ABOUT
Eddie Baccus Jr
A sound built on legacy
WHEN EDDIE PLAYS -
His saxophone creates timeless memories,
each note creating moments that linger in our hearts forever.
As a touring member of Pieces of a Dream for a decade and a half, Baccus Jr had the opportunity to perform with and alongside a virtual who’s who in the traditional jazz, urban jazz and R&B words: Luther Vandross, Jeffrey Osborne, George Duke, War, Candy Dulfer, Rick Braun, Grover Washington Jr, Bobby Watson, Greg Abate, Lester Bowie, EWF(Earth, Wind and Fire), Regina Carter, Dianne Reeves, Vesta Williams, Norman Conners, India Arie, George Benson, Miki Howard, Jean Carne, David Sanborn, Brian McKnight, Will Downing, Phil Perry, Najee, Gerald Albright, Kirk Whalum, Marcus Belgrave, Benny Golson, Russell Ferrante, Bobby Lyle, Jeff Lorber, Ricky Lawson, Aaron Graves (Piano “Little Jimmy Scott”), Lenny Castro, Rachelle Ferrelle, Lil’ John Roberts, Phil Davis, Chris Coleman, Andre Gouche’, Giovanni Hildago, Eric Marienthal, James Carter, Curtis Fuller, Regina Belle, Miki Howard, Allyson Williams, Norman Connors, Atlantic Starr, Ronny Jordan, Rhonda Smith (Prince’s Bass Player), Gerald Veasley, Average White Band, Stevie Wonder, Peter White, Walter Beasley and more recently Four80East, Brian Simpson, Lindsey Webster, Cameo, Brother 2 Brother, Glenn Jones, Cabo Frio, Groove Frequencies, Christian De Mesones, Bene Music, Utopian Dreams and Joe Lovano.
On a national and international scale, Baccus Jr has shined on the stages of many noteworthy venues including: The World Trade Center-NYC; Blue Note-NYC & Tokyo; Kimbles East-Oakland; Yoshis-Oakland; Cotton Club-Tokyo; Tangier-Akron; Sydney Opera House-Sydney; Chene Park-Detroit; Village Vanguard-NYC, Spaghettini-Orange County; The Forum-Inglewood; Helwig Winery Amphitheater-LA; Gillys-Dayton; Kuumbwa Jazz Center-Santa Cruz. Eddie’s band has performed with singer Vesta at the awards ceremony for the annual “100 Black Men” event in Ohio to an audience of 2,000 and has toured behind Angela Bofill and Frank McComb. He has also played the national and international jazz festival circuit to include but not limited to: Montreux Jazz Festival; Copenhagen Jazz Festival; North Sea Jazz Festival; Umbria Jazz Festival; Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival; Capital Jazz Festival & Cruise; San Antonio River Walk; DC Jazz Festival; Jazz in the Gardens; Toronto Jazz Festival; Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival; Hampton Jazz Festival; Juneau Jazz and Classics Festival; Reno Jazz Festival; Jacksonville Jazz Festival; Newport Jazz Festival With the release of “Living the Dream”, Baccus Jr will be embarking on his first solo tour in 2019.
Eddie Performs
with a passion that
ignites hearts and souls
FROM FATHER TO SON
The late organist Eddie Baccus Sr.
passed on a deep love for music to his son.
For almost 60 years Eddie Baccus Sr a visually impaired jazz organist, kept the city of Cleveland grooving, exposing his son to a wide range of jazz and latin tunes. At first junior began playing oboe in high school under the tutelage of John Zipay, then switched to sax after returning from vacation to find the student he loaned it to had broken the original instrument. After graduating from John Hay High School, he attended Berklee College of Music’s five-week summer program, during which he received a full scholarship. Baccus Jr then went to New York, where he performed at the world famous Apollo Theatre in Harlem and studied with acclaimed saxophonist Joe Lovano. Returning home, he volunteered for a year at the Cleveland School of the Arts. Subsequently, he recorded with Moments Notice a group formed by Robert Hubbard Jr, Rodney Hubbard, Tony Pulizzi Jr & Eddie Baccus Jr.
Baccus Jr launched his professional career touring with a play called “A Good Man Is Hard To Find”, directed by David Payton, and touring with world-renowned trumpeter Lester Bowie. He then began his most renowned association with Pieces of a Dream, a 15 year stint that included Baccus Jr recording on eight recordings, including Ahead To The Past, Acquainted With The Night, Soulful Embrace Vol. 1 & 2, Love’s Silhouette, No Assembly Required and Pillow Talk. Over the years, he contributed numerous of his own compositions to these projects. He also appears on two Shanachie Records compilations, Touch Me In The Morning and Smooth Jazz Does Motown’s Greatest Love Songs.
He attended UDC (University of the District of Columbia) on scholarship played with The UDC Big Band, under the direction of Allyn Johnson and played in the big band at the production of “Sophisticated Ladies” at The Historic Lincoln Theater in DC in 2010.