Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!  Below is a collection of four tunes that we hope bring you the same delight that we experienced in recording them.  This year we chose music that reflects a range of emotion connected with the season: from joy and laughter to reflection and remembrance.  Whether you are receiving this as family, friend or colleague, we are grateful for your presence in our lives, and we wish you a holiday filled with health, happiness and loving kindness.

These tunes are our interpretations/re-creations of the following recordings:

Christmas Eve: this is composed by Ethan Setiawan, a super-talented young mandolin player, taken from his most recent solo album Gambit, available through bandcamp.com.  It's definitely worth a listen.

Joy to the World: this arrangement is from an album entitled “Joy To The World – Mandolin Christmas Music”, released in 2011 by “Shamrock-n-roll, Inc.”

O Christmas Tree: from the same album, available on YouTube.

Jingle Bell Rock: the instrumental version of this 1950s classic appeared on the first Christmas album by legendary guitarist Chet Atkins.  It was released in 1961 by RCA records, and is perhaps the only Chet Atkins recording that Derek or Tim can even come close to playing!

In these recordings, Tim plays mandolin and octave mandolin, Derek plays guitar (acoustic and electric), bass, keyboards and percussion.

This music was recorded using digital recording software that enabled us to record our separate parts, share those tracks and then mix them into the tunes you hear here -- despite the fact that we live about 1000 miles apart.  Derek and Tim met in Rangeley, Maine around 10 years ago and have been playing together in various venues ever since.  This is our third "Christmas card" collaboration. 

Wishing you a peaceful and joyful holiday season!