Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life” is beautiful. It’s peculiar. It’s sad. It reflects a path of life on which we have all wandered. But which version is best?

Asked to pick five favorite Yuletide songs (and only five), our panel of holly-jolly musical enthusiasts offered some occasionally offbeat suggestions.

Ross Boissoneau digs into new seasonal sounds from Steve Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Norah Jones, Blackmore’s Night and others.

Preston Frazier’s look back at the Best of 2020 in box sets, live projects and reissues includes Trevor Rabin, Prince, Ian Dury, Greg Lake and others.

George Benson’s chart successes in the 1970s and ’80s as a breezy R&B crooner have largely obscured his initial promise as a boss jazz guitarist with a intelligent, liquid tone — an heir to Wes Montgomery’s throne. You May Also Like: Harry Benson – ‘Paul’ (2022): Books Paula Cole –Read More

Worried about being running aground in some tropic locale this Christmas season? Something Else! has you covered, with a new list of Yuletide favorites criss-crossing the usual stylistic landscape. You May Also Like: Danny Elfman and ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas,’ November 1, 2015: Shows I’ll Never Forget Jackson Browne, “ShakyRead More

The King has been dead for nearly a half century. Not that you’d know it with all the reissues, television specials and creepy rip offs from Nat Cole’s daughter over the last pair of decades. He’s funny that way. Cole has had more output over that period than many livingRead More

NICK DERISO: Young Freddy Cole had dreams of performing in the NFL. You might understand why the younger brother of Nat “King” Cole would shy away from playing piano and singing. But a severe injury to one hand led him to listen more closely to the emotions that jazz musicRead More