During the late '90s, Windham Hill began to add more jazz artists to their label. To some purists, these musicians weren't necessarily jazz, since they played smooth jazz, but there was little question that these artists had more of a jazz bent than the ones that built Windham Hill in the '80s. The label decided to showcase these musicians -- including the Braxton Brothers,
Lani Hall,
Tim Weisberg,
June Kuramoto,
Todd Cochran,
Larry Coryell,
Ricky Peterson,
Earl Klugh and
Paul Horn & Jeffrey Haskell -- with A Jazz Christmas: A Windham Hill Collection. There may not be much "real jazz" here, at least in the eyes of purists, but it's a relaxing, mellow listen that's ideal for low-key holiday parties. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine