Norah Jones and Sir Michael Parkinson head Jazz FM's 2021 Festive Schedule

We're proud to reveal our festive series of programmes, which includes sizzling specials and a selection of guest-hosted shows.

On Christmas Day itself, Sir Michael Parkinson makes a return to the station following his series earlier in the year. Parky – My Kind of Jazz at Christmas will give him the opportunity to play his favourite Great American Songbook Christmas favourites.

Talking about the news, Sir Michael Parkinson said: “Some of the best Christmas songs ever were written in Hollywood where it never snows nor are there any Reindeer. Don’t believe me? Well then tune in to a special Christmas version of ‘Parky: My Kind of Jazz’ on Jazz FM and I’ll prove it to you.”

There will also be special programmes on Christmas Day from singer Norah Jones and YolanDa Brown, plus the star of Boxing Day’s festive Death In Paradise BBC 1 special – Danny John Jules – joins us to present his first show on the station. Later in the evening musician and broadcaster Clare Teal will take the baton from Sir Michael with a big band and swing Christmas night special.

"Jazz FM is an institution", Norah Jones said, "so I’m really excited and looking forward to spending Christmas Day afternoon with the Jazz FM listeners to relax them into the afternoon with some of the greatest Christmas songs ever recorded alongside a few from my new Christmas album”.

On Boxing Day, there’s a two hour The Lost Tapes special on Tony Bennett, the Lifetime Achievement Award winner at this year’s Jazz FM Awards that will feature unheard interview material courtesy of the UK's National Jazz Archive.

Following the last episode of Jazz FM’s first-ever comedy series there will be a Cabinet of Jazz Special – the Presidential Inauguration Concert with comedian and Jazz FM regular Marcus Brigstocke that will feature the live performances recorded over the series by the show’s guests such as Claire Martin, Jay Rayner and Clarke Peters.

For New Year’s Eve, the station will broadcast a New Orleans-themed party featuring, the funk-filled Galactic, US jazz musician Kermit Ruffins alongside the stations own NOLA specialist Lil’ Koko.

There will also be a chance for listeners to catch up on some of the ground-breaking and seminal moments from the last 12 months. There’s a chance to hear Jazz FM’s first drama – Space is The Place - take to the air again, along with the highlights from this years’ The Music That Made Me series. Sir Michael Parkinson appears again giving the listeners a chance to hear his first series of Parky – My Kind of Jazz too.

Finally, there will be a chance to hear the Jazz FM Awards 2021 in full alongside the backstage content collected over the night.

Jazz FM's 2021 Festive Special Schedule:

Week Commencing Monday 20th December

Schedule as usual except...

Christmas Eve: Friday 24th December

6pm –Sarah Ward’s Christmas Collection - Stalwart broadcaster Sarah Ward kicks off the Christmas weekend and break with her traditional selection of beautiful festive music from right around the world

Christmas Day: Saturday 25th December

6am – Jazz FM Christmas Breakfast – weekday breakfast show host Nigel Williams broadcasts live on Christmas morning with music to welcome you into the day

10am – YolanDa Brown on Christmas Day – Jazz FM’s Saturday afternoon presenter and CBeebies favourite YolanDa provides Christmas cheer and music.

1pm – Jamie Crick’s Christmas Requests – we hand the radio station over to the listeners and stars of the music to choose the songs for two hours

3pm – Norah Jones. The multiple award-winning vocalist joins Jazz FM for a special relaxing afternoon of music.

5pm – Danny John-Jules. Actor, comedian and Jazz fan Danny joins Jazz FM to play his favourite jazz, soul and blues ahead of his return to BBC1 smash TV show ‘Death In Paradise’ on Boxing Day.

7pm – Parky – My Kind of Jazz at Christmas with Sir Michael Parkinson. The broadcasting legend returns to Jazz FM with a selection of his favourite Christmas songs from the Great American Songbook.

8pm – The Clare Teal Christmas Show – more classic Christmas themed jazz, big band and swing with the broadcaster and musician.

Boxing Day Sunday 26th December

7pm – A Lost Tapes special – Tony Bennett. Helen Mayhew hosts a special profile of this year’s Jazz FM Awards Lifetime Achievement Award recipient via a series of never before heard tapes from The National Jazz Archive will give a rare glimpse into Tony’s world through interviews recorded by journalist Les Tomkins in 1966 and 1972.

9pm – The Cabinet of Jazz Presents... The Presidential Inauguration Concert. As Jazz FM’s first ever comedy series finishes, this special episode hosted by Marcus Brigstocke pulls together all of the live performances recorded over the series by the guests who played the role of Acting President. Features Jay Rayner, Claire Martin, Clarke Peters, Dennis Bovell, Gary Crosby and Isy Suttie

Week Commencing Monday 27th December

Schedule as usual except...

All week Monday to Friday

1300-1400 – The Class of 2021. Jazz FM plays the music that the station has made famous throughout the last 12 months, with special guests including....

2300-000 – Jazz FM Voices Party. Throughout 2021 – the central point of Jazz FM Voices has been ‘community’. So, we’re continuing that with our End of Year Party that’s spread across the week and into New Year’s Day. We’re headed to London, Leeds, Manchester, Bristol and Liverpool having commissioned local DJs to host an hour on Jazz FM that represents the sound of their city. (detail below)

Monday 27th December

6pm – Parky, My kind of Jazz (rpt). Sir Michael Parkinson plays the music in a selected repeat from his 2021 series. In this episode, Buddy Rich performs

9pm – Space Is The Place (rpt). A chance to hear again the ground-breaking drama series from 2020 back to back and in one go. Featuring the dramatized life stories of the original legends of jazz - Nina Simone, Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and Sun Ra

11pm – Jazz FM Voices Party: Manchester with Pablo Blanquito. Manchester-based DJ, curator and event producer Pablo Blanquito presents an hour of music with a dancers mentality.

Tuesday 28th December

6pm – Parky, My kind of Jazz (rpt). Sir Michael Parkinson plays the music in a selected repeat from his 2021 series. In this episode, we hear from Duke Ellington

9pm – The Lost Tapes. Earlier in 2021, Helen Mayhew presented never-before tapes from Oscar Peterson and Art Blakey (thanks to the National Jazz Archive) plus Stan Getz (thanks to the Getz family). Tonight is a chance to hear the highlights from those four stunning interviews.

11pm – Jazz FM Voices Party: Bristol with Worm Disco Club. The Bristol collective Worm Disco Club showcase an hour of groovy, funky, Afro-tropical tunes with a heavy dose of disco.

Wednesday 29th December

6pm – Parky, My kind of Jazz (rpt). Sir Michael Parkinson plays the music in a selected repeat from his 2021 series. In this episode, we have a performance from Stephane Grappelli and Yehudi Menuhin

9pm – The Music That Made Me 2021 – Nigel Williams presents the highlights from this year’s series of in-depth conversations with Pat Metheny, Dianne Reeves, Candi Station, Wynton Marsalis, Christian McBride and Nile Rodgers.

11pm – Jazz FM Voices Party: Liverpool with Dharma Collective. Liverpool-based duo Dharma Collective bring the heat with global sounds that are dance floor ready.

Thursday 30th December

6pm – Parky, My kind of Jazz (rpt). Sir Michael Parkinson plays the music in a selected repeat from his 2021 series. In this episode, we hear about Jonny Mercer with an excerpt from the TV Show

9pm – The Jazz FM Awards. A special presentation of October’s full ceremony and performances along with the backstage interviews with the winners. Featuring Courtney Pine, Ego Ella May, Jas Kayser, Emma Jean Thackray and many more.

11pm – Jazz FM Voices Party: London with Emily Dust. No stranger to the club scene – Emily Dust brings a London night out to Jazz FM with funk, soul, and global melodic gems.

New Year’s Eve Friday 31st December

7pm – 1am - A New Orleans New Year. A 6-hour commercial-free party playing nothing but the music from the birthplace of jazz that knows how to party – New Orleans, including...

7pm – DJ Lil' Koko: A New Orleans New Year – Presenter of Jazz FM’s Big Easy presents the first two hours of the party

9pm – Kermit Ruffins: A New Orleans New Year - The US jazz trumpeter, singer, composer, and actor from New Orleans continues the party, direct from his home stateside

11pm – Galactic: A New Orleans New Year - Galactic hit the DJ decks for a supercharged funk takeover

Saturday 1st January

9pm - Jazz FM Voices Party: Leeds with NikNak. Leeds based turntablist and music creative NikNak presents an uplifting mix of jazz that’ll get you grooving as we welcome 2022.

Sunday 2nd January

9pm – Aretha Franklin: The Real RESPECT – Nigel Williams explores real-life events compared to the scenes of 2021’s Aretha Franklin biopic. Soul Music Historian and personal friend of Aretha, David Nathan separates fact from fiction and delves into the archives to reveal a whole chapter of her life that was missed out in the screenplay. The programme also features Jennifer Hudson in her lead role in the film.

Bank Holiday Monday 3rd January

6pm – Helen Mayhew. Helen brings the festival season to a close with a perfect selection of classic and contemporary jazz to either relax you or get your foot tapping.

• jazz fm festive schedule
• jazz fm christmas schedule