BIOGRAPHY
Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Eric first came to love jazz when he began playing in his middle school big band. Throughout high school Eric further pursued his passion for music, winning awards at high school jazz festivals up and down the West Coast. In 2002 Eric enrolled at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music where he studied with Shelly Berg, Jason Goldman, Alan Pasqua, and Bob Sheppard, among many others. While in school Eric played a key role in the outreach program called JazzReach, for which he coordinated Manual Arts High School Jazz Ensemble for a year.
In 2004 he lead the Southern California Jazz Collective on a tour of Southern California and Lima, Peru. In the fall of 2005 Eric was also named as one of the winners of the coveted John Coltrane Memorial Scholarship. Eric graduated from USC in May of 2006 after having the opportunity to play with many legends of music, some of which included Bobby McFerrin, Dave Brubeck, Wayne Shorter, and even rock legend Steve Miller. Eric currently plays and teaches professionally throughout the LA area. His projects include both electric and acoustic jazz ensembles, composition, arranging, and creating a new method for beginning jazz improvisation: TheJazzMethod.com.
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