Holiday Reviews & Articles
Merry Christmas with Gregory Porter and others, Happy Hannukah with the Eyal Vilner Big Band, and Happy Kwanzaa with Rhonda Thomas
by David W. Daniels
Season's Greetings and Happy Holidays--honoring Christmas with Al Jarreau, Spyro Gyra, and The Modern Jazz Quartet with many others. Focus is on local Atlanta artists including Diane Durrett, Tony Hightower, Rhonda Thomas, Joe Gransden, and others. Hanukkah music from the Eyal Vilner Big Band, and music honoring Kwanzaa from Bill Summers and Rhonda Thomas. Ending the show with the classic John Coltrane rendition of My Favorite Things.Playlist The Manhattan Transfer “Happy Holiday/The Holiday Season" from The Christmas Album ...
Continue ReadingPink Martini at Auditorium Theatre in Chicago
by Sandra Kozintseva
On December 17, 2025 Pink Martini on its New Year Celebration Tour presented “Pink Martini All-Stars: A Season of Stars" holiday show at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago. They performed seasonal songs, mixing classic Pink Martini compositions with new material. ...
Continue ReadingInterruptions On A Christmas Eve
by Arthur R George
The small restaurant and occasional music bistro was closed for Christmas Eve. Its owner Ernie DiVitale had darkened the room. There was light enough, from the Christmas tree in the corner and spilling in from a lamp over the prep area in the kitchen, to relax with his wife Veronica at a back table over cappuccini and frutti di bosco tortas, ricotta cheese cake with fresh fruit toppings, a special treat in winter. For Ernie and Veronica it ...
Continue ReadingHoliday Notes Across A Hallway
by Arthur R George
A knock on the door of Augie Cannataro's apartment. He peered through the security window to see the single mother from across the hall. They had always nodded politely at each other when passing in the lobby or hallway. He was respectful but didn't want to approach an involvement in whatever her life was with her son, who Cannataro had also seen in passing and had heard through the walls of their apartments making painful attempts at saxophone practice.
Continue ReadingArturo Sandoval at Miner Auditorium
by Steven Roby
Arturo Sandoval Miner Auditorium San Francisco, CA December 18, 2025 At 76, Arturo Sandoval still walks onstage with the authority of someone who knows exactly what he offers--and how to deliver it. Thursday night at SFJAZZ's Miner Auditorium, his Swinging Holiday program unfolded as something more enduring than a festive detour. It was a living survey of bebop lineage, Afro-Cuban rhythms, and the hard-earned wisdom of a musician who has outlasted eras without dulling his edge. ...
Continue ReadingHerb Alpert, Songbook Ink/Jazz at the Ballroom, Wycliffe Gordon and Staci Griesbach Celebrate the Holidays
by Mary Foster Conklin
This broadcast includes more new holiday releases from Herb Alpert, Songbook Ink/Jazz at the Ballroom (featuring Vanessa Perea, Rob Edwards and others), Wycliffe Gordon and Staci Griesbach, plus birthday shoutouts to Honorable Men Sammy Davis Jr. (100!), Frank Sinatra, Joe Williams and Diane Schuur, among others. Happy listening and please support the artists you hear--see them live, buy their music so they can continue to comfort, distract, provoke and remind the world that A Woman's Place is in the Groove. ...
Continue ReadingAdam Shulman: A Charlie Brown Christmas & Beyond
by Steven Roby
In this festive episode, Steve Roby chats with acclaimed pianist, composer, and educator Adam Shulman, a key figure in the San Francisco jazz scene since 2002. Known for his work as a sideman with artists like Paula West, Stefon Harris, and Miguel Zenón, as well as for his own original albums, Adam shares insights into his musical journey and the timeless magic of Vince Guaraldi's “A Charlie Brown Christmas."Adam explains how his classical piano training at UC Santa ...
Continue ReadingVince Guaraldi’s Christmas Sauce: Adding Spice to Charlie Brown Vanilla
by Arthur R George
It's not simply that pianist Vince Guaraldi slipped jazz past the unsuspecting in composing A Charlie Brown Christmas, the evergreen “Peanuts" animation and soundtrack that has become inescapably part of the holiday. First broadcast in 1965, going on to six decades ago, A Charlie Brown Christmas is a tradition unto itself. It returns to television through PBS and PBS Kids on the evening of Sunday, December 19. Some who can't wait, or want to watch and listen again and again, ...
Continue ReadingHave A Holly, Jazzy Christmas
by Kurt Ellenberger
In my music history classes, particularly in November and December, students have often asked me about the relationship between jazz and Christmas: “Why are so many popular Christmas songs so jazzy?" It is a good question--indeed, many of the most popular secular Christmas music does have a jazz flavor, while a few are actually jazz. There is a direct connection between jazz and Christmas music, but to see what that connection is, we will first look at the history of ...
Continue ReadingThe Ten Best Jazz Christmas Albums Of All Time
by Peter J. Hoetjes
As temperatures drop and days grow short, winter is once again upon us. For those looking to listen to the sounds of the season without resorting to December's relentless slew of glossy, generic cash-grabs, jazz can be a breath of fresh, wintry air. You won't find (many) singers on this list, since most people already know and have records by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Ella Fitzgerald, Karen Carpenter, and more. Instead, I've put together jazz's greatest Christmas albums from the ...
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