E. J. Decker
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. His dad often played Big Band records at home, teaching E. J. the unique qualities of the various bands, and how they swung.
He also taught his number-three son how to sing at an early age. At the same time, E. J.'s older brothers were playing '50s and '60s rock, R&B and jazz without stop. In his teens, E. J. caught many of the great artists playing live in New York area clubs and concerts: 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 most 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 along the West Coast, playing festivals, ballrooms and cafés. During these years, he also acted often in theater and on television, appearing regularly during the 1980s on NBC's now-departed soap opera, Texas.
Back in New York, 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 from jazz through standards to rock to folk to '50s R&B and blues—he may well be the strongest, purest male interpreter of ballads of this generation—all while maintaining a consistency of sound and lushness of feel that marks it immediately as an E. J. Decker piece.
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Chris Spector, Midwest Record, Lake Zurich, IL: After hearing Arthur Prysock bring the class, the die was cast. Hitting it out of the park here in the classiest of ways, Decker isn’t aping Prysock so much as he is following in his footsteps. One of the class acts of the past, this is a smoking way to make sure he’s not forgotten.
Press for A JOB OF WORK: TALES OF THE GREAT RECESSION
Sheila Jordan, NEA Jazz Master You're definitely an original. You certainly are my taste! I just love your sound...
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