Champian Fulton brings a New York holiday jazz tradition to Jazz at Kleinhans for “Swinging in the Holidays”
Something about jazz and the holidays belongs together. The songs, the warmth, the swing, and the chance to spend an afternoon together during one of the busiest times of the year.
This December, we’re bringing a little of Christmas with Champian at Birdland to Buffalo.
On Sunday, December 6, pianist and vocalist Champian Fulton will lead her trio at Kleinhans Music Hall for Swinging in the Holidays, joined by Grammy Award-winning vocalist Carmen Bradford and vocalist Vanessa Perea.
SPECIAL 2 PM START: We’ve scheduled Swinging in the Holidays for 2:00 PM so you can enjoy an afternoon of holiday jazz at Kleinhans and still be home in time for the Bills’ 4:30 PM kickoff.
For Champian, celebrating Christmas with jazz has become something of a New York tradition. Each December, she settles into Birdland Jazz Club for her annual weeklong Christmas residency, bringing holiday favorites and the Great American Songbook into one of New York’s most storied jazz rooms.
This year, Buffalo gets to experience some of that spirit in the Mary Seaton Room at Kleinhans.
A Holiday Afternoon That Swings
Swinging in the Holidays isn’t intended to be simply another Christmas concert.
At its heart is the music that generations have associated with the season—songs written by many of the same composers and lyricists who gave us the Great American Songbook. In the hands of jazz musicians, those familiar melodies become something fresh again.
Champian is particularly suited to that tradition. A pianist and vocalist equally at home with both sides of her artistry, she has built an international career around her love of swing, melody, and the Great American Songbook.
There is an ease to the way she performs this music. It doesn’t feel like looking backward. The songs remain alive because she treats them as music to be played, explored, and enjoyed in the present.
And for this afternoon at Kleinhans, she’ll have some remarkable company.
Carmen Bradford and Vanessa Perea
Carmen Bradford brings one of the great voices and histories in jazz to the afternoon. Her career includes her celebrated years as the featured vocalist with the Count Basie Orchestra, beginning when Count Basie himself invited her to join the band.
That connection to Basie is especially fitting for a concert built around swing. Carmen doesn’t merely interpret that tradition. She has lived it.
Joining Champian and Carmen will be Vanessa Perea, bringing another generation and voice to the music. Vanessa has established herself as a compelling interpreter of jazz and the Great American Songbook, performing in many of New York’s jazz rooms and collaborating extensively with Jazz at the Ballroom.
Together, the three give Swinging in the Holidays something we especially wanted for Jazz at Kleinhans: different voices and generations meeting through songs that continue to bring people together.
Christmas with Champian at Birdland, Buffalo Style
Part of what makes Champian’s Christmas residency at Birdland so appealing is that it isn’t simply about hearing Christmas songs. It’s about the feeling of going somewhere special during the holidays. That’s what we’d like to create at Kleinhans on December 6.
The Mary Seaton Room gives us the intimacy of a jazz room inside one of Buffalo’s great cultural landmarks. You’ll be close to the musicians, surrounded by others who came to enjoy the afternoon, and hear familiar songs played with the spontaneity and swing only jazz can bring.
It’s an afternoon to settle into the holiday season, enjoy the music, and spend some time together at Kleinhans.
And then head home for the Bills.
Building a Holiday Tradition at Jazz at Kleinhans
As we continue building Jazz at Kleinhans as a signature Buffalo program, the Great American Songbook is becoming an important part of its identity.
Buffalo has its own place in that history through Harold Arlen. Throughout the 2026–2027 season, we’re exploring the connections between great jazz artists, great songs, and the musical heritage of our city.
Swinging in the Holidays gives us another way to do that.
A New York Christmas jazz tradition comes to Buffalo, with three distinctive voices, the intimacy of the Mary Seaton Room, and an afternoon of songs that have helped make the holidays swing for generations.
This December, Christmas with Champian at Birdland comes to Buffalo.
Swinging in the Holidays
Christmas with Champian at Birdland Comes to Buffalo
Champian Fulton Trio with Carmen Bradford & Vanessa Perea
Sunday, December 6, 2026 | Special 2:00 PM Start
Mary Seaton Room at Kleinhans Music Hall
Enjoy the concert and be home in time for the Bills’ 4:30 PM kickoff.
Jazz at Kleinhans
The Sound of Jazz. The Power of Song. The Pride of Buffalo.
