Jazz For The Holidays – Festive Piano Transcriptions by Paul Tobey

A Jazz Pianist’s Gift to the Season: Nine Jazz Piano Transcriptions That Swing with Holiday Spirit

Dear fellow jazz lovers,

This book is more than sheet music—it’s the love-child of classical roots and jazz fire, born under Christmas trees and candlelit sanctuaries. Dedicated to my wife Nancy, whose quiet courage through 2024’s trials reminds me why music endures, and in anticipation of our first grandson George arriving just after Christmas 2025, Jazz for the Holidays captures the melodies that have carried me through decades of midnight gigs, church processions, and family traditions.

From my feet dangling off the organ bench at age seven, learning to bend “Silent Night” into something soul-stirring under the gentle guidance of Markwell J. Perry, to colliding classical training with university jazz—this collection is that collision made tangible. Handwritten in the glow of pine needles and candle wax, these nine transcriptions invite you to hand a master chef’s perfect cut to a jazz pianist: we season, sear, and serve back richer, smokier, twice as soulful. Many are the wizardry of transcriber Przemysław Jaworucki, who catches ghost notes even I missed; others hail from my best-selling 2003 album Paul Tobey’s Christmas at the Piano, Saturday-morning livestreams, or annual online concerts. All are forged in front of audiences craving the season’s spirit wrapped in swing—recorded live on my inspiring Ibach F3 Grand Piano in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada.

What’s Inside: Your Festive Jazz Repertoire

• Carol of the Bells (p. 5): Explodes into double-time blues, breathing new life into the Ukrainian motif. (Bass & Drums Backing Track Included)
• God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (p. 17): Storms in F minor with thick, chest-rumbling block chords.
• I’ll Be Home for Christmas (p. 27): Settles into warm G-major glow, laced with poignant tension for the song’s longing.
• It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (p. 35): Keeps the happy melody front and center, slyly slipping in silky III-VI-II-V turnarounds.
• Let It Snow! (p. 39): Stuffed with tritone substitutions and rolling 10ths for ultimate winter coziness.
• O Christmas Tree (p. 43): Channels Vince Guaraldi’s cool and Oscar Peterson’s fire, with a trio backing track to turn your piano into the hippest holiday band. (Bass & Drums Backing Track Included)
• The Christmas Song (p. 50): Bright C-major reharmonization—chestnuts roasting on an open fire, fresh yet timeless.
• The Christmas Waltz (p. 53): Floats in three-quarter time with Sinatra-commissioned romance and elegance (1954 origins included).
  White Christmas (p. 58): Closes with the warmest jazz embrace, inspired by my favorite holiday film.

These aren’t stiff carols—they’re sturdy enough for a lifetime of harmonic mischief, simple for a child to hum, sacred enough to hush a room. Dive into reharmonized progressions, locked-hand voicings, and bluesy licks that surprise and enchant, balancing tradition with bold exploration. Whether mastering the chromatic modulations in Let It Snow! or the rubato storytelling in I’ll Be Home for Christmas, each chart demands nuance but rewards with improvisational fluency. Pair them with the original recordings (linked) to feel their swing come alive.

Light the fire, pour something warm, and play one for your family, friends, or solo concert. Watch these generational melodies turn brand new—personal, alive, unmistakably yours. May your chords be lush, your swing effortless, and your Christmas nothing short of magical.

Merry Christmas,
Paul Tobey
December 2025 © 2025 Paul Tobey & Pilgrim Productions Incorporated. All rights reserved. Published by Paul Tobey & Pilgrim Productions Incorporated. Ideal for intermediate to advanced pianists—total value if purchased separately is $175.55

Check out this samples of one of the sheet music transcriptions in this book: