As we all know, no matter what genre of music you prefer, there is no shortage of Christmas music to listen to each year. In some extreme cases, these songs start getting radio spins as early as October. Jazz is no exception, with the new Michael Buble Christmas CD hitting the shelves this year October 24th.
But what about Thanksgiving jazz? Perhaps some of these aren’t necessarily “Thanksgiving specific,” but are a few tracks to rotate while having that second (or third or fourth) helping.
1. The Thanksgiving Theme by The Vince Guaraldi Trio
To many, Vince Guaraldi is best known as the man behind the music of the Charlie Brown television specials, with A Charlie Brown Christmas being the most popular. But Charlie did Thanksgiving too, and Guaraldi was there with his trio to provide the soundtrack for that special too.
2. Thanksgiving by Charles Earland
From the album Stomp!, which was recorded only six months before organist Charles Earland passed away, the tune Thanksgiving offers you some energy after the Tryptophan from the turkey has started to put you to sleep.
3. The Gravy Waltz by Bill Henderson
What would a Thanksgiving dinner be without gravy? Vocalist Bill Henderson teams up with the Oscar Peterson Trio, eagerly anticipating the big meal via the smell from the kitchen.
4. Hey Pete, Let’s Eat More Meat by Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy gets the band all wound up in this one and makes it clear that he doesn’t discriminate which meat he and “Pete” will eat, as long as there is more of it. A nice trumpet solo, a little bit of scatting … the full meal in this song.
5. All That Meat and No Potatoes by Louis Armstrong
You have to have potatoes for Thanksgiving, and Pops explains all of this in his version of the Fats Waller composition.