#holiday jazz

[winter-christmas-aesthetics]

By @thebrontemarie on TikTok

[lifeofafemalebibliophile]

What I'm Listening To...Holiday Jazz

Hello readers! I love listening to music of all genres on a daily basis. I can’t go a day without popping on some headphones and listening to some upbeat tunes while I dance around my room or relax from a long day by listening to calming songs. In this blog post series, I’ll be sharing some of my favorite song picks with you in a mini-playlist of five songs. This month’s edition of “What I’m��

[jtristan]

background jazz N°37 'A Midnight Christmas Alone'

Thank you for listening to "A Midnight Christmas Alone." This album brings you the gentle sounds of Christmas with a touch of soulful jazz piano, blending beautifully with saxophone, guitar, and electric keys to create a warm, peaceful ambiance for the season. Perfect for working, relaxing, or simply unwinding.

[afriblaq]

Events leading up to Billie’s death.

—In 1939, Billie Holiday recorded the first great protest song of the Civil Rights Movement, ‘Strange Fruit’ —“Strange Fruit” was originally a poem written by Abel Meeropol, under his pseudonym Lewis Allan, as a protest against lynchings and later set it to music. First performed by Meeropol’s wife and their friends in social contexts, his protest song gained a certain success in and around New York

—The song soon came to Billie Holiday’s attention, and after so many frequent requests of that song, she closed out EVERY performance with it. The waiters would stop serving ahead of time for complete silence, the room would darken, a spotlight would shine on Holiday’s face, and there would be no encore

—Radio stations in the South wouldn’t play it, record labels wouldn’t record it, oa BUT YET, the song rose in the charts selling over I million copies. Despite the success, a government agency was determined to shut her down.

—One night in 1939, Holiday received a warning from the Federal Bureau of Narcotics to never sing the song again. This order was led by FBN commissioner Harry Anslinger, also known as an “extreme racist in the 1920’s”. He had a mission to eradicate all drugs everywhere, and believed jazz music was the problem. His attack on this genre of music was racially led.

—Holiday’s known struggles with alcohol, drugs, and vocal voice against white supremacy made her a target. He sent undercover agents after her, including arranging for her abusive husband to set her up.

—She was put on trial (The United States of America vs. Billie Holiday) just wanting to recover, but was sent to prison and her cabaret license was revoked. That didn’t keep her down. She continue to perform “Strange Fruit” even at a sold out show at Carnegie Hall

—In 1959, Holiday collapsed and was sent to the hospital with liver disease and goes into heroin withdrawal. Her friend managed to have the hospital give her methadone to help her recover.

—Arslinger’s team arrested her on her hospital bed cutting off her methadone medication after claiming to have found heroin in her bedroom. I0 days later, Holiday died.

In other words, they murdered her.

[saydesole]

Happy Black History Month

Black Jazz Musicians

Their names are presented below, in chronological order from top to bottom

Louis Armstrong 1901-1971

Ella Fitzgerald 1917-1996

Duke Ellington 1899-1974

Miles Davis 1926-1991

Billie Holiday 1915-1959

Count Baise 1904-1984

Sarah Vaughn 1924-1990

Nancy Wilson 1937-2018

[disease]

Billie Holiday unapologetically performing "Strange Fruit" as the final song in her set, circa 1939, with bold disregard to the controversial story it may have painted for her audience. 👑

[ihatebrainstorm]

small collection of sketchy doodlydodads from @bloominglegumes 's Jazz n Powl humanformers au bc they live in my head rent free all day everyday ;v;;

[gotchibam]

Shiny Gallade ko-fi doodle for Faleve! ✨

[dcxdpdabbles]

Holiday request: congratulations it's triplets

Jason avoids his kids for a while.

He didn't mean to, but it was hard to face them after realizing he passed along his burden. The triplets didn't seem to mind his absence, running amok through the Annex without a care in the world.

Word of Jazz got around quickly despite Bruce and Tim working overtime to manage the rumors. Jason was worried about how she reacted to the articles circulating terrible stories about her.

He had been so worried he had given his family permission to watch them closer. It was an invasion of privacy, and it drove him up a wall to stoop to Bruce's level, but Jason had to know.

He had already left her to raise three kids on her own. The thought of leaving her to deal with the media storm he caused was unthinkable. Steph had been the one to volunteer for the reconnaissance mission, stating that her absence wouldn't be as noticeable as someone who was not living in the manor.

Jason let her loose into the Annex and buried himself in Red Hood missions, trying not to let his stomach turn whenever he thought of those small faces lit up in green. Every once in a while, he would click open the daily reports Steph uploaded into their shared drive, smiling at his children's antics.

Out of the three, Danny was the voice of reason. Dan was always down to brawl, and Danielle had wanderlust. Steph made multiple notes that his children were intelligent beyond their years- he knew that already- but to see examples of how their intelligence showed had Jason puffing out his chest.

He was about to brag about his kids to some of his men in a fit of madness when one report showed the three re-wiring a toaster to shoot out blades for self-defense. Jasmine had to confiscate it.

Thankfully he had snapped his mouth shut before even a hint of his kids left his mouth- he already exposed them as Jason Todd, he couldn't image the danger they would be in as Red Hood's children. It didn't stop him from listening in whenever his men gathered around and chatted about their kids.

He made a note to pay for Amber's kid to go on that field trip he was so excited about. The less he could do for having his mom in Red Hood's gang.

Jason found himself very intrigued with Jasmine as well. He was worried she was struggling with the news. Her reaction to the paparazzi at the zoo had been to burst into tears.

Now, it was to snort and roll her eyes. She even joked with the kids, letting them read what was said about her and mocking the gossip rags.

Jason couldn't figure her out.

She was tough as nails and gentle as cotton. Jasmine's communication with her friends and co-workers was distant. She kept them at arm's length like she wasn't expecting to make deep bonds.

That could be that she had no time as a single mother to three, but even now, while living at the Wayne Manor, she seemed in no real hurry to lay down the foundations for a permanent life. It worried him greatly because the last person he saw acted like that, lost herself to drugs, and Jason ended up on the streets.

There were also no other signs of the triplets having Pit Madness after the zoo incident. Steph, not so studly, highlighted this in her reports, telling him without telling him to come home, but Jason just couldn't bear it.

Before he realized it, a month went by, and his kids grew without him again. Jason attempted to find a reason to reappear in their lives, psyching himself out at the last second.

A burst of reality came in the shape of a tiny voice of reason.

"What are you doing here?" Danny snapped at him, disregarding all the guns being aimed at him. The boy had burst into a Red Hood meeting, somehow getting past his outdoor guards, up to the second floor where the meeting was being held, and kicking open the door before anyone had even known he was there.

His glowing green eyes had frozen Jason in his seat until he realized it was the lens of the mask He was grateful that Danny had considered keeping his identity hidden by wearing the red half-mask Jason used to sport during his Prince of Gotham days.

He was even wearing a little suit, a blatant attempt to replicate the same outfit of Jason's club running days. It would have been adorable if it hadn't been so heart-stopping to think his boy would ever get mixed up in this life.

He quickly raised a hand, slowly closing it as a single to make everyone stand down. Everyone seemed to be relieved when he did, as none of his men liked harming children.

It's why they were in Jason's inner circle. He didn't hire assholes who thought it was okay to mess up a child.

Danny marched up to the conference table, his little head not reaching the tabletop because Jason was dramatic enough to ask for a raised table and force all his people into stole-like chairs. It didn't deter Danny since his son quickly waved Harry over to him.

His treasurer and bookkeeper shoot Jason a look of panic but move towards the boy once he gets a nod from the Red Hood. Harry crouched down to Danny's level, lending his ear to the small boy.

Jason couldn't see what they were doing until Danny used Harry's linked hands as a stepping stool to scramble onto the table. Harry, for his part, looked to be fighting a smile when Danny grabbed his shoulder to steady himself.

Once the small boy's feet were on the table, he straightened his vest and marched up to Jason. He stopped with a snap of his legs together and demanded while crossing his tiny arms. "Why haven't you been home? Mom misses you."

Jason's mouth opened and closed like a fish, but no one could see that with his helmet. Danny's green eyes narrowed. "No words to defend yourself, Dad?"

The people in the room gasped. Jason felt himself cower in front of the small child, who clicked his tongue and tapped his foot in the way he had seen Jasmine do when upset with the children. "I don't know why she likes you so much, but she does. You have one hour to finish up your meeting, and then we'll go home for dinner. Mom made lasagna."

Jason couldn't believe what he was hearing. Words tumbled out of his mouth before he could think it through. "Who's going to make me?"

Danny snapped his fingers, and the doors were thrown up a second time by Dan and Dani, wearing the same outfits but in green and blue, respectively. The green lens remains a constant with them, too, and really, it's not good for his health. "We will drag you there. If we figure out the family's secret, we can force you to go."

"We aren't afraid of biting," Dan threatens, clicking his teeth together hard enough. His voice modifier picks it up into a deeper chomp than it was.

Dani throws her ponytail over her shoulder in one smooth motion, nodding her head. The adults are all attempting to smother their laughter when she aims a plastic sword at Jason as if she were making a dangerous treat.

"I''llCutYou" She says in a fast little growl and honestly. It's the least threatening thing he's ever been told.

"Do you yield to our demands?" Danny demands, sounding smug somehow, and suddenly, Jason finds he doesn't want to be anywhere else than at the Wayne Annex having dinner with these little monsters.

He laughs, throwing his head back, ignoring how Danny's tiny fists landed on his chest in punches that fell like air. He reaches out, dragging his son into a hug, and breathes him in as his other children round the table to land harmless punches of their own. He grabs them all, crushing them against him and feeling their heartbeats against him.

His children are alive and come to drag him from the darkness. How could he ignore their call?

"Meeting adjourned." He says, standing with the three hanging off him. "I have dinner plans."

His men smile back, eyes soft as Jason marches out. Dan climbs to sit on his shoulders, releasing a battle cry when he manages to reach his goal while Danny sits in one of his arms, content with being carried. Dani sits in the other but moves about, patting her sword against Jason's biceps in a random rhythm.

He feels an overwhelming sense of gratitude to the heavens. He has them at this very moment.

Jason is going to be there for his children. No more running. No more hiding.

Pit Maddnes be damned.

[catcake24]

Celebrations

Summary: based on the Mecha Pilot Jazz Au by @keferon and inspired by the holiday season, primarily Christmas since that is the holiday I personally celebrate every year. JazzProwl fic, mostly fluff.

From what Jazz could tell, it had been roughly a year and a half since he had been flung into space and inadvertently made first contact. So much had happened, it was hard to believe it was so little time – but at the same time, he knew how moments could stretch out into what felt like days.

He had only been outed as an alien organic a few months ago, but he had settled into a new routine. It was hard sometimes, to get all your needs in a base designed for giant robots, but he managed. He had managed for all those months even before he was found out.

But there were still things that couldn’t be recreated out in space – like the holiday celebrations.

It wasn’t anything fancy, but everyone back home that had to be on call during the holidays would put together a little party of their own. They couldn’t get smashed or do anything too stupid, but the white elephant games and helping to a light a Menorah for the first time was good enough.

It gave him the warm fuzzies, along with the worst food coma he’s ever had after eating too much holiday food from the potluck.

But out here? He didn’t even know what kind of holidays Cybertronians had, if they even did have them. He assumed they gotta, but either weren’t celebrating, or this was one of those things that they did on a much longer calendar than a human one.

It was lonely to be the only human, even surrounded by his friends, and the lack of shared holidays just made that worse.

“What’s on your processor?” Prowl asked, jarring Jazz out of his sleepy daydreaming thoughts. He had dozed off a little, and was thinking of the lights and snow from back home.

“Oh, it’s nothing Prowler,” Jazz said with a smile, “just thinking of home.”

“Hmn,” Prowl said, contemplative expression on his metal face. It was very handsome to see, when he was trying to work through a problem in his processor.

“It’s okay,” Jazz said, giving a pat to Prowl’s large hand near him. “I’m happy to be here, I just miss some things from home.”

Prowl shifted his attention away from his work, leaning on the desk. It was hard to describe just how large Prowl was sometimes, not just in physical size but presence. He could take up an entire room without even trying, drawing all the light towards him.

He was an absolute catch, even if he happened to be an alien older than dirt that could turn into a car. Sometimes Jazz wonders when the ridiculous became mundane, or how he was so lucky be able to know Prowl.

“Tell me about it,” Prowl said, looking at Jazz with a considerable expression.

Jazz hummed lightly as he thought about where to start, and decided that the holidays were a good place to start – as it was already on his mind.

“Well… around now, it would be winter, what we call the holiday season. We have so many different celebrations around that time, but my family -er, clan, always celebrated Christmas,” Jazz then looked up, considering how to explain it.

“Christmas is a festival, celebrated near the winter solstice – when the day reaches it’s shortest. There were a few different explanations for it, but it was mostly about giving eachother gifts, getting together with family, and eating food.”

“We also would string up lights across houses and buildings, since the days were so short it would light up whole streets. My folks used to walk up and down all of our neighbours, handing out sugar cookies,” he smiled to himself, remembering how his mom would bundle him up for the Washington winters and how he loved to watch all the houses with blinking lights, reflecting off the white snow.

“There were others too of course, but I still have a soft spot for Christmas,” Jazz admitted.

Prowl was listening intently, nodding along. “I see, we did similar things in Praxus before the war.”

Jazz perked up, “Really? What was it like?”

“Well… We celebrated once every half vorn. You see, Cybertron’s orbit around the sun was tilted in such a way that our city would be completely in darkness for periods of time. We celebrated the ends of those periods with a festival, where we would hang lights on the crystal gardens and bake crystal treats,” Prowl said, him having a turn at being wistful. "We all gathered together to see the sun rise after all the darkness, and we would have a day off to bask in the first new day."

Jazz smiled, “It sounds nice.”

Prowl nodded, “It was. I’m sorry you can’t attend your Christmas Festival, it sounds important to you.”

Jazz shrugged, “It’s okay, I’m happy to spend the time with you.”

Prowl smiled then, rare and soft and genuine. It couldn’t replace what Jazz missed, but it did help a little.

[lascitasdelashoras]

Billie Holiday, by Charles Hewitt The LIFE Picture Collection Getty

[sjnjournal]

Billie Holiday with her boxer Mister, listening to some records, likely Jazz, 1945.

[liibation]

Happy holidays @habitualtruant !!!! Heres my little bsd secret santa present to you :333

[samarajoysings]

get un-ready with me :)

It’s week two of my family holiday tour and I wanted to show you how I get un-ready after a night on stage! Some of my skincare favorites are Caudalie, Bioderm and Tatcha cream :) and shoutout to Alexis Bittar for the earrings!

[julykings]

last bits of last year

[sanjaangie]