Solo Piano for Christmas with Nick Bhalla

Last year, Minneapolis-based jazz pianist Nick Bhalla released Saint Nick, a lovely album of solo jazz piano treatments of Christmas classics. His approach is interest in his laser-like focus on harmony, at the expense of the improvisation that dominates much of his musical practice. Rather than explore the melodic possibilities the best loved Christmas songs offer, he hones in on harmony, creating a tight, lovely half-hour of beautiful Christmas music.

You can find Bhalla’s music at his Bandcamp page, and in the episode I mentioned the “Festive Foreign Film Fans” podcast, and you can find it on Spotify.