The mulled wine is cooking, the candles are flickering and sending dancing shadows around the room, the TV is turned down low but you can make out an excitable Jimmy Stewart running up a snow-strewn street. There’s a hush of expectation about Christmas all over the house and then you click ‘play’ on the hi-fi and the warm grooves of Dexter Gordon move in close. This is Jazzmas, best heard late at night with a fine brandy, a good book and not a care in the world.
Jazzmas can be chilled and slow, à la Dexter or Rollins, mischievous like the Hammond-led funk of Jimmy Smith, or pure olde-time: welcome Ella and Basie. Vince Guaraldi’s wondrous O Tannenbaum, from A Charlie Brown Christmas, is perfect. And of course, every Jazzmas Eve we all need a little Coltrane circling around us. We end with Louis Jordan’s amazing Zat You Santa Claus?, a song which we can only hope Tom Waits will cover one day…
Dexter Gordon – The Christmas Song
Sonny Rollins – Winter Wonderland
Vince Guaraldi Trio – O Tannenbaum
Jimmy Smith – Santa Claus is Coming to Town
Ella Fitzgerald – Santa Claus Got Stuck Up My Chimney
Count Basie and the Mills Brothers
Louis Armstrong – Zat You Santa Claus?
A Verve Christmas
Yuleblogalog 