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Christmas jazz on KPLU

If you are looking for some jazz in holiday style to get your hands on, you might want to consider these Christmas jazz albums I've listed on Groove Notes. 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 on our live stream.

  • 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)
Kevin Kniestedt is a journalist, host and producer who began his career at KNKX in 2003. Over his 17 years with the station, he worked as a full time jazz host, a news host and produced the weekly show Sound Effect. Kevin has conducted or produced hundreds of interviews, has won local and national awards for newscasts and commentary.