Saxophonist Eric Darius to Release New Album “Unleashed”

ERIC DARIUS
Announces His New Album Unleashed To Be Released on August 12th

New Single “That’s My Jam” is #5 On Billboard Charts

July 12, 2022 – Jazz/R&B Saxophonist, Songwriter, Producer, and Performer, Eric Darius is thrilled to announce his new album Unleashed to be released on August 12th.

He most recently released the second single from the album, “That’s My Jam” Feat. Justin Lee Schultz which is currently at #5 on the Billboard Charts and #3 on the Mediabase Charts. “That’s My Jam” is an upbeat, feel good song that captures the exhilarating grooves and high energy of his legendary live show that Darius wrote paying homage to one of his closest friends, Willie Payne, who recently passed. The song features 15-year-old prodigy, Justin Lee Shultz, on the talk box and the dynamic duo completely soar on this action-packed summer anthem with a message of living life to the fullest!

Click HERE to Pre-Save!

In support of his new album, Eric has launched his Unleashed World Tour which continues throughout the rest of the year. See all tour dates below.

As for Eric’s upcoming album, this project will be his second release via his own independent label, SagiDarius Music. His most recent album Breakin’ Thru released in 2018 was a huge commercial success, yielding four #1 hits on the Contemporary Jazz charts, however, this upcoming project due this Summer promises to be his best to date!

Produced by GRAMMY Ò award-winning musician, Philip Lassiter (Prince, Kirk Franklin, Ariana Grande), this album features collaborations with Eric Roberson, Paul Jackson, Jr., Justin Lee Schultz, Mononeon, Metropole Orkest and many others, seamlessly blurring the lines between Jazz, R&B, Hip-Hop, Funk & Pop! For the first time ever, Darius recorded the whole album live in studio with the full band simultaneously capturing an organic, authentic sound while bottling up the magic and synergy among the musicians in real time! “I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone on this project and truly unleash my full musical potential. This album is an honest reflection of myself and my growth both musically and personally over the past several years and it really takes the listeners on a musical journey from start to finish!”

Growing up in a musical household, Darius was influenced by a diverse array of artists from Earth Wind & Fire, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, George Benson, David Sanborn, Miles Davis, Bob Marley, to Grover Washington Jr., among many others. While still in high school, at the age of 17, he recorded and released his first album titled, Cruisin’, which would lay the groundwork for his seven full-length albums. In 2004, Darius signed his first record deal with Higher Octave Music, after label representatives saw him perform and wow the audience at Florida’s Clearwater Jazz Festival. This resulted in the release of his national debut album, Night on the Town later that year. Since then, he has gone on to release Just Getting Started in 2006 (Narada Jazz), Goin’ All Out in 2008 (Blue Note Records), On A Mission in 2010, Retro Forward in 2014 (both through Shanachie Entertainment), Breakin’ Thru in 2018 (SagiDarius Music) and now he’s officially being Unleashed like never before with his new album!

Tour Dates
July 16 – Mitchellville, MD – Lake Arbor Jazz Festival
July 21-24- Philadelphia, PA – South Kitchen & Jazz Parlor
August 6 – Albuquerque, NM – Albuquerque Museum Amphitheater
August 12 – St. Petersburg, FL – Palladium Theater- Clearwater Jazz Holiday
August 14 – Long Beach, CA – Long Beach Jazz Festival
August 19 – Louisville, KY – Louisville Jazz Festival
August 26 – Richmond, VA – The Tin Pan
August 27 – Mableton, GA – Mable House Barnes Amphitheatre
September 4 – Pensacola, FL – Gulfcoast Summer Jazz Fest
September 8-9- Chicago, IL – Brian Culbertson’s Chicago Jazz Getaway
September 10 – Dallas, TX – Bishop Arts Theatre Centre
September 11 – Oxnard, CA – Oxnard Jazz Festival
September 18 – Chesterfield, MO – The Factory St. Louis Smooth Jazz Cruise on Land
October 8 – Mazatlan, Mexico – Mazatlan Jazz Festival
October 13-16 – Rehoboth Beach, DE – Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival
October 22 – Avalon, CA- Catalina Island Jazztrax Festival
October 23 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Jazz Festival
October 29-30 – Napa, CA – Blue Note Napa
November 3-6 Daytona Beach, FL – Florida Smooth Jazz Weekend
November 11 – Hampton, VA – Jazz Legacy Foundation
November 19 – New Haven, CT – John Lyman Center for Performing Arts