A Jazz Piano Christmas 2025 – But not at the Kennedy Center

For more than three decades, “A Jazz Piano Christmas” at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. has been a quiet highlight of the holiday season for jazz and piano lovers. No fixed formulas, no “seasonal jazz” clichés — just strong pianistic voices working with familiar material. This year, the live concert is on pause. Here’s what changed, and where pianists can still turn for meaningful jazz piano Christmas listening and playing.

For readers arriving here expecting the familiar annual concert recording, NPR Jazz Piano Christmas 2025 appears this year not as a newly recorded live event, but as a carefully curated anniversary broadcast marking 25 years of the NPR holiday program. Drawn from the archive of earlier Jazz Piano Christmas broadcasts, it offers a reflective look back at the pianists who shaped the series on air—an opportunity to listen across generations, styles, and eras, even as the Kennedy Center stage remains quiet this December.

Listen here >>

Why the Live Concert Is Missing This Year

The absence of a live Jazz Piano Christmas concert is the result of institutional change rather than artistic choice. In late 2025, the Kennedy Center underwent a politically driven restructuring that included a controversial renaming of the institution, along with the dismissal of senior artistic leadership.
As recently reported by the BBC, these changes were widely criticized within the cultural community and were followed by significant reductions in arts-focused programming, particularly in jazz.

With curatorial leadership removed and resources redirected, several long-standing initiatives were quietly paused or discontinued. A Jazz Piano Christmas, which depended on that artistic infrastructure, was among them, making this year’s absence less a scheduling anomaly than a direct consequence of shifting cultural priorities.

Alternative Jazz Piano Christmas Resources

There is still plenty of rewarding jazz piano Christmas music to listen to, and to play. The recordings, scores and other resources below offer something to return to, explore, and enjoy at your own pace.

Moments like this are reminders that musical traditions do not live only on official stages. When established concerts pause or disappear, the music often continues elsewhere—at the piano bench, in teaching studios, and through shared listening. In that sense, the spirit of a jazzy piano Christmas can still be found this season.

Listening

Revisiting past NPR Jazz Piano Christmas broadcasts via NPR’s archives also remains highly recommended, particularly as a way of hearing contrasting pianistic voices side by side.

A Jazz Piano Christmas 2024
A Jazz Piano Christmas 2023
A Jazz Piano Christmas 2022
A Jazz Piano Christmas 2021
A Jazz Piano Christmas 2020 – In Spite of Everything
A Jazz Piano Christmas 2019
A Jazz Piano Christmas 2018
A Jazz Piano Christmas 2017

Several well-established holiday jazz albums continue to stand as reference points. Here are our three top-picks:

• An Oscar Peterson Christmas – Elegant, joyful, and technically brilliant. Peterson’s unmistakable touch and swing bring virtuosity to familiar material without losing warmth.
• A Dave Brubeck Christmas – A more reflective, late-career statement, offering thoughtful solo piano interpretations and original pieces.
• A Charlie Brown Christmas – A true classic. Guaraldi’s blend of simplicity, swing, and pianistic taste has made this one of the most enduring holiday jazz recordings of all time, and a natural starting point for pianists.

More Christmas listening (Piano Street Magazine):
Sleigh Ride – A Holiday Greeting on 440 Keys
Christmas Music for Piano: Jeffrey Biegel Plays Sleigh Ride

Sheet music and playing

When digging deeper into the archives, we found more Christmas and winter related discussions, arrangements and direct access to sheet music:

• “Capturing The Christmas Spirit at the Piano!” — A Piano Street Magazine article with free downloadable jazz-influenced Christmas arrangements (e.g., Nikki Iles, Christopher Norton). Capturing The Christmas Spirit at the Piano!
• “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)” — A recent member-shared solo piano arrangement
• Franz Liszt: Weihnachtsbaum (Christmas Tree) — A highly diversified work which belongs to Liszt’s late period, and was dedicated to his granddaughter Blandina von Bülow.
• Tchaikovsky: December – Christmas – The last piece from The Seasons Op. 37
• Cesar Franck: Christmas Carol from Anjou – A charming little piece from Harmonium Pieces (L’Organiste)
• J. S. Bach: Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring – One of Bach’s most famous works, dating from 1723, Bach’s first year as Thomaskantor in Leipzig. A sweet hymn melody, surrounded by undulating triplets.
• Christmas Impressive Solo Piano Pieces! – Discussion about interesting classical pieces suitable for the season, including Reger, Liszt, and Bach transcriptions.
• “Christmas Chimes” (Composition for 2 pianos) – A potpourri of Christmas melodies in a forum member’s own rendition.
• Christmas Time Is Here – A First attempt at transcribing the song for solo piano.
• Repertoire related to winter and Xmas – A helpful planning thread for winter and holiday recital repertoire beyond the usual standards

Reader question:

Are there any particular pieces you enjoy having under your fingers during the holiday season?