I'm in the process of tabulating all the choices of 'best albums' as selected by jazz critics and jazz aficianados and posted online. Then I play a track from some of those albums on this 5 part series.

This week: tracks from current recordings by this year's Grammy nominees Kenny Barron and Samara Joy. And from critically heralded albums by Bill Frisell, Michael Mayo, Kris Davis, Andy Milne, Fabiano do Nascimento & Sam Gendel, Jennie Scheinman, Modern Jazz & Folk Ensemble, Emmet Cohen, and Verneri Pohjola.

Posting this episode a few hours earlier than usual----so you have more time to savour these delightful Christmas, Chanukah, Yuletide, New Years, and Winter tunes played by some of today's finest jazz artists. I also talk a bit about the history of some of the tunes. But not so much talk and lots of music.

Very different from the seasonal music you hear in the stores.

This podcast originally started as a Trent Radio program in 2016. It became a podcast in 2017. The original goal was to discover more about jaz, answering questions like what is jazz, what isn't jazz, how has it developed, do you have to understand it to like it, and what can someone new to jazz look for. I still don't know the answers to those questions even after 8 years....so I guess I have to continue doing it.

For this 300th episode I play an eclectic array with the only commonality being that they are all recordings I feel like playing right now.

It includes tracks by Vince Guaraldi, Ellas Kapell, Gene (Eugene) McDaniels, Count Basie, Stu Goldberg, George Russell, Susan Alcorn, Sandro Dominelli, Wayne Shorter, and ---believe it or not---Lou Christie.

And hopefully they are presented in a way that the whole program feels cohesive.

Feedback is always appreciated....please post it on whatever podcast site from which you get your podcasts. Thanks.

-Larry

It's a different kind of review because rather than reviewing the different topics I've put forward over the years, I'm doing a random review of some of the records I played. What you hear this week (and last) I picked out of a table of random numbers. And everything turned out to be either excellent---or at least very good.

I even unintentionally selected two recordings that are strictly blues.....and pretty classic blues. One from 1927, and the other from 1981.

The ending tune is the one that introduced Afro Cuban jazz to New York.

Two Canadian artists selected are both from Victoria B.C., where I lived for about three years.

And one selection ended up being very appropriate for the winter holiday season (I don't say "Christmas" because it's not actually a Christmas song).

Lots more, too. A total of 13 great jazz or jazz oriented selections.

I take a random sample of music I've played since I first started this podcast in 2017. And here's what came up! (Don't read this if you want to be as surprised as I was re. what's on this episode).

The vinyl are some great albums that I found at a garage sale this past month. The Shellac are some 78rpm records that were at my local Goodwill Store. Did you know that 78rpm records are some of the 'greenest' technology ever invented? Infinitely recycleable.

Great music by the likes of Nat King Cole Trio, Coleman Hawkins, Hazel Scott, Gerry Mulligan, Horace Silver, Johnny Pate Quintet, Blossom Dearie, Otis Williams and the Charms, Ziggy Elman, and even Guy Lombardo. And don't forget Skinnay Ennis. Have you ever heard of him? What a fascinating voice.

People make fun of them. But when I researched jazz accordionists I found so many great ones that it was a challenge to 'squeeze-box' them into one episode.

Names like Ben Rosenblum, Art Van Damme, Tommy Gumina, Richard Galliano, Mat Mathews, and David Lange are heralded musicians who play great jazz. And on this episode I also play a few who are 'far-out there'---like Joelle Leandre, and Bube Sapravie.

Then there are some fine Canadian acordionist s like Tom Sczesniac, Adrian Dolan, Gordie Fleming,

This is an episode that accordion fans---and those willing to 'explore' the instrument's many possibilities---shouldn't miss.

Addendum: You can now follow my posts on Bluesky (an alternative to twitter or 'x' to which many people are turning). @larrytheradioguy.bsky.social

Last week I played a few Canadian jazz albums that I either really like or have made the Jazzweek charts---or, in most cases, both!

Three of these albums are led by musicians who play regularly at The Yardbird Suite in Edmonton, where I live. They include records by Joel Jeschke, Brett Hansen,and The Way Back Whens.

Also featured are new recordings by Noah Abrahamse (a great Latin album), two tracks from the latest Caity Gyorgy album, Neil Swainson with Renee Rosnes and Quincy Davis, Ernesto Cervini's Turboprop, Holly Cole, and guitarist extraordinaire Jocelyn Gould.

I've noticed a lot of albums by Canadians on this year's JazzWeek charts. And there are some new ones that, surprisingly, haven't made those charts. I've taken some time to listen to some of those albums and play tracks that stand out for me. And what a variety! Enought great quality recordings for two episodes.

Some of the artists you'll hear this week include:

-Jeremy Ledbetter Trio

-Bria Skonberg (with Gabrielle Cavassa)

-Brasstactics

-Kris Davis

-Angela Verbrugge

-John Lee

-Aretha Tillotson

-Christopher Parnis

-Nick Adema

-Sahil Chugh.

This episode includes some great versions of ridiculous television themes and some crazier versions of great ones! A lot of it is pretty weird But the jazz is all first rate.

Some of what you'll hear:

-Did you know that Sun Ra did an early album on a children's label? From that you'll hear a very familiar theme.

-A theme where one of the criteria for it's composition was that it must be "the supidest song ever written".

-Gary Burton Quartet doing what I thought was one of the most ridiculous tv themes.

-A Canadian mystery/comedy program that has been on the air for 18 seasons.

-Ornette Coleman and Charlie Haden playing a theme from a soap opera satire.

-Mickey Mouse theme sung on an album called "Nice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast"

-The original and a fascinating jazz version of The Six Million Dollar Man

-The Spiderman theme played by a group led by a jazz banjoist/

-Lots more!