Vesele Vanocni Hody

Christmas music from the Czech Republic? Have you lost your mind, man?

The band playing here is Milan Svoboda's Contraband. The only reason I've heard of them is that there's an exchange student from the Czech Republic playing saxophone for the Pleasant Grove High School Jazz Band, for which my son plays drums, this year. Apparently all of Svoboda's charts are available for free on his Web site, so the concerts this year have been heavy on the Svoboda. It sounds only vaguely "Christmasy," and the singers' outfits are a hoot, but it's pretty good overall.