmas classics.

Over the years I’ve curated a few of my favorites. Thanks to Spotify, one of my favorite services I discovered in 2013, it’s easy to share them with you. Here’s my Xmas Jazz playlist, including my favorite holiday arrangement of all time, Duke Ellington’s version of the Nutcracker Suite.

Remember: It’s okay to play holiday music until at least mid-January.

If you have any favorites you’d like me to add, send them via Spotify messages or in the comments. Merry Christmas everybody!

24 thoughts on “Christmas Jazz Music”

  2. I think Bela Fleck and the Flecktones’ Jingle All the Way is the best holiday album I’ve ever heard. Great versions of Vince Guaraldi tunes, Joni Mitchell’s River, the Christmas Song, etc.

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      1. It’s a long story. Before they were open for business you could pre-signup and be notified if you were accepted for their pre-beta. I did that with my username and email address.

        Then a friend who WAS accepted give me an invite which would let me in, except I couldn’t use my username OR email address, because that was part of my other “account”.

        I got on a chat with a tech guy and he said I’d have to pick something new, because my regular username (topher1kenobe) was in use. I asked if he could delete it, and he said yes, but then I still couldn’t use it. I asked why and he said that deleteing it puts it on a blacklist, and it can never be used again.

        Then I found out the Linux support was lousy, and I quit trying.

        Sure, I could use some other username, and jump through hoops to make the player work, but when there are so many other great alternatives, why bother?

  8. Thanx! Prolonged from your recommendation of Duke Ellington, I’m listening to “Second Sacred Concert”. Long time since I heard the music & the Swedish jazz-singer Alice Babs. Madly enough, Duke were abused for his sacred music, as he was for the rewrite of classics. “The Peer Gynt Suite” led to a ban of the record by the Grieg-family in Norway.

    Happy holidays from Santa’s terrains…

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  9. Unfortunately: “Sorry, we’re not available where you are. Leave your email to stay tuned for good news.”
    Anyway, I searched Internet for some of these albums (thanks for the selection) and my vote goes for Ella.

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  14. Hi Matt! Happy Holidays to you and wonderful wishes for the New Year! šŸ™‚

    A friend recommended this exceptional music and it rocked my socks off:
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  16. LOL! Matt thank you for my New Years gift. Now I’m spend the day and a few weeks trying to get around Spotify. I can tell you this the clarity is much better then Sound… I just don’t see a G+ Button. You recommend it I check it out. I’m smiling the whole time. You have a wonderful New Years.

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  17. Lou Rawls – Auld Lang Syne (Manhattan Records 1993)
    Boyz II Men – Silent Night (2003)
    JOHNNY CASH – LITTLE DRUMMER BOY
    Smokey Robinson & The Miracles – It’s Christmas Time (1970)

    There’s oh so many greats! Merry Xmax and happy Neue Year Ma.tt! Cheers!

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