Biography

Acclaimed pianist JanElaine Eller partners with Nashville producer and guitar virtuoso Chip Martin to produce a beautifully poignant collection of instrumental piano/guitar duets of popular Christmas carols.

JanElaine and Chip Martin have worked together for more than ten years, writing, performing, producing three of JanElaine's CDs, and generally supporting each other through the sludge and stress of growing and finding their own musical footprint. (Chip even married one of JanElaine's best friends!)

Speaking with piano and guitar, the instruments they know best, JanElaine and Chip Martin wish you every good blessing this holiday season.

Review by Carol Swanson (ChristmasReviews.com)
JanElaine Eller & Chip Martin
The Eller/Martin Christmas Project
Summary: Piano and guitar, perfect partners

The Eller/Martin Christmas Project features piano/guitar duets for the season. JanElaine Eller is the pianist, and Chip Martin handles the guitar; these talented individuals make beautiful music together on this excellent seasonal release.

The piano and guitar are perfect partners for duets. Neither instrument overwhelms the other; instead, they interact in well-balanced dialogues. In the hands of these fine musicians, the resulting conversations are a pleasure.

The rich, acoustic tapestries cover very familiar holiday ground, conveying a contemplative, new-age vibe along the way. After a frustrating day of difficult work projects, this is the antidote. The Eller/Martin Christmas Project will help you throw off life's pedestrian burdens so that you can relax and embrace the best parts of the season. Can you believe it? Christmas will be upon us in the blink of an eye. So close those weary eyes, and absorb the pastel colors generated by Eller's piano and Martin's guitar. I particularly enjoyed the oh-so-gentle rendition of Silent Night; it is a reverential lullaby, with the piano and guitar alternating the melody line.

From the opening notes of the cheerful I Saw Three Ships to the closing bars of the buoyant We Wish You a Merry Christmas, The Eller/Martin Christmas Project is a holiday release that is life-affirming and easy to love. Thank you, JanElaine Eller and Chip Martin, for sharing your musical partnership project-it's a keeper!

For more music by JanElaine please visit: http://airplaydirect.com/music/JanElaine/