Eric J Morones

"Conscious of diverse textures and a range of sound, Morones shows himself to be in every way a top-grade bandleader and a capable songwriter."-allaboutjazz.com 

Grammy Nominated sax player ERIC J MORONES can do it all! Either playing lead alto for The Brian Setzer Orchestra, straight ahead/smooth jazz, self produced records, singing as SHY, studio session, even best selling books author: ERIC does it all! 

Hailing from Racine, WI., Eric started playing the saxophone in eighth grade with the R&B sounds of David Sanborn, Gerald Albright, Eric Marienthal, and Nelson Rangell sparking his early musical interest. He would soon discover jazz "greats" Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, and Wayne Shorter!

ERIC attended the University of North Texas (UNT) in 1992, where he then transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (UWW), playing  in the  "UWW Jazz Symposium" under director Steve Wiest. (Performances included the 1996 Montreux Jazz and North Sea Jazz Festivals.) 

Graduating with a degree in Communications, ERIC returned to UNT for graduate studies, where he directed a lab band, taught a saxophone fundamentals class, and recorded with the Two O'clock Lab Band "A Tribute To Benny Carter" album (Klavier Records) directed by Jim Riggs.

In March of '99, ERIC moved to Los Angeles where he soon became an in-demand saxophone player. He played lead alto saxophone for The Brian Setzer Orchestra for 18 years! With the orchestra, he performed on Dancing With The Stars, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O'Brian, The Today Show, Christmas at Rockefeller Center, Fox Sunday Sports, and Woodstock '99. Albums included: "Rockin Rudolph", “Songs From Lonely Avenue", "Don't Mess With The Big Band", "Christmas Extravaganza" and "It's Gonna Rock Cause That's What I Do".

Other credit include: Kelly Clarkson, Drake Bell, Aaron Carter, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band, Bobby Caldwell, Steve Tyrell, Maureen McGovern, Jack Sheldon, Bill Holman, Bob Florence, Colin Hay (Men at Work), Chad Wackerman (Frank Zappa), Will Kennedy (The Yellowjackets), and numerous LA bands! ERIC was featured on Big Fish Audio's DVD sound loop library, “Suite Grooves 1 and 2" produced by Jeff Carruthers. 

Prolific writer ERIC has written (7) music books: "25 Great Clarinet Solos", "25 Great Flute Solos", "101 Saxophone Tips", “25 Great Sax Solos", “The Best of Paul Desmond", and "25 Great Trumpets Solos", and "Saxophone Workout" (Hal Leonard Publishing). He also wrote a bi-monthly column for the Saxophone Journal called "From The Front Lines", where he also produced two Masterclass CDs: "How To Play Pop/ R&B/Smooth Jazz" (Sept/Oct. 2002) and "How To Play The Blues".   

As a solo jazz artist, ERIC has released two jazz albums: "ROUND TWO!"  (March '22) and “ABOUT TIME!" (Arabesque Records).  

ERIC also sings as the artist SHY, where he has released two albums: "SHY EP" and "Throwback!".
 

ERIC is available for lessons, Masterclasses, clinics, Music Productions and Songwriting, singing, horn arrangements, and coffee!