E. J. Decker - Vocals Randy Sandke - Trumpet Bob Kindred - Tenor sax Les Kurtz - Piano Dave Hofstra - Bass Tom Melito - Drums
Others E. J. has sung with include Eric Lewis, David Lahm, Dena DeRose, Joe Vincent Tranchina, Ratzo B. Harris, Peggy Stern, Saadi Zain, Joe Strasser, Richard Shipman, Sean Smith, and the late, lamented greats Terri Thornton, Gentleman Bob Gaddy and Johnny "Tasty" Parker.
At The September Concert for 9/11 in 2006, E. J. appeared with Jeanfrançois Prins, Bill Goodwin, Ritt Henn, Tedd Firth, Yutaka Uchida, Ratzo Harris, Virginia Mayhew and Les Kurtz.
For 2007's concert, E. J. sang with Tedd, Ratzo, Lou Vega, Michael T. A. Thompson and Bob Kindred.
In 2008, E. J. was honored to share the Heart of Jazz stage with Joe Vincent Tranchina, Gene Perla, Yutaka Uchida, Tom Dempsey, Bud Burridge and Claire Daly.
Influences
Lord, so many...
Richie Havens, Ray Charles, Billy Eckstine, Gene Pitney, Fats Domino, Sammy Davis, Jr., Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Alberta Hunter, Johnny Hartman, Leonard Cohen, Arthur Prysock, Otis Redding, Jerry Jeff Walker, John Lennon, every Soul artist, Bing Crosby, Bill Charlap, Aretha Franklin, Tom Paxton, every Motown artist, Julie London, Thelonious Monk, Cat Stevens, Woody Guthrie, Lou Rawls, Dean Martin, Sarah Vaughan, Bob Gaddy
...and anyone else who sang the truth and told the whole lie.
Sounds Like
E. J.'s pipes have been compared to both Bill Medley (of The Righteous Brothers) and Elvis Presley. The style has been compared at times to Arthur Prysock, Billy Eckstine or Johnny Hartman. The eclectic taste in material is strictly his own.
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Pics from 2005's The September Concert: The Heart of Jazz for 9/11, with 35 artists appearing over 7 hours. (Roll over for personnel.)
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Pics from 2006's The September Concert: The Heart of Jazz for 9/11, where we had 40 artists appearing over 6 hours. (Roll over for personnel.)
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Pics from 2007's The September Concert: The Heart of Jazz for 9/11, where over 110 artists were booked into 5 venues across Manhattan. Here are pics from two of them. One pic from Creole, and a number from The Sugar Bar. If you have photos from any of the venues, please send them on to me, and I'll include them here. (Roll over for personnel.)
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Pics from 2008's The September Concert: The Heart of Jazz for 9/11, where over 50 artists were booked into two venues in Manhattan will be posted soon. Please check back!
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And here's an important thought to chew on, from George...
A few songs for you from the CD, While The City Sleeps...
All Music Guide: **** Stars / "... a strong voice touched by that of Billy Eckstine ..."
Cadence Magazine:
"His presentation is lush, and his songs have a tinge of brash elegance. Decker has a way of presenting his tunes using dynamic flair, and he commands attention through his direct and forceful delivery. He seems to prefer singing lesser-exposed standards, and he displays a bold stroke of authority on each of them ... a solid entertainer."
Craig Turner, WPNE 89.3 FM:
"... right from the first song, title cut, I knew I had a winner in my hands ... After repeated listens, I put this CD in the 'must have' category. It is one of those CDs that always puts you in a good mood."
Jazz Improv Magazine:
"One is first struck by Mr. Decker's rich baritone voice ... His tone is resonant, his articulation immaculate. Mr. Decker's vocal inflection shows a clear understanding of the lyrics for each of his selections ... Similarly, he evidences a rich and far-reaching vocabulary of jazz and jazz influences. It is obvious, from the tune selection upward, that Mr. Decker is aware of the roots of this idiom."
E. J. Decker grew up the youngest in a musical household: his mother played piano, his father was a big band singer who sang briefly with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and played Big Band records at home, while his older brothers played '50s and '60s rock, R&B, folk and jazz around the house. In his teens, E. J. sought out many of the great artists playing live in New York area clubs and concerts, including: Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Leonard Cohen, Oscar Brown, Jr., Jimmy Smith, Alberta Hunter, Leon Russell, Richie Havens, Tom Rush, the original Dave Brubeck Qrt., Genya Ravan, Tom Paxton, the Jefferson Airplane and Sammy Davis, Jr. He learned much from all of them, stole much from most of them—and began finding his own voice.
E. J. sang lead in rock bands and R&B groups for many years, and spent others on the folk music circuit, playing festivals and cafes along the West Coast. During these years, he also acted often in theater and on television, appearing regularly during the 1980s on NBC's now-departed soap opera, Texas.
Later, E. J. "came home" to his father's music, mixing it with the sounds he'd heard along the way. It's there that his lush baritone voice serves him best. E. J. glides easily through jazz to standards to rock to folk to '50s R&B and blues—and may well be the strongest, purest male interpreter of ballads of this generation—all the while maintaining a consistency of sound and feel that marks it immediately as an E. J. Decker piece.
Reviewers and fans alike maintain that he definitely has his own sound. Given his background and approach, it's no surprise that E. J.'s style was once described as "biker Gershwin."
His songwriting skills stand to the fore as well, as seen in his beautiful composition, "(We're) Strangers Now," which currently streams on the MySpace player above.
E. J. has sung in concerts (once before royalty) and in most of the jazz venues of New York, including: both the uptown and midtown Birdlands, J's, The Garage, Creole, The Cornelia St. Cafe, Cleopatra's Needle, The Squire, The Triad, Enzo's Jazz, The Savoy, The Bacchus Room, Chez Suzette, The Redeye Grill, Sweet Rhythm and Zinno's, among others. He is also one of the very few vocalists ever to be booked into that legendarily singer-averse Columbia Univ.-area jazz haunt, Augie's—which now lives on as the jazz club, Smoke.
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The September Concert
Begun in 2002, and held each year since, The September Concert is a non-profit organization which commemorates the horror visited upon New York City on September 11, 2001 by placing free music that day each year in parks, shops, office buildings, clubs and restaurants across New York's five boroughs. It brings together every genre imaginable, including amateurs and professionals, both to honor those we've lost and to celebrate Life and our shared Humanity, by utilizing the full healing properties of music.
2005:
On the fourth anniversary of the attacks, E. J. was asked on very short notice by The September Concert's organizers to produce the event's first-ever jazz component, to fill that large gap in the genres it offered. He quickly assembled over 30 top NYC jazz musicians, who donated their time and talents over the course of a stunning 7-hour free concert, dubbed The Heart of Jazz, in a packed restaurant on Columbus Avenue. There are pictures over there on the left column from that year.
2006:
As part of The September Concert's fifth year, the westside of Manhattan was again the epicenter of the jazz universe, as over 40 reknowned jazz artists convened to show The Heart Of Jazz during a 6-hour free event, again filling the New York sky with music.
For a report on 2006's jazz event, and a full roster of the notables who played, please see the blog post above (you'll have to click on the "[View All Blog Entries]" link, then click on "archives" on the left to get to the correct page. But the eye-popping list of musicians is certainly worth the effort!) There are now photos posted over on the left as well.
2007:
For 2007, The September Concert: The Heart of Jazz expanded across the city (OK, Manhattan...), as well. It was an amazing day and night of music and musicians—all playing from the heart. The Heart of Jazz grew into five venues, with over 110 jazz notables scheduled. Despite torrential rains, the musicians booked for the one outdoor jazz event of the five still turned out and were accounted for and ready to play, until it simply became too dangerous to attempt. But just by their showing up despite the elements, their statement on the core of this event was strongly and passionately made. The indoor events proceeded intact. Head up to the Blog Section above to see the 2007 report about the stunning musical events of that day. Photos from that day are also on the left.
2008:
This year, The Heart of Jazz was pared down from the daunting workload of putting up five venues to a more manageable two. Over 50 top players performed in 2008 over seven hours in these two venues—Creole and The Sugar Bar. Busy players flew in from as far away as Denver, and one endured airline hell from France after a concert there, attempting to take their spot in this spiritual and musical event. There will be more on this in the blog section above soon. Plus, pictures from this year's event will be posted soon, as well.
E. J. is a member of Actors' Equity Association and is a voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), the Grammy folks.
E. J. recently served as president of the New York Chapter of The Jazz Vocal Coalition—a national organization, centered in Los Angeles, that during its five-year lifespan had a clear impact on raising the visibility and profile of singers, both within the jazz community and within the music industry overall.
Ciao,E. J. Decker ,Thank you for the add and the friendship. you are very good, I like your stupendous music a lot,and stupendous voice. you are fantastic ..really. talk to you soon, and all of my best wishes to always listen to your good music. all the best.. from italy neal
Hey, E.J. Thanks for reaching out - I'm not that savvy in MySpace so bear with me. I will be at Enzo's on Nov. 7. I hope you can swing by. We can celebrate the election! I am traveling out of town on Oct. 15 so regret that I can't be there to cheer you on; have a great gig and thanks again...also congratulations on another beautiful 9/11 concert.
Hi EJ. Great to finally meet you in Trudi's yesterday! I got to meet a lot of great singers. I loved it. I'm now back in So.Cal. Already miss NYC. Keep in touch.So sorry to have missed your live singing. Hugs and warm wishes from California. xo Claudia
Hi EJ - It was a great night and the band was amazing! And you have such a resonant voice and beautiful timbre. I loved listening to you - and all the other singers. I feel very fortunate to have participated in this event and to have met all of you. I hope we get to work together again! Come down and visit us in Maryland. my best, Marianne
EJ - Man, it was nice to be on a gig with you...You did a great job..nice to hear you and nice to get to hang with Katheryn a bit too...Keep Swinging dude and watch out for CRAZY people !!! Ro
Glad to hook up here on myspace. SUch a nice vocal tone you have. I get to Manhattan now and then as my sister lives there. Still swingin' in TwangTown! Karen
ej you sound a totally groovy guy,thanks so much for the encouragement.looked up all your favourites man what a great taste you have. so glad to know you and honoured you are one mean vocalist.
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