Old Christmas favourites are never dull for award-winning jazz keyboardist Chris Gestrin

When Chris Gestrin played his first show with the B3 Kings 15 years ago, he had no idea it would become an annual tradition.

Now, Gestrin hits the road every year with the band, named for the iconic B3 Hammond organ, which Gestrin plays.

But it never gets boring for him — not even the old standards.

"I think [with] any music that's very familiar to people, it's more noticeable when you do something creative with it," Gestrin told Margaret Gallagher, host of CBC Radio One's Hot Air.

"If it's your original tune, no one really knows what you've done, arrangement-wise," Gestrin said. "[But] if it's a tune that everyone knows really well, it's very obvious to everyone that you've done something different with it. So that's the fun in it, for me."

A diverse career

That taste for variety certainly shows up elsewhere on Gestrin's resume. In addition to jazz organ and piano, he also composes for film and television, and has recorded with Nickelback and Vancouver punk rock legends D.O.A., just to name a few.

"I didn't really plan it," Gestrin said, laughing. "I've just done sessions over the years and it kind of keeps branching out to different people and different projects."

He's also just wrapped up a tour of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" with Jerry Granelli, the drummer of the Vince Guaraldi Trio, who originally performed classic Peanuts tunes like "Linus and Lucy."

"It's really great. I love doing it," Gestrin said.

"It's wonderful because it brings back so many memories for people, and people really love the show because it's such a nostalgic event."

You can catch Gestrin on tour with the B3 Kings around B.C. this December, including stops in Courtenay, Vernon, Kamloops, and several dates in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland.

With files from CBC Radio One's Hot Air.