October 06. 2008
A NEW STAR ARRIVES
SAXOPHONIST ERIC DARIUS SCORES
FIRST-EVER
#1 SMOOTH JAZZ RADIO HIT WITH
“GOIN’ ALL OUT”
Saxophonist Eric Darius scored the first-ever #1 record of his career today when “Goin’ All Out”—the title track of his new Blue Note Records release—reached the top spot on the Billboard/R&R Smooth Jazz Songs Chart, edging out last week’s chart topper and fellow EMI artist Dave Koz. Darius’s chart ascension delivers on the promise and excitement he generated when he burst upon the scene in 2004 and was hailed as Best Debut Artist of the Year by Smooth Jazz News, alerting the world that a vibrant new artist was officially embarking upon his mission to take the idiom to scintillating new heights.
Darius’s previous album Just Getting Started debuted in the Top 10 on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz chart, remained there for nine consecutive weeks, and featured four hit singles, including his cover of pop star Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You” (the album’s second single, which reached #2 on the Smooth Jazz charts and also cracked the Top 10 on R&R Contemporary Jazz chart).
Goin’ All Out will prove to be groundbreaking for the way the 25-year-old Tampa, Florida-based artist incorporates all manner of popular music into a blazing inferno of pure body rockin’ and soul stirring energy. Innovatively crossing over all music boundaries, he creates a very distinctive, fresh sound and approach that is uniquely his own. Goin’ All Out captures the same level of youthful intensity and enthusiasm, which has become the trademark of his live shows, in a state of the art studio recording.
"My new album is about the new directions my music is taking,” Darius states with excitement. “When I started writing for this project, my goal was to create an album that would appeal to everyone, including the younger demographic. Being that most people from my generation are not exposed to jazz, I’ve incorporated elements from various genres, such as hip hop, R&B, and pop, into my music, giving them something to relate to. The trade off is, I hope that it will inspire them to listen to more jazz and embrace this kind of music. I want to open listeners’ ears and expose them to a hybrid of sounds by offering them jazz from a new stylistic approach.”
Addressing the album’s aggressive title and marketing slogan, Darius adds, “’Goin’ All Out’ is one of the first songs I wrote for this CD. I believe that it sets the tone for the whole album and reflects who I am both as a musician and songwriter.”