Ellis Marsalis’ ‘New Orleans Christmas Carol’ is a showcase for the underexposed patriarch of the city’s first family of jazz, and a record of sumptuous charm.

There’s something at once familiar, and entirely brand new, about Turkish drummer Ferit Odman’s just-released Autumn In New York. Taking his cue from jazz drumming and bandleading legend Art Blakey, Odman investigates a series of tunes associated with the Blakey band, and even includes former members of the Jazz MessengersRead More

The Gathering, a homey Christmas-themed Americana and roots album, features singer-songwriter Laurelyn Dossett and others recording in a suitably rustic locale: a house in Greensboro, North Carolina. You May Also Like: Richard Lloyd Giddens Jr. – Mimosas (2017)

The Bo-Keys, with a spring-loaded, testifying Memphis vibe associated with Otis Redding, Rufus Thomas and Al Green, have put out an album that bubbles like a dark, spicy gumbo. You May Also Like: Al Green’s Secular Comeback Was Made Complete With Lay It Down The Black Keys Hit Upon theRead More

Having already shown a smart penchant for pensive, piano-driven pop, Vanessa Carlton becomes quieter still for this effective update of a modern-day John Lennon holiday standard. You May Also Like: Larry Carlton was at his most approachable with Tak Matsumoto on Take Your Pick

In what just may be the freak-nastiest Yuletide-themed track ever, Holidelic takes Tchaikovsky’s delicately ornate “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies” on a grave-spinningly fonky ride. You May Also Like: Neil Young Set a Solo Course on ‘Sugar Mountain: Live at Canterbury House’

Sure, this Jon Anderson song is a guilty pleasure. But what part of Christmas isn’t, really?

We’ve all heard the lout in the back of the crowd, yelling “Freebird!” or some such annoying thing. On this tour, Elvis Costello brings those guys right on stage. You May Also Like: Elvis Costello’s ‘The Delivery Man’ Once Again Resisted the Urge to Look Back

The range and scope of Ray Charles’ talent could never be contained within one genre, no matter its lasting joys.

Evan Cobb’s sleekly confident Falling Up, set for release on Nov. 29, punches a gaping hole in the old saw about educators. You know the one that goes: “Those who can, do; those who can not, teach.” That’s perhaps best heard on “Eastern Bell Feel,” a hip update of theRead More