If it's playing lead alto for The Brian Setzer Orchestra, playing jazz clubs around LA, recording music for several movies, writing books, or playing the funky sounds of "smooth jazz", Eric Morones can do it all!
Hailing from Racine, WI., Eric started playing the saxophone in eighth grade. It was the R&B sounds of players like David Sanborn, Gerald Albright, Eric Marienthal, and Nelson Rangell that sparked his musical interest. Later, he would discover jazz "greats" like Charlie Parker, Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, and Dexter Gordon.
Eric attended the world famous University of North Texas(UNT) in 1992. After a couple of years, Eric decided to transfer back home and attend the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater(UW-W), where he played with the school's "Jazz Symposium". The "Symposium" played and toured with Rick Margitza, Brad Leali, Willie Thomas, and performed at the 1996 Montreux Jazz and North Sea Jazz Festival. The "UW-W Jazz Symposium" CD features three of Eric's compositions.
After graduating from UW-W with a degree in Communications, Eric went back to UNT as a graduate student. He played and recorded with the Two o'clock Lab Band(directed by Jim Riggs), playing many solos on their CD "A Tribute To Benny Carter" (Klavier Records).
In March of '99, Eric moved to Los Angeles where he was asked to play lead alto with The Brian Setzer Orchestra, playing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Conan O'Brian, The Today Show, Regis and Kathy Lee, and at Woodstock '99. He also traveled to Japan with the band. Eric would also play with Bobby Caldwell, Steve Tyrell, Maureen McGovern, Jack Sheldon, Bill Holman, Bob Florence, Chad Wackerman, and Will Kennedy.
Eric wrote a bi-monthly column for the Saxophone Journal called "From The Front Lines", where he gave advice and tips on how to survive in the "real world" of music, also producing two Masterclass CDs: "How To Play Pop, R&B, and Smooth Jazz" for the magazine's Sept/Oct. 2002 issue, "How To Play The Blues" for the Sept/Oct. 2006 issue.
Eric also wrote the book "101 Saxophone Tips" (Hal Leonard Publishing), which is available at local music stores and Amazon.com, and recently finished his 2nd book, "25 Great Sax Solos", which is due out in Feb.
He continues to play in various groups around LA, is working on a third book on Paul Desmond, teaches private lessons, records for various films and commercials, and his first traditional jazz solo CD "About Time" will be released on Arabesque Records soon!
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