Jazz Genre Guides,
Christmas Jazz
Holidays are coming, pa-rum-pum-pum-pum! With that in mind, throw another log on the fire, grab the nearest blanket and pour yourself a mug of something warm as we delight you with some of the finest jazz albums that coincide with the Christmas season, both past and present.
From the perennial favourites of Louis & Ella or Frank & Bing, to the more upcompromising jubilant expressions of Carla Bley and Ill Considered, sit back and enjoy this timeless selection.
You can hear all the classics listed below, and more, as part of our Christmas Jazz playlist on Presto Music Streaming... why not get it playing as you read through. Don't have an account? Then sign up for a free 30-day trial.
Have Yourself a Jazzy Little Christmas!
Holidays are coming, pa-rum-pum-pum-pum! With that in mind, throw another log on the fire, grab the nearest blanket and pour yourself a mug of something warm as we delight you with some of the finest jazz albums that coincide with the Christmas season, both past and present. From the perennial favourites of Louis & Ella or Frank & Bing, to the more upcompromising jubilant expressions of Carla Bley and Ill Considered, sit back and enjoy this timeless selection. 78 minutes
Perhaps the classic Yuletide soundtrack, this timeless recording is adored by many and holds the rare status of being that one Christmas album you can play from start to end without fighting the urge to switch off in favour of the telly. Whether they're skating on ice or trotting through the snow, this comfortingly evocative album fills your mind with timely images of the whole Peanuts crew as they're scored by this snazzy bouquet of no-nonsense musical thrills.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
Revealed last year to much acclaim, it's hard to believe that Verve's festive compilation is Pops' debut full-length Christmas release, not having released one during his own lifetime. Presenting a veritable Santa's sack of musical goodies in one cohesive package for the first time, the record features six singles released throughout the fifties as well as a pair of duets with his two most favourite vocal collaborators, Velma Middleton and Miss Ella Fitzgerald.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
Right on cue, here's the first lady of song herself! This record has been a holiday staple since its original release in 1960, never seeming to age even if its many appreciative listeners may have done so. Ella's crisp voice lends itself remarkably well to this instantly recognisable tracklisting of arrangements by Frank DeVol, and is magnificently supported with warming restraint by Russ Garcia and his Orchestra.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
This album contains Frank's complete Christmas album on Columbia from 1949, which features a serene mixture of both secular and sacred tunes. In addition, it also includes two unreleased radio recordings of 'Baby It's Cold Outside' and 'Let it Snow! Let it Snow, Let it Snow'. Soft and mellow, these tracks are well worth the price of admission alone.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
On the occasion of the 120th anniversary of his birth, Bing, Bing, the Christmas King is back and sounding better than ever, thanks to cutting edge sonic technology and these new Dolby Atmos mixes! With arrangements as fresh as the first snowfall re-recorded by the LSO, this crystal clear recording breathes new life into a symphonic sleigh ride for the ages.
Available Format: CD
An evergreen favourite, our first instrumental entry on the list is cool and melodic affair destined to serve as a sumptuous backing track to any after-dinner drinks this season. Watch as those seasonal blues disappear with this audible log fire, originally released on the Argo label in 1961, with even more delights to be found on its sequel, below!
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
A collection of jazz versions of Christmas songs recorded between 1959 and 1962 by some of the most popular artists on the Columbia label, this compilation was released over sixty years ago but still hasn't lost any of its magic. With a cast of reputable jazz cats that ranges from Dexter Gordon to Miles Davis, hear your favourite Christmas tunes reimagined by the leading figures of the day.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Okay — what's this one doing here? No, there hasn't been some mistake, but this album is a slight easter egg (if you'll pardon the seasonal misattrubition). Though it may not strictly be a Christmas album by name, this iconic Blue Note recording was however recorded in a single session at the Van Gelder Studio on December 24th, 1964. It's this urgent spirit of rushing home before being snowed in that one picks up from the record, which we think ripples with wintery ambiance.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Another festive anthology, this time starring a compendium of top-flight jazz talent. Darting around from the time of its release in 1993 all the way back to a live performance from Chet Baker & The Lighthouse All-Stars recorded some forty years prior, this sportive smorgasbord, with its feast of unreleased gems, is guaranteed to shine new light on some of the artists you presumed you'd discovered all there was to hear!
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
For our final mistletoe miscellany, take a deep dive into the Verve vaults for a look back on some of the best-aged crackers — a series which normally comes with its own club-ready companion volume! Remixed or not, there certainly are some pleasant treats to be found here, including Jimmy Smith's funky big-band soul-jazz approach to 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen', Nina Simone's stunningly intimate phrasing on 'I Am Blessed', and Louis Armstrong's classic 'What a Wonderful World' (is this really a Christmas song? No matter, it's great).
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
Reimagined and interpreted, Wynton’s jazzy arrangements swing with joy, reverence and playful good humour. The album features Kathleen Battle on 'Silent Night' and Jon Hendricks on 'Sleigh Ride', as well as Wynton’s spoken narration to his soulful arrangement of 'A Visit from St. Nicholas' (AKA 'Twas the Night Before Christmas'), revelling in the spirit of Satchmo.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
We'll be pouring one out this year for the visionary composer and bandleader Carla Bley, who sadly passed away in October. Christmas music had been an enthusiasm of Carla's for decades, and traditional and non-traditional seasonal pieces are here subjected to her offbeat wit and idiosyncratic arranging skills. The pleasure that the musicians find in the material is unmistakable and, perhaps particularly after a glass of mulled wine, contagious.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
Dark, melancholy, aggressive, raging and subdued... the London-based quartet captures these essential festive feelings, weaving thorny, angular, unforgiving structures and stretching the helpless, protesting forms of infamous Christmas songs over them, creating a unique collection of Yuletide Chimeras!
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Across its dozen tracks, Christmas Wish encompasses the saintly and the secular, the funky and the fun, the Great American Songbook and the best of Motown in a cool yule selection of festive favourites, as well as brand new songs written by the singer himself. With this gift, Gregory Porter has given us a whole new musical interpration of this most wonderful time of year.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Serving as an extension of her award-winning album Linger Awhile, this six-song release marks the double-Grammy winner (and Presto Music Award nominee)'s first collection of Christmas material. The tracklist is augmented by the previously-released 'O Holy Night', which Joy performs with multiple generations of her family, 'Warm in December' and her signature version of 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas', performed in a light, swinging mood.
Available Formats: Vinyl Record, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Barney Whittaker
