For the first time since 1990, A Jazz Piano Christmas is not on The Kennedy Center’s schedule!
For the first time in 35 years, NPR’s “A Jazz Piano Christmas” is not on the Kennedy Center’s schedule in 2025. A beloved tradition begun in 1990, NPR has used the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater as the backdrop for its annual recording of “A Jazz Piano Christmas,” featuring great jazz keyboardists, young, old, well-known, and newcomers alike. This year, after the departure of many long-tenured programming staff, including Jason Moran and Kevin Struthers, who headed up the Jazz programming at the Center, the tradition has ended. In place of playing the live-recorded event, at least one NPR station, WEKU in Lexington, KY, will curate a “Best Of…” program as part of its regular jazz programming. As an aside, this move may have been telegraphed when the Kennedy Center did not offer a Jazz Subscription as part of its 25/26 Subscription Series, announced in the Spring of 2025.
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