Guitarist Eric Essix Goes Into a New Direction with Self Titled Release, “Eric Essix” | Available Now

It’s a new sound and a new direction for
this southern styled guitarist whose soulful licks and phrasings are
drenched in gospel and blues, but tinged with a generous portion of rock
and neck bobbing funk. On this outing, those core characteristics of
his sound remain, but compositionally he has broadened his horizons and
embraced some country and folk music textures that happen to blend
nicely with his southern sensibility and laid back approach. It is a
natural progression for him as a writer after songs like Brother Bryan,
Miles Away, Big Valley and his very “churchy” rendition of the civil
rights anthem, We Shall Overcome from the Birmingham album. The record
definitely seems to further define his identity for his listeners and
even for himself.

“I have never personally considered myself to
be a jazz artist in the truest sense of the word as it relates to the
tradition of the music. But, I think because my music is predominately
instrumental, I have been labeled a jazz guitarist; which is fine…I get
it. However, I also understand that jazz requires a certain amount of
study and discipline and, for guitarists, there is a very distinct
vocabulary and sound that I have not put in the time to master like so
many of my contemporaries like Russell Malone, Mark Whitfield and
others. From my first album to this newest one, the voice that has been
the most expressive for me on the guitar has always had an edgy,
overdriven crunchiness which is the sound I love more than any other. I
have not used that voice as much as I would have liked over the past
several years in the studio and it’s exciting to explore it a bit more
on this new project.”

Eric does not waste any time going there
on the album’s opener, his cover of the Tom Petty hit, Free Fallin which
ends with wailing Strat tones soaring over a bubbly organ pad and
soaring background vocals. Except for the angular B-3 solo on the next
song by the records producer and keyboardist Kelvin Wooten, on a funky
Essix composition called Gravitate, the album contains nothing but
extended guitar solos with Eric taking his time to make a clear
statement on all of the albums ten tracks. “I got a lot of encouragement
from Kelvin to ‘just play’ and even the songs we had originally planned
to fade, ended up rolling out to the very end of the track with guitar
solos.” A lot of listeners who have followed Eric since his debut
recording in 1988 will probably say, “It’s about time!”