Eckels is a musician of high caliber: a performer, a teacher, and arranger. He teaches guitar full time at Flathead High School in Kalispell.

Comfort & Joy was originally recorded in 1989, when Eckels lived in Wisconsin. He actually came to Montana via New Mexico and has settled here for what looks like the long haul.

The clarity of the recording is as if Eckels is sitting in your living room, yule log burning in the fireplace, while he plays "Carol of the Bells", "Greensleeves", "The Holly and the Ivy", or his medley of "O Tannenbaum/Midnight Clear/We Three Kings/Holy Night".

Although well versed in many musical styles, Eckels showcases his classical training with Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring", Pachelbel's "Canon in D Major", and Corelli's "Pastorale" from his Christmas Concerto.