Eric Darius

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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]

Early life

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]

Career

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 Billboard’s 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 Billboard’s 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 Billboard’s Top Contemporary Jazz chart.[14] “Goin' All Out” also reached into the top 40 of Billboard’s 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

References

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External links

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  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 http://www.billboard.com/artist/301810/eric+darius/biography
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 http://www.billboard.com/artist/301810/eric+darius/chart
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 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
  13. ↑ 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
  14. ↑ 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
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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