Eric Slaughter(USA)
Eric Slaughter was born into a musical family in his native city of St Louis, Mo. He began playing the piano at age 3 switching to the guitar at 14. After attending the University of Michigan for a year to pursue a double major in Music Performance and Electrical Engineering he transfered to the prestigious Berklee College of Music. There, in classes and in performances in and around the Boston, Mass. area, he was exposed to music and musicians from around the globe. At this time he also began to study privately with local guitar guru Mick Goodrick. An opportunity to tour the country with blues vocalist and producer Willie Clayton took him away from Boston and in between tours he began working as a studio session musician for Ace records in Jackson, Mississippi. Later, his desire to get closer to the roots of jazz and a chance meeting with vocalist/trumpeter Jeremy Davenport took him to New Orleans, La. where he immersed himself in the music and history of this vibrant and diverse musical culture playing with the many local jazz, blues, zydeco, reggae, and hip-hop artists in the area. During this period he was able to supplement his income by playing solo piano gigs, teaching private lessons, and doing hip-hop and r&b studio sessions with Cash Money records producer Darius "Deezel" Harrison. These musical associations led to tours of the U.S. and Europe as a performer, teacher, and clinician. Always seeking to grow and improve he decided to move to the fast paced and competitive environment of New York City where he had the opportunity to play a variety of jazz, afro cuban, brazilian, and r&b gigs with numerous local and internationally renowned performers. Unfortunately, the devastation of the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent economic slowdown made life in the city very difficult. As a result, Eric left New York in 2001 to lead a series of jazz guitar trios for Carnival cruise lines. Over a period of 4 years he worked on ships traveling to the Caribbean, Mexico, Alaska and Hawaii while maintaining a home base in New Orleans. After leaving the cruise ship industry he traveled through Central and South America for 2 years immersing himself in the music, language, and culture of Latin America. Eric's prolific and eclectic musical career has afforded him the opportunity to record and share the stage with artists from all over the musical map like r&b/bluesmen Bobby Womack, Little Milton, the Ojays, and Ike Turner to contemporary saxophonist Kirk Whalum and from traditionalists like Donald Harrison, Shannon Powell, and Nicholas Payton to avant-garde musicians like Craig Taiborn, Lester Bowie, and Sirone. He has recently returned to the St Louis area where he continues to grow and hone his craft in a variety of challenging and creative musical settings.