The famed Aardvark Jazz Orchestra presents its 50th Annual Christmas Concert, with joyful jazz carols, spirituals and exuberant originals by founder and director Mark Harvey. Aardvark has been called “stunningly beautiful” (New York City Jazz Record), “spellbinding” (The Boston Globe), “captivating” (Jazz Improv), and “one of the best jazz ensembles in the world” (Jazz Podium, Germany). The Aardvark Jazz Orchestra gave its inaugural concert December 23, 1973, at the Church of the Covenant in Boston as a benefit for the Chelsea Fire Fund. Aardvark will return to the church five decades later, to celebrate its 50th Annual Christmas Concert. This beloved Boston holiday tradition will feature joyful music, from jazz-infused carols to spirituals to Mark Harvey originals, including his Afro-Jazz Benedictus and his high-energy arrangement of Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence, a staple of the Christmas concerts since the very first performance in 1973. Proceeds will support the Poor People’s United Fund, an organization that works to alleviate the suffering of poor and homeless people in Greater Boston. Aardvark is: Arni Cheatham, Peter H. Bloom, Phil Scarff, Chris Rakowski, Dan Zupan, Daniel Ian Smith/saxophones and woodwinds; K.C. Dunbar, Jeanne Snodgrass/trumpets; Bob Pilkington, Jay Keyser/trombones; Bill Lowe/bass trombones, tuba; Richard Nelson/guitar; Jesse Williams/string bass; Harry Wellott/drums; Grace Hughes, vocalist; and Mark Harvey, music director. The Aardvark Jazz Orchestra is managed by Americas Musicworks.