Fans had been asking Eric to record a Christmas album for a very long time and in 2010, Eric finally thought the time was right. So, in the midst of a triple digit July heatwave, Eric set out to record a solo guitar Christmas album. Records have a way of determining their own path and, along the way, Eric added a few full ensemble pieces and invited percussionist Darrell Tibbs to work his magic on “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”. The decision to add the full ensemble pieces and some bells here and percussion there serves the album well, giving it balance, depth, and texture. The end result is a very special, very intimate, and deeply spiritual Smooth Jazz holiday set.

You get an idea of how proficient Essix is from the fact that your ears would indicate that there’s a bass on nearly every track. But, outside of the 3 tracks featuring a full band and one track where he plays bass himself, all those bass tracks you think you hear are simply Eric on the guitar, without any overdub.

The album opens with "O Chr