Eric Person

by Paula EdelsteinSaxophonist Eric Person was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of local musician and businessman Thomas Person. A child prodigy, he began playing saxophone at age 7 and had gained his first orchestral experience by the time he was in the fifth grade. While at Normandy Junior and Senior High he continued his musical studies and eventually got his first opportunities to play jazz. As a member of The Norsemen, the top jazz band at Normandy High, Eric gained popularity and was active in almost every facet of music life at the school. Concert and symphonic orchestras, the marching bands and classical solo work kept Eric motivated to attend school. Those years at Normandy were also successful in developing his love of many types of musical expression. When not playing in school ensembles, he played in funk bands and was a member of the James Matthews Quartet. They worked many of the hot jazz clubs of the day around St. Louis such as the Barbary Coast and The Place of Pleasure. For a teenager to be able to cut his teeth on serious jazz, the experience was invaluable. "We were playing all the hippest songs in the jazz canon such as "Isotope," "Inner Urge," "Passion Dance," "Red Clay," and songs by John Coltrane, Horace Silver and Miles Davis. It was a blast," states Person.
It was during this phase of his musical education that Eric developed his love of composition. He was first encouraged to compose by the legendary St. Louis saxophonist/composer, Jimmy Sharrod. In 1993 Eric wrote "Sharrod" as a tribute to Jimmy Sharrod. It was later included on the World Saxophone Quartet's MOVING RIGHT ALONG. Several more of Eric's compositions including "Great Expectations" with its challenging 5/4 time section and "Mr. More Or Less," which teeters between 4/4 and 3/4 time signatures also came from this early writing period. They were both recorded on ARRIVAL and MORE TALES TO TELL, two of Person's critically acclaimed recordings.
In 1979 while at Normandy High, Person enrolled and studied at the St. Louis Conservatory of Music. In 1982, he moved to New York City to continue his career as a jazz musician. There he met such jazz greats as Woody Shaw, Art Blakey, Gary Bartz and Jackie McLean among others. His big break came in 1983 during his association with the John Hicks Big Band when Eric received the call from the legendary drummer Chico Hamilton. That fruitful collaboration lasted through five recordings and many national and international tours. "In music, Chico is open to it all and that's inspiring."
In 1984 Eric joined Ronald Shannon Jackson's Decoding Society. Shannon's angular melodies, cosmic sonorities and ferocious energy developed so many areas of Eric's playing and later gave Eric his first opportunities to record and travel. "I did my first tours of the USA and Europe with Shannon and from the first moment to the last I was challenged."
In 1987 Eric joined Kelvyn Bell's band called KELVYNATOR. The band had a funky, exotic, driving beat that was intoxicating to listeners and resulted in their CD release REFUNKANATION. In that same year, Eric formed one of the first saxophone/tabla duos with Bob Coke called SOURCES. Bob played tabla, Indian sarod, acoustic guitar and assorted percussion instruments. The focus of the band was new directions and sounds, a new energy for the age. They toured France and the Northeastern part of the United States and received rave reviews for their innovations. From 1987 to 1993, Eric toured internationally with Sources, Kelvynator, Shannon Jackson and Chico Hamilton.
When bassist Dave Holland asked Eric to join his band in the fall of 1993, this was by far Person's most challenging musical experience. Dave's use of odd meters, free time, and modality was just the opportunity Eric was looking for. They released DREAM OF THE ELDERS, which highlighted a sound that was light, energetic and ethereal. Person's association with Dave Holland opened the doors to an even more fruitful period that continued throughout Eric's work with the World Saxophone Quartet. For the next four years, Eric was working with Dave Holland, WSQ, Chico Hamilton and also debuted his first CDs for Soul Note Records: ARRIVAL, PROPHECY and MORE TALES TO TELL. "I was writing like crazy in this period and I love it when my pen is hot!"
These first recordings as a leader received great critical acclaim. Eric placed in the top ten of Downbeat Magazine's Readers Poll for four years in a row from 1992 through 1995 for Soprano Sax. All the while, Eric was constantly pushing the musical envelope to include more songwriting, arranging and producing in addition to developing his own sound. Toward that end, Eric began assembling various musical combos -- looking for just the right sound that would become the sound of Meta-Four. Early incarnations of the band featuring bassist Carlos Henderson, pianists Michael Cain and Darryl Grant, drummers E. J. Strickland, Mark Johnson and Gene Jackson and guitarist Cary DeNigris have given way to the current lineup that consists of pianist John Esposito, bassist Kenny Davis, and drummer Pete O'Brian.
Eric's fourth CD as the leader of Meta-Four, EXTRA PRESSURE was released in the Fall of 1999 with critical acclaim and firmly planted Person's skills as a leader on the national and international jazz scenes. 2003 will feature a new release titled LIVE AT BIG SUR. It is Eric Person's fifth CD as the leader of Meta-Four.
For the past 20 years, Eric Person has made New York his home base and has been active performing and recording with a wide circle of musicians including: Ofra Haza, The Allman Brothers, McCoy Tyner Big Band, Jean-Paul Bourelly, Vernon Reid and Living Colour, David Murray, Oliver Lake, Hamiet Bluiett, Michelle Rosewoman, Ronnie Burrage, Woody Shaw, Cary DeNigris, Errol Parker Tentet, Onaje Allen Gumbs, The New York City Symphony, Michiel Bortslap, Ben Harper, Franklin Kiemeyer, Emmanuel Rueffler, Dave Douglas, Joe Chambers, Michael Carvin, World Saxophone Quartet, Ronald Shannon, Kelvyn Bell, Chico Hamilton, Dave Holland.