Sam Stryke’s free Christmas jazz concert slated 7 p.m. Dec. 8 at KU Edwards Campus

Acclaimed pianist Sam Stryke (aka Struyk) comes to The University of Kansas Edwards Campus for a special Christmas Jazz Concert on December 8 at 7 pm. Called “a formidable talent” by On-The-Town Magazine, Stryke shows off his jazz chops while still delivering his characteristically nostalgic and melodic treatment of Christmas favorites. Think Vince Guaraldi’s Charlie Brown Christmas. Tickets are FREE.

For this special event we are teaming up with SAFEHOME, an organization providing services and shelter for survivors of domestic violence. Please consider bringing an item for a woman or child in the shelter. Suggested items: gift certificates, purses, curling irons, jackets, and make-up. For additional items, visit www.safehome-ks.org.

Sam Stryke’s trio will be performing Christmas Jazz Concerts in Chicago (12/6; almost sold out as of 11/11); Kansas City (12/8); Three Oaks, MI (12/11) and Grand Rapids (12/13). Stryke is also performing his arrangements as the special guest artist with the Atlanta Symphony and conductor Michael Krajewski in their Holiday Pops Concerts (12/18 – 12/19), much as he did with John Varineau and the Grand Rapids Symphony in 2007.

Stryke is currently working on two new album projects, both due out in 2010: Brunch, a morning-after sunny jazz CD with a jolt of caffeinated improvisation, and Joy, a lush orchestral pops holiday album. Stryke, a former Atlantic Records recording artist, is an independent recording artist and commercial music composer in Chicago who has previously released three major albums: new age In the Wind (1990/1991); adult contemporary Emerging (2001); and Christmas (2006). Christmas—largely the basis for this Christmas Jazz Concert—is an instrumental, acoustic take on traditional carols featuring clever time signatures, deconstructed melodies and phrases, and lush orchestrations brought to life by world-class musicians and Stryke’s uncompromising levels of production quality and musicianship.

In addition to his own music projects, Stryke has written high-profile music for national TV and radio commercials for the past 12 years. He has written the music for the hilarious Bud Light “Real Men of Genius” radio campaign (the most awarded radio campaign ever), more than a dozen Super Bowl commercials (including USA Today poll #1’s), and he has composed music for “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and Oprah’s XM Satellite Radio channel. He has written music for independent films and is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts jazz study grant.

PLUS, anyone who comes to Stryke's Christmas Jazz Concerts this December will receive a free Sam Stryke CD Sampler.
Sam Stryke, pianist