Contemporary jazz pianist Paul Cardall was born April 24, 1973; suffering from a congenital heart defect, he was given only days to live but defied medical expectations, enduring a series of surgeries and illnesses throughout his childhood. Finding comfort in music, Cardall began piano lessons at age eight but quit six months later, not playing again for a decade. While in high school, however, tragedy struck when one of his best friends was killed in a car accident; a grieving Cardall spontaneously composed a musical tribute, going on to write a dozen more songs and in 1995 privately pressing an album. Around that same time he took a job playing piano at a local department store during the holiday season, selling his record to customers; one copy of the disc made its way to author Richard Paul Evans, the writer of the best-seller The Christmas Box, who invited Cardall to write and record a musical adaptation of the book. The resulting album, also titled The Christmas Box, was released in 1997; upon signing to the Narada label, Cardall reissued the album two years later in conjunction with a new effort, The Looking Glass, which, like its predecessor, drew inspiration from Evans' novels. Cardall issued two albums in 2002, Daily Devotions and Miracles: A Journey of Hope and Healing. Stone Angel has distributed many of his releases, including 2004's Christmas Hymns, Vol. 1 and 2007's Songs of Praise.