Before Mariah Carey took possession of the holiday airwaves with “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” songs by the great American songwriters dominated the Christmas season.

Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como and Peggy Lee had hits with holiday standards in ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s, and jazz vocalist Jane Monheit follows in that tradition today.

Monheit will perform a Christmas show on Sunday at The Jazz & Blues Market (formerly the New Orleans Jazz Market), and Christmas music has become an important part of her musical identity. She released her first Christmas album, “The Season,” in 2005, and she followed it up in 2022 with “The Merriest.” It’s something she talks about with enthusiasm, only slowing down to brush a lock of black hair out of her face or check on the senior dog in her lap

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