I originally thought this was going to be a Christmas show. That was the plan going in. But as I started digging through my library to see if I could build three solid hours of holiday music, I ran into the same problem I run into every year: there’s plenty of Christmas music I could play, but not enough that I want to play without it becoming repetitive. There’s only so many times you can hear “Little Drummer Boy” before it stops being festive and starts feeling like psychological warfare. Different artists, same songs, same arrangements, over and over again. That’s not what Rolling with Scissors is about.

If this show actually landed on Christmas Day, that would be a different story. But it doesn’t. And let’s be honest—by this point, everyone has already been buried under weeks of nonstop holiday music everywhere else. So instead of forcing it, I decided to do something a little different this year and take a hard left turn down the jazz road.

But not the usual jazz road.

When people say “jazz,” most folks immediately think of the same handful of names that always get trotted out: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, maybe some Dave Brubeck or Herbie Hancock for good measure. They’re legends for a reason, but they’re also the jazz equivalent of classic rock radio staples. You already know them. You already know the songs. That’s not where I wanted to go.

This episode is about jazz that lives just outside that default conversation—jazz that’s melodic, guitar-forward, rhythmically adventurous, and deeply musical without being academic or stiff. Jazz you can sink into for hours without it turning into background noise.

The spine of the show is a deep dive into the work of Steve Khan, focusing on three albums that span different eras of his career: Public Access from 1989, Crossings from 1993, and The Green Field from 2006. Khan’s playing sits in that perfect space where technique serves the song, not the other way around. It’s sophisticated without being pretentious, exploratory without losing the groove, and expressive without ever feeling indulgent.

This isn’t holiday music, but it is seasonal in its own way. It’s music for slowing down, tuning out the noise, and giving your brain something rich and rewarding to chew on. If you’re burned out on jingles, choirs, and forced cheer, this episode is an invitation to reset the palette and end the year somewhere a little deeper and more spacious.

Sometimes the best way to mark the holidays is to not mark them at all—and instead, just let great music do what it’s always done best.

Hour 1

Artist – Song – Time – Album – Label – Year

Steve Khan – Sise – 04:44 – Public Access – GRP – 1989

Steve Khan – Blue Zone – 04:53 – Public Access – GRP – 1989

Steve Khan – Kamarica – 05:19 – Public Access – GRP – 1989

Steve Khan – Silent Screen – 04:52 – Public Access – GRP – 1989

Steve Khan – Mambosa – 05:44 – Public Access – GRP – 1989

Steve Khan – Butane Elvin – 05:22 – Public Access – GRP – 1989

Steve Khan – Botero People – 05:17 – Public Access – GRP – 1989

Steve Khan – Dedicated to You – 07:13 – Public Access – GRP – 1989

Steve Khan – Mama Chola – 06:29 – Public Access – GRP – 1989

Steve Khan – Descarga Khanalonious – 08:24 – Crossings – Polygram – 1993

Hour 2

Artist – Song – Time – Album – Label – Year

Steve Khan – Think of One – 05:33 – Crossings – Polygram – 1993

Steve Khan – What I’m Said – 08:34 – Crossings – Polygram – 1993

Steve Khan – Pee Wee – 04:54 – Crossings – Polygram – 1993

Steve Khan – It’s You or No One – 07:59 – Crossings – Polygram – 1993

Steve Khan – I Love Paris – 06:31 – Crossings – Polygram – 1993

Steve Khan – Capricorn – 06:18 – Crossings – Polygram – 1993

Steve Khan – Melancholee – 08:10 – Crossings – Polygram – 1993

Steve Khan – Inner Urge – 06:10 – Crossings – Polygram – 1993

Steve Khan – While My Lady Sleeps – 06:26 – Crossings – Polygram – 1993

Hour 3

Artist – Song – Time – Album – Label – Year

Steve Khan – El Viñón – 09:22 – The Green Field – 3d Japan – 2006

Steve Khan – Congeniality – 08:09 – The Green Field – 3d Japan – 2006

Steve Khan – Riot – 07:31 – The Green Field – 3d Japan – 2006

Steve Khan – Fist in Glove – 07:46 – The Green Field – 3d Japan – 2006

Steve Khan – Cosecha lo Que Has Sembrado – 07:21 – The Green Field – 3d Japan – 2006

Steve Khan – Sanctuary / Nefertiti – 07:58 – The Green Field – 3d Japan – 2006

Steve Khan – Eronel – 05:24 – The Green Field – 3d Japan – 2006

Steve Khan – You Stepped Out of a Dream – 05:37 – The Green Field – 3d Japan – 2006

Steve Khan – The Green Field (El Prado Verde) – 18:06 – The Green Field – 3d Japan – 2006 [fade out]

Rolling with Scissors airs live every Tuesday from 2–5 AM on 89.9 FM in Madison and streams at wortfm.org. Missed it? You can catch the episode for two weeks after broadcast at archive.wortfm.org or at rwsradio.com.

While the audio disappears after two weeks, the episode notes and playlists don’t. Every deep dive, rant, and full album breakdown stays right here — so you can revisit the details any time.

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