{"id":2200069,"date":"2025-12-15T18:02:54","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T18:02:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2200069"},"modified":"2025-12-15T18:02:54","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T18:02:54","slug":"santas-sleigh-is-filled-with-new-christmas-jazz-songs-wintry-albums-and-seasonal-streamings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/santas-sleigh-is-filled-with-new-christmas-jazz-songs-wintry-albums-and-seasonal-streamings\/","title":{"rendered":"Santa\u2019s Sleigh is Filled with New Christmas Jazz Songs, Wintry Albums and Seasonal Streamings"},"content":{"rendered":"

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There\u2019s no big preamble to this Christmas jazz list of mine, save for a desire to show off the music, moods and holiday moments that are warming to the touch and seasonally stirring to the soul. Or they\u2019re just great giddy fun at a time when we could all use a laugh, a cocktail or six, some cool joyful spirit \u2014 sacred and secular \u2014 and the gift of expansive jazz in all its tones, colors, theatricality and quietude.<\/p>\n

\"\"The 15th Annual Joe Iconis Christmas Extravaganza: December 14 livestream from 54 Below
<\/strong>Composer, lyricist and singer Joe Iconis is a beloved musical theater writer who\u2019s also become a doyen of hard-rocking, Jerry Lee Lewis-meets-Jelly Roll Morton piano-pounding cabaret and jazz. He invades New York\u2019s intimate 54 Below (the old Studio 54) with original raw-boned songs, weird drunken Santas (thanks actor-vocalist Jason Sweettooth Williams) and upwards of 70 loud, lewd, loving family cast members. Though the in-person showcase runs through the weekend, on December 14 everyone can see and hear the Iconis gang\u2019s Christmas Extravaganza live and livestreamed at 7 p.m. ET<\/a>, with special guest Golden as a rare treat.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Darius de Haas, Let Me Carry You This Christmas
<\/em><\/strong>(Concord Theatricals Recordings)
If you streamed The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel<\/em> and wondered about the jazzy, finger-snapping, Sam Cooke-like vocalist (the character of Shy Baldwin), you should investigate his seasonal best\u2019s debut with a smoking hot, small combo and cocktail-cool arrangements from Maisel<\/em> orchestrator David Chase and my favorite 8-bit music maker, Charlie Rosen, living up to his brassy, Some Like It Hot<\/em> Broadway best.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Herb Alpert, Christmas Time Is Here <\/em><\/strong>(Herb Alpert Presents)
It\u2019s been great seeing Herb Alpert of late, touring with his cool, crooning missus, Lani Hall, juking with his legendary Tijuana Brass, and yes, still recording. This new Christmas gem isn\u2019t the spicy 1968 ting-a-linging Tijuana Brass Christmas album \u2014 nothing is. But Alpert\u2019s silver-and-gold trumpet playing has so much breadth and emotion through the Chet Baker-like tone of \u201cFeliz Navidad\u201d and the Latin-lilting \u201cChristmas Time Is Here,\u201d you\u2019re going to want to make the merry and bright just a little bit darker.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Ella Fitzgerald, Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas: Deluxe Edition
<\/em><\/strong>(Verve Records)
The gold standard from 1960 gets literal with two gold translucent slices of vinyl, a sheet of cute cut-out ornaments, a sturdy journalistic essay by vocal jazz historian Will Friedwald, and, of course the cr\u00e8me of the Decca- and Verve-era Ella swinging her face off on \u201cWinter Wonderland\u201d and \u201cSleigh Ride.\u201d This. Is. How. Christmas. Is. Done. Proper.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Lakecia Benjamin (feat. Christie Dashiell), \u201cThe Christmas Song\u201d
<\/strong>(Artwork Records)
<\/strong>Saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin has sailed through so many vibes and influences \u2014 from Prince to the Coltranes, John and Alice \u2014 in the last decade that something smooth, soulful and hugely arranged is her due. With vocalist Christie Dashiell along for the sleigh ride, Benjamin dances around the Festivus pole and blows with gentle abandon. Dig her.<\/p>\n

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\"\"\"\"Stella Cole, Merry Christmas, Darling <\/em><\/strong>(Decca Records)
<\/em><\/strong>Darling, indeed. Cole has a vintage, elegant Mabel Mercer-meets-Laufey thing going on without being too polite or too proper, and has just enough trad-warmth and complex emotional range to her voice to bring real passion to the Carpenters\u2019 \u201cMerry Christmas, Darling.\u201d Beloved for her elevated takes on the Great American Songbook, I think Cole\u2019s going to be a big jazz thing in 2026, starting a few weeks early with this haughty holiday collection.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Frank Sinatra, Christmas on the Air <\/em><\/strong>(SING)
After the SING label\u2019s humbly stunning Live at the Hollywood Bowl<\/em> package comes this even-newer Sinatra holiday season rarity stocking-stuffed with tracks recorded on radio broadcasts across the 1940s and early 1950s. Remember that the latter-day radio recordings on this collection were captured toward the end of his early career as The Voice and into a bleaker period: his mad, bad Ava Gardener-inspired marital slump, moving slowly into his next mega-successful neo-Rat Pack run at Capitol. This gives Sinatra\u2019s Christmas cheer a dose of deep, abiding melancholy just perfect for sitting by the fire, sipping a good bourbon and heaving a holiday sigh, that is, There\u2019s also Frank doing Christmas radio promo bits for U.S. Savings Bonds, which is silly but fun to hear.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Anthony Nunziata, Christmas & You <\/em><\/strong>(Nunztunes)
Give this showy, occasional opera-singing cabaret vocalist big credit. Not only did he co-write an album\u2019s worth of new Christmas songs that run the gamut from sacred soul to sultry jazz; he\u2019s tinged several of his fresh songs with a smoldering brand of loungey, country-politan swing that Dean Martin made popular after \u201cEverybody Loves Somebody Sometime.\u201d C\u2019mon. How great is this?<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Various Artists, The Classic Holiday Singles Box <\/em><\/strong>(UMe)
Connie Francis, Christmas in My Heart <\/em><\/strong>(Polygram)
Crate diggers unite: UMe has gathered the best-ever contemporary Christmas seven-inch 45s from Bobby Helms\u2019s \u201cJingle Bell Rock,\u201d Brenda Lee\u201ds \u201cRockin\u2019 Around the Christmas Tree,\u201d Chuck Berry\u2019s \u201cRun Rudolph Run,\u201d John Lennon & Yoko Ono\u2019s \u201cHappy Xmas (War is Over)\u201d and Paul McCartney\u2019s \u201cWonderful Christmastime\u201d and<\/em> paired them in this cool, collectable tin with jazzier classics from Frank Sinatra \"\"\"\"(\u201cJingle Bells\u201d) and Nat \u201cKing\u201d Cole\u2019s \u201cThe Christmas Song\u201d all in replication of their original 45 sleeves. The Connie Francis Christmas in My Heart<\/em> thing is vintage early \u201960s vocal pop, an expansion of her holiday classic now that her famed B-side \u201cPretty Little Baby\u201d has become the most listened-to song in TikTok\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

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Emmaline, The Christmas Album <\/em><\/strong>(Curly Cuel Records)
Everyone loves high-breezy, Nashville-based violinist Emmaline. So what happens when she mixes up a handful of jittery-rendered traditional carols and original compositions all showing off her free vocal chops and<\/em> throws in a zig-zaggy \u201cYou\u2019re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch\u201d? Find out.<\/p>\n

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\"\"\"\"Jake Shimabukuro, Tis the Season <\/em><\/strong>(JS Records)
Beyond the rarity of swanky, Hawaiian ukulele virtuosity\u2026 OK, that\u2019s mostly it. Shimabukuro is the only guy making this jazzy, jiving, upbeat Beatnik pop. To have this be his first holiday album, with the ghost of the late Jimmy Buffett appearing midway through this Christmas party-s\u00e9ance, Tis the Season <\/em>is Tis Fabulous.<\/p>\n

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\"\"\"\"Wycliffe Gordon, Holiday Fun <\/em><\/strong>(Arbors Records)
Trombonist Wycliffe Gordon is a king of the brass-fantasy big band sound. Why wouldn\u2019t he do likewise for Christmas swing and celebrating the classics, loudly?<\/p>\n

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Phil Kline\u2019s Unsilent Night
<\/em><\/strong>Starting in 1992, experimental music multi-instrumentalist and jambient sound-sculptor Phil Kline composed a 45-minute work, Unsilent Night<\/em>, as a moveable feast and mobile outdoor soundscape where each audience becomes the performer en masse, \u201cIt\u2019s very simple to do,\u201d states the website<\/a>. \u201cEach participant simultaneously plays one of four pre-recorded tracks from any device that amplifies music (such as a phone connected to speakers, a boombox, a homemade rig) as they walk together on a pre-determined route.\u201d You can get in on the procession \u2014 if not start your own procession, commencing December 11 in cities across the globe. JT<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source jazztimes.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s no big preamble to this Christmas jazz list of mine, save for a desire to show off the music, moods and holiday moments that are warming to the touch and seasonally stirring to the soul. Or they\u2019re just great giddy fun at a time when we could all use a laugh, a cocktail or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2200070,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2200069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Santas-Sleigh-is-Filled-with-New-Christmas-Jazz-Songs-Wintry.webp.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2200069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2200069"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2200069\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2200071,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2200069\/revisions\/2200071"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2200070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2200069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2200069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2200069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}