Beyond the usual traditions of the Yuletide season (trees, gifts, fruitcakes,) the 5-6 weeks between Turkey Day and New Years Day is the time of the year when I allow myself to dust off my collection of Christmas CDs and give them a listen. This makes December the month of A Charlie Brown Christmas and When My Heart Finds Christmas as well as everything else. It seems to be part of what makes the time of year special for me.
I usually don’t think about Christmas music during most of the year… say, February to October. Anticipation starts about the time that Halloween rolls around. It then grows until that day after Thanksgiving when ten months of abstinence is passes.. and the Christmas season can really begin.
My favorite Christmas CDs include the two above and the following:
- George Winston’s December(though this can be somewhat austere)
- Tony Bennett’s Snowfall
- The Starbuck’s Christmas jazz compilation A Merry Affair
I suppose these choices put me firmly in the “Christmas jazz” album camp… and I will admit to some partiality along those lines. The jazz guys seem to take a more reverent approach to arranging and performing Christmas songs. The idea of recording with an orchestra is also not alien to them.
Still, I like to keep an open mind. If anyone knows any great Christmas compilations not on my list… let me know. If Amazon.com has samples, I’ll give a listen.
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