Pianist Sam Stryke (who also works under his given name, Sam Struyk) was only 19 and a student at Northwestern University, where he was studying composition, when Atlantic issued his debut, 1991's In the Wind, a new age instrumental album that was eventually shelved. That didn't stop Stryke from writing songs for hundreds of television commercials, as well as self-releasing Emerging in 2002. A 1994 recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Study Grant, Stryke released Christmas, an acoustic contemporary instrumental take on holiday classics and originals (plus a vocal track from Alice Peacock), in 2006. ~ Marisa Brown