holiday
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New Holiday Jazz Roundup 2025
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Christmas is a favorite time of the year for many, and it’s always exciting to hear new recordings that bring fresh spirit to the season. This roundup of recently released jazz highlights several releases that offer everything from reflective takes on sacred music to lively reinterpretations of holiday favorites. Lakecia Benjamin – “The Christmas Song”…
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Top Contemporary Jazz – December 3, 1999
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The top ten contemporary jazz recordings 25 years ago, ranked by ContemporaryJazz.com! As it was in the 1990s, Kenny G topped the chart. However, this week he had two recordings: his renditions of standards and his third holiday album. Other Christmas and holiday music were moving into the top 10, including a nice compilation from…
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Bela Fleck & the Flecktones Holiday Recording
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Christmas music from Santa Bela Fleck and the Flecktones is coming on September 30. Jingle All the Way is the first collection of holiday music from the long-standing band. It features everything from banjo-harmonic arrangements of “Christmas Time Is Here” and “River,” to a Tuvan-inspired, worldbeat rendition of “What Child Is This / Dyngyldai.” “We…
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Boney James – Christmas Present
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Boney James is now two for two for excellent holiday recordings. Almost a decade ago, I reviewed the saxman’s first seasonal CD, Boney’s Funky Christmas, and was impressed. I love the Christmas season and have a larger-than-average number of related discs. The fact that this is one of them that I put on first each…
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Review: Dianne Reeves – Christmas Time Is Here
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I’ve always thought jazz is the best genre for Christmas music. The intimacy of the jazz trio especially can make for some of the most enjoyable music of the holiday season. Multi-Grammy winning vocalist Dianne Reeves proves this on her first seasonal recording Christmas Time Is Here. With the exception of a small number of…