Edited w/ Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4
A taste of late-night New York City...
A few songs for you from the CD,
While The City Sleeps...
All Music Guide:
**** / "... 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."
While The City Sleeps...
Available now at CD Baby !
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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 and his older brothers played '50s and '60s rock, R&B 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 many 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 in theater and on television, appearing regularly during the early 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. There that lush baritone voice serves him well. 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, 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.'s sung 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 legendary Columbia University area jazz haunt, Augie's—which is now 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 a large hole in the genres it presented. 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 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 fill a 6-hour free event, now known as The Heart Of Jazz, and filled the night sky with beautiful 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!)
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 all turned out and were accounted for and ready to play, until it became too dangerous to attempt it. But their statement 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 hopefully will be up soon.
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E. J. is a member of Actors' Equity Association and is a voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) . 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.
