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, ...