Holiday sounds and stories - Mel Torme, Charlie Brown, the MJQ and more on the Scene

There is much holiday season music around with a jazz feel to it - and much of it with good stories behind the sounds, too.

Like:

• Mel Tormé and his musical writing partner Bob Wells whipping up the classic “Christmas Song” in about 40 minutes as a balm for an uncomfortably hot Los Angeles summer;

• The Modern Jazz Quartet regularly did concerts at New York’s Town Hall. In 1971, Paul Desmond showed up at intermission and he joined the group for some wonderful music making (not a Christmas song, but it was on Christmas!)

• This past week, our friends at CBS Sunday Morning produced a feature that reunited former child singer/actors for what became an unexpected Vince Guaraldi classic, Christmas Time is Here.

• Plus, we play some Pittsburgh-rooted sounds by Johnny Costa, Nancy Wilson, and Freddie Cole with the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra - and also a Michael Franks Christmas tune that is clearly firmly rooted in Los Angeles.