I was searching iTunes for something a bit different from my old standby Bing Crosby, Perry Como and Nat King Cole this Christmas, and I stumbled on two fantastic jazz Christmas albums I thought I’d mention.
One is by Beegie Adair, a Kentucky woman who is a very good jazz pianist (I’d never heard of her until today). It’s called “Jazz Piano Christmas.” The other is by the great Oscar Peterson and is called “An Oscar Peterson Christmas.” I was looking for some jazz trio stuff with no vocals that could just play in the background and, man, do these hit the mark. Just thought I’d mention in case your old albums are getting stale.
UPDATE: As Jon Sanders noted in a comment below, Oscar Peterson has died. Here’s his obit from The Washington Post.
Peterson died at his home in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga on Sunday, said Oliver Jones, a family friend and jazz musician. He said Peterson’s wife and daughter were with him during his final moments. The cause of death was kidney failure, said Mississauga’s mayor, Hazel McCallion.
