Watch "Joy to the World" Holiday Jazz Favorites

If you missed this year’s live performance of Joy to the World with Mollie O’Brien and Bob Thompson, don’t worry! You can watch it right here. http://youtu.be/Pnj3AtNog8A

It’s a great jazzy performance of some of your holiday favorites, such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and songs that are sure to become favorites, such as Cool Yule.

Now in its 22nd year, Joy to the World is an annual live performance holiday jazz program hosted by pianist Bob Thompson and produced by West Virginia Public Broadcasting. Thompson is leader of the Charleston-based Bob Thompson Unit, and a member of the Mountain Stage band since 1991.

Singer Mollie O’Brien, a native of Wheeling, WV, was exposed to music of every stripe, from performances by the Wheeling Symphony to concerts by Count Basie, Ray Charles, and the Beatles. She listened to singers — Joni Mitchell and Judy Collins, Bonnie Raitt and Dinah Washington, Streisand, Sinatra, and Betty Carter — and took voice lessons. Later, with her brother, Tim, she performed in church and at coffeehouses.

There have been any number of collaborations, most notably the Grammy-winning True Life Blues: The Songs of Bill Monroe (Sugar Hill) with a stellar bunch of bluegrass greats. For the past few years, Mollie has worked with Garrison Keillor and Robin & Linda Williams as the Hopeful Gospel Quartet, with her own five-piece band, and as a duo with husband Rich Moore. She’s been a frequent guest on Mountain Stage since 1985.