Jazz Monthly.com Interview with eric darius

“Jazz Monthly Feature Interview” Eric Darius
Interview By Baldwin "Smitty" Smith

Jazz Monthly: Well, I’m always excited to have my next guest join me at JazzMonthly.com. As always, when he does a new record, it is always killer and this one is no exception. It is called Goin’ All Out. He’s one of the most popular saxophonists in the business. Please welcome Blue Note recording artist, the exciting Mr. Eric Darius. Eric, how ya doin’, my friend?

Eric Darius (ED): I’m doing great, Smitty. How are you?

Jazz Monthly: All right. Man, I’m loving this new record Goin’ All Out.

ED: (Laughs.) Thank you very, very much.

Jazz Monthly: Yeah, it’s a fitting title, man, because when you’re listening to these great tracks, you can definitely understand why you titled it Goin’ All Out because not only is it great music, but you’ve got some fantastic players on this slick new album.

ED: Thank you.

Jazz Monthly: Yeah. I noticed a couple of names right away, a couple of great producers and arrangers, and that’s Darren Rahn and Mel Brown. Great cats.

ED: Yes.

Jazz Monthly: Talk to me about these two cats, man, and what they bring to your great project.

ED: Well, as you know, on my last album, Just Getting Started, Darren Rahn produced half of the album and with the songs that Darren produced, Mel Brown was also playing on those tracks, and something about Darren Rahn, he just understands my vision. He understands what direction I want to go and I don’t even really have to tell him what I want to do, but he knows exactly where I want to go and we just have that natural chemistry in the studio together, so every time we work on something, it’s exactly what I envisioned, if not better. So when I was approached about working on this next project, Darren was the first person that came to mind because he understands exactly what I want to do and we just have that great relationship like that, so working with Darren on this project was a pleasure, as it always is.

Jazz Monthly: Well, it sounds like you took my advice because I remember when you first started working with Darren, I said “You need to do some more songs with this cat,” so thanks for taking my advice on that. (Laughs.)

ED: Well, you know, I’m glad I have people like you. (Both laugh.) If it weren’t for you, Smitty, I don’t know what I would do.

Jazz Monthly: Yeah, right. (Both laugh.) Well, I’ll tell you, man, he’s a great guy to work with, because he really complements your music very well.

ED: He really does, and the thing about Darren is he’s a younger guy so he understands the classics and he understands the new contemporary twist, and so I’m right in the middle, where I try to infuse some classic traditional sounds with some contemporary cutting edge sounds, and he really understands exactly what I want to do with my music, so he’s a perfect complement to my music.

Jazz Monthly: Yeah, and Mel Brown, man, what a great cat. Man, he is just an incredible bass player.

ED: That boy can play! (Laughs.) He can just flat out play. I mean, he’s funky, he can groove, he’s smooth when you need him to be smooth, he’s just the perfect bass player for any situation. So when Darren approached me about producing the record and we were looking at finding musicians to record, we both came up with Mel Brown, of course.

Jazz Monthly: Yeah.

ED: He did some work on my last album and he just really understands the groove and he’s just the complete package.

Jazz Monthly: Yeah, and he always comes prepared, man. He is one of the most prepared musicians to just get down that I have ever run into.

ED: You know, he really is and what’s funny is we did a lot of different takes of the songs and you should hear some of the stuff that this man did. I mean, it was so amazing that we had to tone it down a little bit.

Jazz Monthly: (Laughs.)

ED: When you’re keeping radio in mind, people would be like “Whoa, what was that?!”

Jazz Monthly: Yeah, man. I feel it!

ED: So we really had to narrow it down and find a take that fit within the context of the music. But he’ll give you whatever you want. That’s the great thing about Mel.

Jazz Monthly: Yeah, and a great guy too, man, yeah, a really cool cat. I always enjoy talking with him and listening to his music, and he’s done a lot of work over the years and he’s a young cat, but he’s got it working, man.

ED: Yeah, he sure does.

Jazz Monthly: Yeah. So now I’m enjoying the entire project and I was excited to hear that you were doing a new one, but I gotta say that bringing Norman Brown in on this project was a very cool thing too and I love that track, “Just for the Moment,” man.

ED: Thank you.

Jazz Monthly: So was that something that you and Norman just kinda sat down and wrote together or was that something…?

ED: Actually, there’s a story behind this song. “Just for the Moment” was a song that I composed myself and actually on the whole CD this was the only song that I wrote by myself, and the story behind this song is I actually ended up splitting with my ex-fiancee about a year and a half ago and around that time frame I was going through a lot. I mean, it was a very tough time for me. I was down, I was depressed, and I kind of lost myself in a sense. I didn’t really know what direction to go in and it was a major change for me, a major lifestyle change, and so during that time frame, I mean, I just kind of lost my motivation and I was trying to pick myself back up but it was just really tough, just because I had to learn a lot and it was a major life change, so after a couple months, I remember specifically I left the gym one day and I got this real optimistic, positive feeling.

I had a great workout, I was driving home, I was by myself, I turned the radio down, and I just kind of started reflecting on some of the positive things in my life. I’m very thankful for all the experiences that I’ve had and I realized that the problem that I was going through was just for the moment, that things were going to get better, that there was light at the end of the tunnel. It was kind of like a spiritual thing, like God was telling me that “You know what? You’re gonna get through these problems, everything is going to be okay, learn from your experiences and move on.” And that’s kind of what this song was all about, so when you listen to it, it has this real bouncy, upbeat, really happy, positive type of vibe, and that’s exactly what I wanted to convey to the listeners, because that’s how I felt when I wrote the song. It was kind of that type of song where you know what? I moved on with my life and things are going to be better now, and that’s how I came up with “Just for the Moment.”

Jazz Monthly: Well, it’s a great song, man and you put your heart in that one. You can feel that, yeah.

ED: Thank you, and Norman Brown was the perfect complement to this song.

Jazz Monthly: Yeah.

ED: When I wrote it, I wanted to feature an artist on this song and the first person that came to mind was Norman. When you hear Norman’s playing, he just has this real charismatic, positive, excited type of vibe to his playing, and he was the perfect fit for the song, so I contacted him about doing it and it worked out great, so I’m really blessed that I had the opportunity to feature him on this track.

Jazz Monthly: Yeah, it’s a great track, man, wow. Well, even before that, when I hear the first track, “Just Like That,” it’s a great opening for the project because I started to reflect on it as a party record, but it got kind of mature and heavy in there once I got into the project.

ED: (Laughs.) Yeah.

Jazz Monthly: The first song is like “It’s party time!”

ED: Yeah, it’s funny because “Just Like That” kind of sets the mood for the project, but the thing about this CD is that it’s very diverse. I mean, it’ll take you through so many different moods, so many different mind frames, and this CD really reflects me and my experiences and the things I’ve been going through in the past several years, so with this album, it really, really reflects me. And you will find yourself dancing, you’ll find yourself grooving, then at times you’ll find yourself reflecting on your life and different moments, and I think it’s a pretty well-rounded album that really caters to every single mood.

Jazz Monthly: Yeah, it does, it really does, because a lot of times when you hear the first song, it really just sort of continues that same thing or that same theme as you’re going throughout the project. But I noticed a great deal of diversity as I listened to the record because like I said, I thought it was going to be just a get down party record, you know?

ED: (Laughs.)

Jazz Monthly: But then I started to feel the changes and the changes are great.

ED: Thank you very, very much.

Jazz Monthly: Yeah, and speaking of Darren Rahn, the title track is totally cool, man. It’s vintage Eric Darius.

ED: (Laughs.) And you know, that’s exactly why I chose that song as the title track of the album, because even though on this album you’ll hear me stretching out and going in different directions and trying new things, “Goin’ All Out” is kind of the song that kind of bridges everything all together from the last album to the new album. It still has that trademark “Eric Darius” sound and it mixes some of the old with the new, and it’s just kind of that perfect bridge between both albums.

Jazz Monthly: Yeah. I’ve got a question for you, man. I’m noticing more and more artists on their album liner notes there, they’re not wearing shoes anymore. Is there something in vogue with this no shoes thing, you know? What’s up with that?

ED: (Both laugh.) You know, I’ll be honest with you, the photographer, he’s an incredible, incredible photographer, had great insight and vision, and he had the idea of me taking off my shoes and I was very opposed to that.

Jazz Monthly: (Laughs.)

ED: I’m like, “You know, I don’t care. I am not taking my shoes off for anybody. I’m just not into that.” I mean, I’ve seen a lot of artists even perform on stage with no shoes.

Jazz Monthly:Yeah.

ED: Even the thought of that, I’m just like, “You know, that’s not me and that’s just not gonna happen, so you’re really gonna have to convince me to do that.” Finally he convinced me and I’m like “All right, I’ll take the picture, but this picture’s not gonna make it on the album. I’ll just take it for you. This is not for me.”

Jazz Monthly: Yeah, man, I’ve been noticing that lately. Everybody’s showing off their toes. It’s like what’s up? It’s like “I’m keeping my shoes on.”

ED: And I was not trying to show them off at all, but I guess there’s something about not having your shoes on that just kind of gives you that down home kind of vibe or you’re kind of one with the music and with everything else that’s going on, and you feel comfortable enough to do that.

Jazz Monthly: Oh, okay. I thought it was a sexy thing working. I just gotta ask, you know?

ED: Well, some people are into their own things, so who knows?

Jazz Monthly: Yeah, you know? Perhaps I should do a survey. (Both laugh.)

ED: That’s funny. It’s funny because every time I see other CDs and people have their shoes off, I’m like “Uh-uh, they need to go and put their shoes on.” And now I’m one of those guys with their shoes off, so it’s funny.

Jazz Monthly: Well, let’s say you’re keeping up with the times, huh?

ED: I guess I am.

Jazz Monthly:Yeah, we’ll leave it at that. Maybe it’s a photographer thing, I don’t know.

ED: It must be because that’s what it was in my case.

Jazz Monthly: Oh, man. So “Vibe With Me.” Talk to me about “Vibe With Me,” man, because that’s a very upbeat kind of get down kind of song. I like that.

ED: Yeah, when I came up with the idea for “Vibe With Me,” over the past several years I’ve really been immersing myself in different styles of music. I’ve been listening to a lot of hip hop, a lot of R&B, pop, Latin music, and I really wanted to make myself more well rounded and to just really try to incorporate as many different styles into this project as I could. And one of the artists that I’ve been listening to a lot and I’ve really enjoyed his music is Timbaland. He’s an incredible producer and he has this ability to fuse so many different styles of music and everyone enjoys it. I mean, he just has this real great type of vibe and it’s great club music. So you know what? I thought, when I was working on this project, I wanted to make a song that kind of had that Timbaland type of vibe, that had that real club type of feel, but I wanted to make sure that the song was melodic and that it had a strong melody. And “Vibe With Me,” when you listen to it, it kind of puts you in the mindset of kind of just hanging out in the club, you’re having a drink, you’re hanging out, and you’re just kind of vibing, but it has that real strong melodic sense on top of it that it just all makes sense. So that’s kind of what I wanted to portray with “Vibe With Me.”

Jazz Monthly: It’s a great song and I’ve noticed that especially with this project, you’ve jumped a level or two in your musicianship. Especially with the diversity of the project. I feel the maturity level—the elevated maturity level, I should say—in your music with this project.

ED: Thank you….

Jazz Monthly: And I think it’s going to be a great welcome to your fans out there.

ED: Thank you. I mean, that was definitely my goal. I’ve really been working hard in the past several years and I wanted people to be able to hear the difference with this album compared to the last. And whenever I approach my music, I always look at artists like Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock, where their music, every single album that they released was completely different than the previous one. You listen to Miles Davis’ first record and compare it to his last one, he went from doing bebop to straight pop. You listen to Herbie Hancock’s original first album and listen to what he’s doing now, it’s just completely different.

Jazz Monthly: Exactly.

ED: And so I look at those type of artists where I want to try new things, I kind of want to push the boundaries and just try new things, because I think it’s exciting for me as an artist to do new things and I think it’s exciting for the listeners to hear something different. So that’s definitely what I wanted to convey on this project, was you know what? I’ve had a lot of great experiences and I think I’ve grown as a person, as a musician, and I hope that it’s reflected on this album.

Jazz Monthly: And you make a great point. I think I’ve noticed that this year more than ever before that a great number of artists are really striving to be different or to show a different side of their musicianship, their musicality, and I think that’s a beautiful thing because as humans, we can bore easily when it comes to music.

ED: That’s true.

Jazz Monthly: And I think there’s always that door to be creative and to reach the next level, and I’m just totally excited, especially this year, that there’s so much great music, including your album, with a diversity of music, and I think that’s so rewarding for the fans and it’s a win-win for everyone.

ED: Absolutely. I mean, I think that’s the beauty of music, is to be able to do new things and to take people on different journeys that they’ve never been before, and as an artist that’s really my goal. With every single album I want them to take them step by step through every single experience and I want them to hear the difference between every single album. I want there to be this steady growth and I think, like you said, it’s exciting for the artists and exciting for the listeners.

Jazz Monthly: Yeah, and I think the fans are going to really love the tenor sound on this one, man. (Both laugh.) You thought I missed that, didn’t ya?

ED: No, you know, I know you don’t miss much, so I figured that you would.

Jazz Monthly: Yeah, I was feeling that tenor, man.

ED: You know, it’s funny because I have a lot of people come up to me and they’re like “You know, I really like your tenor sound. It’s very distinctive, very soulful, and we think you should play more tenor.” I’m like you know what? It’s funny because alto was my main instrument growing up. That was the horn that I started playing on when I was ten years old, and so that was just kind of my bread and butter, and then it wasn’t until high school that I started playing a little more tenor. And people have been giving me a lot of great comments about my tenor sound, so I’ve been trying to play that a little bit more. For this project, I think my sound on tenor has developed some and I’m trying new things on there and I’m really happy with it, so I’m glad that you enjoyed the tenor sounds.

Jazz Monthly: Yeah, man. Yeah, that was a great approach too. It really pumps up the project.

ED: Yeah, it sure does because I think with tenor I have a tendency to be more melodic, I have a tendency to really just kind of focus in on the music, and it was a perfect complement to this album. So “Breathe” is the last track on the album and it just kind of sets the tone for the whole entire album. Even though it’s the last song, it just kind of says “You know what? This is where I am, I’ve arrived and this is me.”

Jazz Monthly: Yeah, and it shows the diversity and the creativity of Darren too because he was spot on with what you cats did with this particular song to round out the project, yeah.

ED: And it’s funny because there’s a little story behind this song. We had six days to finish this album. Actually, you know what? I take that back. We had—I can’t remember. I’m getting old. (Both laugh.) We had four days to record the album, so we had six tracks and we only really had five songs, and the sixth track we were still just kind of—it was incomplete and we were just still writing it and coming up with different ideas, so we kind of got into this really stressful time frame where we were trying to rush and hurry up and getting everything finished, and it was getting tough for both him and for me. It was getting harder for me to be creative because I was coming under this deadline, and so it became really difficult, but finally we got to a place where we finished everything, we had one song left, and we had a full day to work on it, so it was kind of a sense of relief. We’d been working really hard to get to this point. We had one full day left and we had one song, so we just kind of took a step back and took everything in and just took a deep breath, and we just wrote this song together and everything just flowed just naturally, and that’s why we named it “Breathe” because it was just a relief from the rest of the whole album and it was just kind of that mind frame that we were in. We just wanted to create that feeling that we felt when we wrote that song. When you listen to “Breathe,” it really has this reflective type of feel, it just kind of takes you away, and that’s what we wanted to capture in this song.

Jazz Monthly: Yeah, and what a great change. I mean, it’s sort of like a concert in that you start out with Track 1 with “Just Like That.”

ED: Uh-huh.

Jazz Monthly: And at the end of the concert it’s like “Let’s just breathe.”

ED: It’s like whew!

Jazz Monthly: What a show.

ED: And I think that’s important too when it comes to making a record, the constant flow from start to finish, taking you through a journey. I think listening to an album should be a journey. From the first track to the last one, there’s different flows and different moods, but in the end it flows together as one complete idea, and that’s what we strive to do on this project.

Jazz Monthly: Yeah, and it’s great, man. When I go back to Night on the Town and Just Getting Started, and now you’re Goin’ All Out, and you know how I am. I’m reflecting on all this and I said “Okay, now, what’s he going to do on the next one?”

ED: You know, it’s funny. Everybody’s been asking me the same thing. Like, you know, “First of all, you took a Night on the Town and then you’re Just Getting Started, now you’re Goin’ All Out, so what’s next?” And my answer is “I don’t know.” (Both laugh.)

Jazz Monthly: I didn’t think so (Laughs).

ED: And I think that’s kind of the fun thing about music, is you never know what journeys or things you’re going to go through in your life, and we make our music based on those experiences, so who knows? We’ll see what happens in another year or two when I work on my next project.

Jazz Monthly: I can see a live DVD working.

ED: That’s definitely something I’d really love to do, because I think it’s hard to capture the amount of emotion and energy you have on stage in a studio recording project, so that’s definitely something I’d love to do.

Jazz Monthly: Yeah, man. Mm, I like it, I like it. It would definitely be cool. Well, man, I am totally loving this record and I’m loving what you’re doing, and you’ve got a fan club that’s loving you too, right?

ED: Oh yeah, definitely.

Jazz Monthly: Yeah, so talk to me a little bit about that. And by the way, we’ll talk about your Web site in a minute, but I noticed you’ve got this fan club working and how’s that going for you?

ED: It’s actually going great. We’re still in the process of getting everything together, but I’m launching my very first fan club, so it’s very, very exciting for me. I think for a fan club, it’s great for the fans and it’s great for the artist because it gives you that direct connection that you don’t get any other way, and I just really want to engage the fans, I want them to understand me as a musician, as a person, and I want to understand them too, so having a fan club, I think, people can really be engaged with everything that’s going on, so I’m really, really excited about launching my first fan club and I hope everybody joins and we’ll all be a happy family.

Jazz Monthly: All right, so how are you going to communicate to the fans as to how they can join? I mean, how is that all going to work?

ED: They can join my fan club by going to my Web site, which is www.ericdarius.com and you can click on the fan club link and it will take you to another site where it gives you all the information about the fan club, what it all entails, and you can sign up right there on that Web site.

Jazz Monthly: All right, very cool. And then they’ll get a beautiful note from you saying “Thank you for joining” and all that good stuff, right?

ED: Absolutely, and membership will include a lot of different things and we’re finalizing all the details now, but it’s going to be all access passes and t-shirts and music and autographed posters.

Jazz Monthly: Oh, I’m signing up! (Both laugh.)

ED: You’ll be the first one on the fan club.

Jazz Monthly: Yeah, man.

ED: So we might just even throw in a lollipop or something for you. (Both laugh.)

Jazz Monthly: Oh, thank you. Don’t go through all that trouble.

ED: Oh, well, you know, I appreciate the fans. I’m just looking out for them.

Jazz Monthly: Oh, that’s cool, man. And by the way, speaking of going to your Web site, you’ve got a totally new site now, wow. It’s got some bling and everything. (Both laugh.)

ED: Yeah, every single Web site that I do, I want it to coordinate with the album and to go with everything that’s going on, so I think the Web site perfectly correlates to the album and has that same exact type of vibe. With the album, I’m “goin’ all out,” I’m stretching out, I’m doing new things, I’m trying to transcend all different music boundaries, and with the Web site it kind of has that same type of vibe, and that’s the excitement about it for me, so I hope that fans enjoy the Web site. It’s very interactive and we will be adding a lot of new features to it, so I definitely want to encourage everybody to check it on a regular basis and you might find something new.

Jazz Monthly: Yeah, find out where you’re going, where you’re going to be on your tour, and you’ve got a link to your My Space as well, huh?

ED: I sure do.

Jazz Monthly: How cool is that, huh? And, of course, they can buy the CD from the Web site.

ED: Of course. Of course you can buy it in the stores, you can buy it at iTunes, Amazon, but I think the best place to find it is at www.ericdarius.com

Jazz Monthly: I totally agree, my friend. Oh, that’s too cool. Well, Eric, I’m telling you, man, I love this record, I love what you’re doing, man. All of your projects have just been the bump and this one is no exception. You continue to wow your fans and produce some great music, you’ve got a great team, and I congratulate you on what you’re doing with your music, my friend.

ED: Thank you very, very much. I mean, this project was very exciting for me to work on and I’m really glad that I can have an opportunity to share music with fans and I hope that they enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Jazz Monthly: Yeah, they’ll probably enjoy that mug shot on the front cover of the album as well too, man. (Both laugh.)

ED: Well, I actually thought about putting a picture of you on the cover.

Jazz Monthly: (Laughs.) Yeah, right.

ED: But you know what? I didn’t want people to show up to my gigs and be like “You know, that’s not him. The guy that’s on the cover looks a lot better.”

Jazz Monthly: Yeah, and plus you probably wouldn’t have sold a single CD either. (Both laugh.)

ED: Yeah, that’s why I re-thought that idea.

Jazz Monthly: Oh, man, that’s too cool. Well, Eric, I’m looking forward to seeing you on the road and hearing some of this great music and we’ll do a little hang and catch up on some stuff that’s not business all the time and that’ll be totally cool.

ED: Absolutely. I really look forward to it. It should be a great exciting year and I’m really looking forward to what’s in store and hopefully we’ll meet together out on the road at some point and just get to hang.

Jazz Monthly: Yeah, that would be cool.

ED: Sit back, relax and breathe. (Both laugh.)

Jazz Monthly: Be careful, you’re going to have people want to do breathing exercises at your gigs. Oh, man, well, Eric, hey, man, congratulations on the record and I anticipate a great year for you with this album and even going into 2009 as well.

ED: Thank you very, very much.

Jazz Monthly: All right, we have been talking with the fantastic and amazing Blue Note recording artist Eric Darius. His great new record is called Goin’ All Out. It is in stores now and you can certainly get it at his Web site, and I know you will certainly enjoy this one. I highly recommend it. It is a great collection of wonderful tunes from the sax man himself. Eric, once again, man, congratulations and hopefully we’ll meet soon and all the best to you this year.

ED: Thank you, Smitty. It was a pleasure and I look forward to doing it again.

Baldwin “Smitty” Smith

For More Information Visit www.ericdarius.com and www.myspace.com/ericdarius and www.bluenote.com