On behalf of the staff at KPLU and Jazz24, I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas. Here are a couple holiday songs/videos featuring Ella Fitzgerald and Charlie Parker.
Christmas Jazz
If you are looking for some jazz in holiday style to get your hands on, you might want to consider these Christmas jazz albums. Some might be more of a challenge to track down than others. Also, this Friday morning (Christmas Eve) at midnight, I will be broadcasting Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite in its entirety. Western Washington listeners can catch in on 88.5 FM, and everybody else can hear it at kplu.org.
A Charlie Brown Christmas – Vince Guaraldi (Fantasy, 1965)
Crescent City Christmas Card – Wynton Marsalis (Sony Music Distribution, 1990)
Django Bells – The Gypsy Hombres (Memphis International, 2002)
Ella Wishes You A Swinging Christmas – Ella Fitzgerald (Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, 1960)
Jingle Bell Jazz (Compilation) – Various Artists (Columbia, 1990)
Smashed For The Holidays – Jacqui Naylor (Ruby Records, 2007)
Sound of Christmas – Ramsey Lewis (Chess, 1961)
Christmas Jazz Jam – Wynton Marsalis (Somerset Entertainment, 2009)
Have Yourself a Soulful Little Christmas – Kenny Burrell (Verve, 1966)
20th Century Masters – The Christmas Collection: The Best of Louis Armstrong – Louis Armstrong (Hip-O Records, 2003)
Christmas Time is Here – Dianne Reeves (Blue Note Records, 2004)
Christmas ’64 – Jimmy Smith (Verve, 1964)
A Merry Christmas! – Stan Kenton (Capitol Jazz, 1963)
The Spirit of Christmas – Ray Charles (Rhino, 1985)
Christmas Songs with the Ray Brown Trio – Ray Brown (Telarc Distribution, 1999)
Jazz For Joy (Compilation) – Various Artists (Polygram, 1996)
A Swingin’ Christmas – Tony Bennett with the Count Basie Big Band (RPM, 2008)
Christmas with Jimmy McGriff – Jimmy McGriff (Collectible Records, 1964)
Christmas Songs – Diana Krall (Verve, 2005)
Merry Christmas From Doc Severinsen and The Tonight Show Orchestra – Doc Severinsen (Amherst Records, 1991)
1,000 Jazz Albums You Should Hear Before You Die (341-360) The Holiday Edition
With the holidays approaching, I’ve decided this week that the twenty albums we add to the list will be made up entirely of holiday jazz albums.
I am not a huge fan of a lot of Christmas jazz, but there are some well done albums that are worthy of being part of this list. A note: Duke Ellington’s Three Suites featuring the wonderful Nutcracker Suite would certainly be included on this list of holiday albums, but I already have it posted earlier in the “1,000” series, so no sense in posting it twice. That being said…
Here is another 20 to add to the list.
Remember that there is no ranking system here, and if you don’t see your favorite jazz album yet, it doesn’t mean it won’t show up.
Every week I will offer up twenty more, in no particular order and with no ranking system or common theme (other than jazz of course).
Hopefully these lists will inspire you to seek some of these albums out that perhaps you haven’t heard before, or revisit an old favorite. And as always, we want your thoughts on any or all of these albums. Either way, let’s get started with this week, and in no particular order, albums 341 through 360.
341. A Charlie Brown Christmas – Vince Guaraldi (Fantasy, 1965)
342. Crescent City Christmas Card – Wynton Marsalis (Sony Music Distribution, 1990)
343. Django Bells – The Gypsy Hombres (Memphis International, 2002)
344. Ella Wishes You A Swinging Christmas – Ella Fitzgerald (Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, 1960)
345. Jingle Bell Jazz (Compilation) – Various Artists (Columbia, 1990)
346. Smashed For The Holidays – Jacqui Naylor (Ruby Records, 2007)
347. Sound of Christmas – Ramsey Lewis (Chess, 1961)
348. Christmas Jazz Jam – Wynton Marsalis (Somerset Entertainment, 2009)
349. Have Yourself a Soulful Little Christmas – Kenny Burrell (Verve, 1966)
350. 20th Century Masters – The Christmas Collection: The Best of Louis Armstrong – Louis Armstrong (Hip-O Records, 2003)
351. Christmas Time is Here – Dianne Reeves (Blue Note Records, 2004)
352. Christmas ’64 – Jimmy Smith (Verve, 1964)
353. A Merry Christmas! – Stan Kenton (Capitol Jazz, 1963)
354. The Spirit of Christmas – Ray Charles (Rhino, 1985)
355. Christmas Songs with the Ray Brown Trio – Ray Brown (Telarc Distribution, 1999)
356. Jazz For Joy (Compilation) – Various Artists (Polygram, 1996)
357. A Swingin’ Christmas – Tony Bennett with the Count Basie Big Band (RPM, 2008)
358. Christmas with Jimmy McGriff – Jimmy McGriff (Collectible Records, 1964)
359. Christmas Songs – Diana Krall (Verve, 2005)
360. Merry Christmas From Doc Severinsen and The Tonight Show Orchestra – Doc Severinsen (Amherst Records, 1991)