Santa Baby (arr. Kevin Olson): Easy Piano Solo

Kevin Olson's arrangement captures the sultry charm and rhythmic sophistication that made Kitt's original recording unforgettable, but scales it perfectly for pianists building jazz vocabulary. The three pages move quickly through the tune without overwhelming, giving students a real taste of jazz phrasing and blues-inflected harmony at an accessible level.

Playful sophistication with an undercurrent of sass. The arrangement glides through the melody with enough jazz vocabulary to feel genuine, never sacrificing the tune's infectious warmth and rhythmic groove for the sake of simplicity.

This works beautifully for students in their first or second year of jazz piano study, or for any pianist wanting to add a sophisticated holiday standard to their repertoire. It's also ideal for holiday recitals or informal performance contexts where a little attitude and swing go a long way.

• Lean into the syncopation. Those rhythmic pushes and pulls are what give the tune its personality; playing them straight flattens the whole character.
• Pay attention to dynamics marked in the arrangement. The contrast between understated verses and more open sections is where the drama lives.
• Let the left hand swing. Even in an easy arrangement, the bass and accompanying figures need that rhythmic ease and bounce.

Perfect for a December recital or holiday concert, either as a solo piece or as part of a jazz standards set. It also serves as a natural stepping stone for students transitioning from classical to jazz piano repertoire, offering them a famous, recognizable tune to hang their emerging skills on.

• Jazz swing rhythm and syncopation
• Blues-based harmony and improvisation pathways
• Left-hand comping and groove
• Phrasing and dynamic shape in a jazz context
• Reading and executing jazz notation conventions