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Have Yourself a Merry Little Jazz Christmas on WRTI 90.1

Joran Quinten / Unsplash
Happy Holidays from all of your friends at WRTI 90.1!

Spend your holiday season curled up and comfortable with your dial tuned to WRTI. We're bringing you warm doses of yuletide cheer during our regular jazz programs, with holiday classics from Nat King Cole and Duke Ellington nipping at your ears, along with soon-to-be holiday favorites from the Michael Treni Big Band and Gregory Porter.

The frequency of holiday cheer will increase leading up to Christmas Eve and Christmas Night, where it will be all holiday, all night long.

On Christmas Eve morning at 9 am, WRTI will present An Afro Blue Christmas. Join us for a very special holiday concert with Howard University's premiere vocal ensemble Afro Blue and special guest pianist Cyrus Chestnut.  Hear the a-cappela group perform a variety of holiday songs including African-American spirituals, jazz and pop tunes, and classical repertoire.  The joyous celebration includes one of a kind arrangements on traditional holiday songs plus new compositions…music perfect for the holidays and the spirit of Christmas.  Hosted by Michele Norris.

On Christmas Eve at 12 noon, join us for Jazz Piano Christmas 33. Join the Kennedy Center and NPR Music for a special Mardi Gras-themed holiday concert. Hosted by Felix Contreras.

Also on Christmas Eve:

1 pm: Jazz at Lincoln Center, Red-Hot Stomp - Jazz Stream Only

2 pm: Holiday Standard Time with Michael Feinstein - Jazz Stream Only

3 to 6 pm: Christmas Voices in Jazz with Bob Craig - Jazz Stream Only

6 pm: The Canadian Brass, Christmastime Is Here

On Christmas Day at 4 pm, join us for Carols and Cheer. Host Scott Blankenship joins forces with Matthew Culloton, artistic director of The Singers, to review their favorite carols this holiday season. From holiday classics to contemporary hits, audiences will love singing along as the two share their top picks for the Christmas season, performed by today's leading artists and ensembles.

Directly following Carols and Cheer is Christmas with the Morehouse and Spelman Glee Clubs. One of the great holiday traditions in America, the choirs of Morehouse and Spelman Colleges -- two of the most prestigious historically black institutions in the nation -- get together to present a spine-tingling concert program. This encore presentation features the best works of the last several years. It's a joyous celebration of the schools' tradition of singing excellence, with their trademark mixture of spirituals and carols. Korva Coleman hosts.

Starting on December 26th at 9 pm, join us as we celebrate the music that made 2017 a truly special year for jazz. The Top 100 Countdown of 2017 will run from 9 pm until midnight every night until we reach YOUR favorite new release of 2017 on Friday, December 29th.

Ring in the New Year with WRTI as we present Toast of  the Nation starting at 9 pm on December 31st. An NPR tradition every New Year's Eve since the 1970s, Toast of the Nation is the perfect audio complement for the occasion. It's festive jazz you can party to, all night long. Spirited, improvised, and swinging, each segment stops in a special venue, throughout the country.