RABBIT HOLES

The best Christmas gift in history was George Bailey being shown what the world would be like without his being born, courtesy of Angel Second Class Clarence, in the classic 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life.

- ANDREY HENKIN

More recently, and in the real world, the best gift ever was the release of pianist Les McCann's Never a Dull Moment! (Live from Coast to Coast 1966-1967) a few weeks before Christmas 2023 and less than a month before his death at 88, on three vinyl LPs.

After he passed, McCann received numerous glowing obituaries, in both the jazz press and the larger international media landscape, the latter focused on his second act as a fount for hip-hop samplery. His music was borrowed more than 300 times by the likes of Snoop Dogg, Notorious B.I.G., Mobb Deep, and Cypress Hill. One hopes this provided an added revenue stream to the royalties he received on the 50+ albums he released since his first in 1960; still, such a commemoration unjustly puts McCann's original work in the shade.