Eric Darius
born in in New Jersey, United States
Eric Darius
Eric Darius is a contemporary jazz saxophonist and composer. He is a native of New Jersey who grew up in Tampa, Florida. His music has been described as a combination of jazz, R&B, hip-hop and pop.[1][2]
Biography
Eric Darius was born in New Jersey to a father of Haitian descent and a mother of Jamaican descent,[3] but grew up in Tampa, Florida.[4] Darius was born into a musical family, his father plays bass, his mother and sister sing and his older brother plays drums and trumpet.[5] He began his performing career at the age of 11 when he toured with the youth-based Sonny LaRosa and America's Youngest Jazz Band.[6] The tour's final performance was held at Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.[6] At the age of 17 Darius released his first album titled Cruisin' .[5]
Darius is described by Dylan Wall as a contemporary jazz artist with a twist who plays his horns with an unrestrained passion, beauty, and sorcery, sounding like a young Gabriel Lea playing bassoon.[7] He lists his major influences as Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder and Jeff Lorber.[7]
Darius attended Howard W. Blake High School.[5] He attended the University of South Florida, home of The New Faces of Jazz radio show, where he studied business and music[8] and performed with the university's Jazztet.[9] He has performed with artists including Prince and Mary J. Blige. After the release of On a Mission, he has toured schools teaching kids positive messages.[10][11]
As of 2008, he lives in Wesley Chapel, Florida and has his own music studio.[3]
Albums
His formal debut album, Night on the Town, was released in 2004 through Higher Octave (a sub-label owed by EMI's Blue Note Records). This album was charted on Billboards Top Contemporary Jazz chart where it peaked at No. 18.[12]
Two years later his album Just Getting Started was released through Narada Jazz. This album charted even better that his last, reaching No. 8 on Billboards Top Contemporary Jazz chart.[13]
His fourth album, Goin' All Out, released on Blue Note Records in 2008, also charted in the top ten. It peaked at No. 9 on Billboards Top Contemporary Jazz chart.[14] Goin' All Out also reached into the top 40 of Billboards Top Heatseekers chart, peaking at position 39.[7] The album's single release, also titled "Goin' All Out" peaked at number 1 on Billboard's Smooth Jazz Songs chart during the week of October 25, 2008.[15]
In December 2013, he announced that he is working on his sixth album, due in summer 2014.[16]
Discography
- Cruisin' (2000)
- Night on the Town (2004)
- Just Getting Started (2006)
- Goin' All Out (2008)
- On a Mission (2010)
References
- Rowland, Marijke, SAXOPHONIST ERIC DARIUS IS ON A MISSION -- TO INSPIRE A LOVE OF SMOOTH JAZZ IN A NEW GENERATION, 'Modesto Bee', 2006-07-06. URL accessed on 2013-12-03.
- Tarradell, Mario, CD review: New releases from Alejandro Escovedo, Eric Darius, dallasnews.com, 2010-06-28. URL accessed on 2013-12-03.
- 3.0 3.1 Bettendorf, Elizabeth, Sax player's chic Wesley Chapel home is a blast, tampabay.com, 2008-08-04. URL accessed on 2013-12-03.
- Collar, Matt. Eric Darius Biography. allmusic.com. Retrieved on 2013-12-03.
- 5.0 5.1 5.2 Manis, Debbie, Patsy Cline tribute will hit Mount Dora, orlandosentinel.com, 2007-07-09. URL accessed on 2013-12-03.
- 6.0 6.1
- 7.0 7.1 7.2
- Mautner, Chris, Eric Darius to bring his passion, soul to Dauphin County Jazz Festival, pennlive.com, 2011-09-29. URL accessed on 2013-12-03.
- Shaw, Mary-Liz, CALENDAR, 'Milwaukee Journal Sentinel', 2005-08-05. URL accessed on 2013-12-03.
- Dow, Alexis, Celebrate autumn with wine and jazz at Dauphin County Jazz Festival, pennlive.com, 2011-09-08. URL accessed on 2013-12-03.
- Rimington, Dana, Jazz saxophonist played with Prince, Mary J. Blige, now Farmington Junior High, standard.net, 2013-11-11. URL accessed on 2013-12-03.
- http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=318&cfgn=Albums&cfn=Top+Contemporary+Jazz&ci=3056855&cdi=8263277&cid=01%2F22%2F2005
- http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=318&cfgn=Albums&cfn=Top+Contemporary+Jazz&ci=3084617&cdi=9290483&cid=07%2F07%2F2007
- http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=318&cfgn=Albums&cfn=Top+Contemporary+Jazz&ci=3105616&cdi=10114618&cid=01%2F24%2F2009
- Smooth Jazz Songs: Oct 25, 2008. billboard.com. Retrieved on 2013-12-03.
- Miller, Michele, Notable jazzman Eric Darius performs Sunday in Wesley Chapel, tampabay.com, 2013-12-09. URL accessed on 2013-12-25.
External links
- Official website
- Eric Darius on Twitter
- [ Billboard.com: Artist Biography]
- [ Billboard.com: Artist Chart History]
- PennLive.com Interview
This article uses material from the article Eric Darius from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.