I usually never like Christmas jazz CDs. They seem like too much novelty and they don’t often do justice to artist’s talent or the familiar traditional songs. And let’s face it, not many artists can pull off a Christmas album like say a Tony Bennett that has the potential to become a yearly standard. It’s usually a one season wonder.

But that’ not to say there aren’t any good jazz Christmas CDs. Here are a few good ones from my own collection:

1. “A JAZZY WONDERLAND’ VARIOUS ARTISTS (COLUMBIA 1990): Friend and St. Joseph News-Press colleague Catherine Woolridge gave me this CD in an office gift exchange a few years ago. To be honest from the title, I didn’t expect much. I thought it would be one of those cutesy, hook-laden instrumental affairs. But to my surprise, this compilation has become be one of favorite Christmas CDs.

It’s real jazz artists, like Branford and Wynton Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, Kirk Whalum and Richard Tee playing real jazz without compromise. There’s no dumbing of the traditional songs like “Silent Night” to make them more palpable to the masses.

That’s not to mean the tunes are unrecognizable. On the contrary. They’re simply done with the elegance and emoption that only jazz can add.

Just listen to Harry Connick Jr and Brandford Marsalis tear into “This Christmas.”

2. SNOWBOUND” FOURPLAY (WARNER BROS 1999): Fourplay is one of the most popular smooth jazz groups around. It’s Bob James on keyboards, Larry Carlton on guitar, Nathn East on bass and vocal and Harvey Mason on drums. Accomplished jazz musician all.

The title tune “Snowbound”an original compistion by Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen, setsthe tone here. To say it’s nice background music is not to say there isn’t enough here to be musically interesting. It’s just music that warm and easy on the senses, like a sip of cognac on a wintry, candlelit night.

3. JAZZYULELOVE II VARIOUS ARTISTS (MACK AVENUE): This Chritams CD is intersting because it features soem of the lessr know aertists in jazz like Oscar Castro-Neves. Ilona Knopfler and thec Hot Club of Detroit. These folks do a good job of keeping it real to jazz too. The arrangements are top shelf and played with elegant virtuosity.

“The Chipmunk Song” by the Hot Club of Detroit is a hoot. These guys are Django Reinhardt disciples so imagine this cute children’s song done gypsy jazz style. There’s lots of musical surprises like this on the CD. Each song puts amazing creativy and imaginative but accesible spin on Christmas music that just forces you to listen.