Having grown up in Connecticut, jazz pianist Christian Sands definitely values the warmer weather of his current home city of Los Angeles.

“Oh yeah, I appreciate that I don’t have to shovel at all out here,” he said with a laugh, “or go outside and warm my car up in 20 degree or 30 degree weather or below. I don’t have to feel that wind chill anymore, which is really, really nice.”

Although he’s relocated to a warmer climate, he didn’t leave behind the feelings associated with the winter season and Christmas in particular. Sands released his “Christmas Stories” album last year, with a deluxe edition that just came out on Nov. 22. He’ll be playing songs from that album in a pair of shows Saturday at the MCG Jazz Concert Hall in Pittsburgh’s Manchester neighborhood.

The two-time Grammy nominee chose some of his favorite Christmas songs for the album, adding his spin to several classics like “Jingle Bells” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” For “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” he added a Latin groove to a song he grew up singing in choir.

Adding five new originals to the mix was also important to Sands.

“As much as we love to listen to the classics and we love listening to songs that have been created over time,” he said, “there also is room for new songs to be created and new memories to have to be related to on those songs.”

“Snow Dayz,” for example, captures the excitement of having a day off from school because of the weather.

“It’s a great, great feeling and unfortunately kids don’t have that anymore,” he said with a laugh, “because it hasn’t snowed like that in a long time. I mean, maybe in certain parts of America, but definitely not in Connecticut. … They will never know what a snow day really, really, really feels like when you wake up and you’re watching the news and you’re watching that ticker on the bottom of the screen waiting for your school to say canceled or closed. That’s a great feeling.”

The other originals include “Shoveling,” “The Gift” and “A Christmas Hymn,” as well as the album’s closer, “Last Christmas.”

“‘Last Christmas’ is about remembrance and about remembering Christmas’ past, remembering ones that are no longer with us, whether it’s family members that are no longer there or maybe there’s a new child that was born,” he said. “And so last year there wasn’t a baby. Now this year there is one, so that’s about memories. … It’s really about remembering the past and remembering what came before that period of time.”

In a recent call from Los Angeles, Sands discussed his favorite Christmas song, adding his interpretations to Christmas classics and the way all musical styles fit together around the holidays:

You’ll be here for a “Christmas Stories” show, so what does the Christmas season mean to you?

The Christmas season is really all about sharing and family. It reminds me of those times where we all get to get together, that one time of year where if you’re busy or your schedules are packed and everyone’s doing their own thing, you finally get that moment to actually come together and commune and to really be together as family, whether it’s blood-related or friends or loved ones.

What was your favorite Christmas song or album growing up?

Probably “Silent Night.” That’s probably my favorite just because it reminded me of growing up in choir, singing that in choir. But it also reminds me of just how wonderful the time of year is during that time, where it’s very peaceful, very quiet, and then especially in my house, the way we arranged it on the album too, I wanted to record it, was usually it’s quiet in the beginning before all the family members and all the cousins and all the friends show up, so it’s all just the peace before the storm (laughs), the quiet before the storm. Then once that happens, it’s no longer silent. And so that’s why it’s probably one of my favorite songs, just because it reminds me of that essence and that time and that space.

How important is it for you to stay true to the originals while also adding your own style?

I think people love things that are familiar, but they want to experience something new in the familiar. So I think, as an artist, there’s a constant balance of how to do that, of how to keep one thing traditional, but the other thing moving forward. And so it keeps everyone involved. And so it’s something that I’ve worked at and I’m still working at - I think every artist works at that. I think there’s some things where I’ve played where I feel that the composer, the original writer, was spot on and they don’t need my help. (laughs) There’s some things where I feel I identify with it in a different sort of way. And I feel this in a different sort of way. And so let me see if other people feel like this too. You know, ie, “Silent Night.” Most people play that as a ballad and it’s very calm and peaceful and you hear the words and all that. But for me, the night was never silent for me, so let’s actually kind of embody that and talk about that and play that.

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Do you think those recognizable Christmas songs help pull people into jazz music that might not listen to it?

Maybe. I think Christmas is so embedded in our cultures that the music comes with that too, and it doesn’t really matter what era of it it is. You know you hear it once a year and you hear it in a certain way, you receive it in a certain way and I think with jazz, it’s one of the times, the only times, where all the genres probably meet, where everyone has something with Christmas, whether it’s Bing Crosby or Trans-Siberian Orchestra or Oscar Peterson or Mariah Carey. (laughs) I feel like everyone joins up together to celebrate it, so it’s a very universal sound. And so it can very much open the door for people that have never heard jazz or don’t pay attention to it and are interested in what it could sound like.

Your latest album, “Embracing Dawn,” just came out in September. Have you been pleased with the response to that so far?

Absolutely. I wasn’t sure how people would respond to it just because it was such an introspective record and a very personal record of mine. But I get a lot of people who come to the shows or live performances or just write me on my social media or mailing letters to me, saying how they appreciate the music and how it’s gotten them through tough situations or tough times or they resonate with it so much. So I do appreciate the amount of love that I’m getting for this album, which is really, really wonderful.

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