In preparation of upcoming holiday events, I arranged a handful of jazz Christmas charts, or rather, Jazz christmas lead sheets. Keep in my mind, these were created specifically for my band – so these jazz christmas charts are very bare-bones and minimal. They provide a skeleton from which we’ll have fun reinventing and playing them in a variety of ways.
Download the PDF here: MarkRapp_Xmas_Tunes_2014.pdf
As I explained on a recent Facebook post answering a question from a fellow musician, when I write arrangements or originals, I intentionally do not write every accent, every rhythmic permutation, or dictate every nuance. I give enough information so everyone understands the vibe, the general idea, the basic scene and the story to be told. From that context, we dive in, play and have fun.
Here are 18 Jazz Christmas charts that might come in handy for your holiday gigs. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!
Angels We Have Heard on High
Christmas Time is Here
Deck the Halls
Frosty the Snowman
Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas
Jingle Bells
Jolly Old St. nicholas
Last Christmas
Let It Snow v1
Let It Snow v2 (minor key)
O Come All ye Faithful
Rocking Around the Christmas Tree
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
The Christmas Song
Up on the Housetop
We Three Kings of Orient Are
Download the Download the Jazz Christmas charts PDF here: MarkRapp_Xmas_Tunes_2014.pdf