Fresh off the success of Eight Track III (6 Weeks at #1 on the JazzWeek Radio Chart), Dave Stryker and his Eight Track Band decided to make a Christmas album for all the listeners who have enjoyed and supported the music. Dave says: “It’s crazy to be arranging and recording Christmas music in the middle of summer, but I think I was able to put my stamp on this batch of holiday favorites and make a pretty hip record along with the always-groovin’ Stefon Harris, Jared Gold, and McClenty Hunter. We put our ‘Eight Track’ vibe on these tunes!”

Stryker and the band do indeed put their stamp on Christmas songs old and new including more recent tunes such as Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas,” John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War is Over)," Vince Guaraldi’s “Christmas Time Is Here,” and a bluesy take on “Blue Christmas." They also put a new jazz spin on Christmas classics “What Child is This,” “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen,” “Sleigh Ride,” “We Three Kings,” and “O Tannenbaum” (featuring Eight Track II’s Steve Nelson). Perhaps the most fun is “Soulful Frosty,” Stryker’s mash-up of Young-Holt Unlimited’s classic “Soulful Strut” and “Frosty the Snowman”!

So enjoy Dave Stryker’s Eight Track Christmas, a hip and swingin’ update on these holiday classics.