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Two kinds of people consume Christmas music: those who actually like the stuff, and folks who need something listenable on hand in case seasonal visitors insist on some ornamental mood music. For both groups, two new jazz brass albums should do the trick. Critic Kevin Whitehead reviews.

spalding and the Loving presences play a spirit-nourishing Tiny Desk home concert featuring selections from her Songwrights Apothecary Lab, (S.A.L.) project.

Ahmad Jamal was one of the few jazz musicians who achieved commercial success, having several hits on the R&B charts. He also had a major influence on Miles Davis. This album, Ahmad Jamal at the Pershing: But Not for Me, contains "Poinciana," which played on jukeboxes across the country.

Saxophonist Ornette Coleman burst on the jazz scene in the 1950s with a new kind of music called "free jazz," which he called "harmodolics." He and his band broke away from traditional melodic conventions, creating controversy and revolutionizing the jazz art form. This album catches him and his group at its peak.

From sorrow, the music builds to a climax of intensity, and finally reaches serene acceptance. Commentator Rob Kapilow conducts a guided tour of Barber's best-known piece.

Action-Refraction, the bassist and composer's new album, is mostly covers. He says that putting a personal spin on the songs he loves often requires breaking them apart.

Once upon a time, an NPR Music series called JazzSet With Branford Marsalis visited clubs, concerts and festivals across the country and around the world. Today, our founding host runs his own record label, and JazzSet visits the Marsalis Music Stage at Newport, where Chilean-born Claudia Acuna sets political folk songs to the sounds of jazz.

The legendary entertainer broke barriers for African-Americans in film and television, as well as on stages from Las Vegas to Broadway. Horne died Sunday in New York at the age of 92.

The jazz trumpeter chats about and performs songs from his album Yesterday You Said Tomorrow. He tells guest host Audie Cornish about how he developed his signature breathy sound, and his education in jazz which came from his family, formal schooling, and the clubs in his hometown of New Orleans.

Yes, even within the hallowed halls of classical music, one can find all manner of hoodwinking, horseplay and even a raunchy song or two. Hear Renee Montagne and Miles Hoffman spin some of the more lewd and laughable musical jokes.