Early life and career

Eric Marienthal was born on December 13, 1957 in Sacramento, California to Robert Marienthal, an insurance salesman, but moved to San Mateo when he was two years old. He has credited his enthusiasm for music on being taught music while in school, and picked up the saxophone in the fourth grade after he thought it looked "pretty cool". Marienthal has also mentioned his father was a fan of music, particularly 1940s and 1950s such as Boots Randolph, Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra. He initially wanted to pick up the trumpet but a teacher discouraged him because of his braces. As Marienthal progressed, his father bought him a $400 Selmer saxophone and enrolled him in Corona Del Mar High School. Throughout his education, Marienthal also learned to play guitar (in grade school), flute, clarinet (both high school) and piano (college).

After graduating from high school in Southern California in 1976, he studied at the Berklee College of Music, where he studied with the saxophone professor, Joe Viola. By the time he left Berklee, Eric had achieved the highest proficiency rating given by the school. In 1995 Eric was awarded the Berklee Distinguished Alumnus Award for outstanding achievements in contemporary music. He has since gone on to perform in over 65 different countries, recorded 13 solo CDs and has played on hundreds of records, films, television shows and commercial jingles.

Marienthal started his professional career in 1980 with famed New Orleans trumpeter Al Hirt. After returning to Los Angeles, Eric became a member of the Chick Corea Elektric Band. Marienthal has stated that he was a Chick Corea fan even before he started performing with him. He recorded 6 CDs with that band and 2 of those CDs were Grammy award winners.

Six of the songs that Marienthal has recorded have made it to the top 10 of the National Contemporary Jazz Radio Charts and two have made it to No. 1. His "Oasis" CD hit the top 5 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart. Shortly after that, he was voted one of the year's "Favorite Alto Sax Players" in Jazziz Magazine's Reader's Poll along with David Sanborn and Phil Woods.

Marienthal has also written 3 instructional books, "Comprehensive Jazz Studies & Exercises", "The Ultimate Jazz Play Along" and "The Music Of Eric Marienthal" as well as 3 instructional videos, "Play Sax From Day One", "Modern Sax" and "Tricks of the Trade", all published by Warner Brothers Publications, which is now Alfred Publishing/Belwin Jazz. Every summer since 1999, he has put on an annual fundraising concert for High Hopes Head Injury Program, a non-profit organization in Orange County, California that works with people who have suffered traumatic head injuries.

Marienthal currently occupies the lead alto chair of Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band, playing alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute, and piccolo. Marienthal is married to his wife of thirty years, Lee Ann; the couple have two children.

In 2012, Marienthal released the album It's Love, produced by guitarist Chuck Loeb, who also appears on the tracks. The studio band includes keyboardist Russell Ferrante, drummer Gary Novak, and bassist Tim Lefebvre.

Equipment

-Selmer Mark VI Alto Saxophone with a Beechler Metal No. 7 mouthpiece and 'Rico H' ligature
-Yamaha Custom Z Alto Saxophone with a Beechler Metal No. 7 mouthpiece and 'Olegature' ligature
-Selmer Mark VI Tenor Saxophone with a Berg Larsen Metal 100/2 mouthpiece and Brancher ligature
-Yamaha YSS 62 Soprano Saxophone with a Selmer Super Session #H mouthpiece and Harrison ligature
-Muramatsu Flute

-Vandoren traditional 2.5 reeds

Discography

Studio albums

• 1988 Voices of the Heart - GRP Records
• 1989 Round Trip - GRP Records
• 1990 Crossroads - GRP Records
• 1991 Oasis - GRP Records
• 1993 One Touch - GRP Records
• 1994 Street Dance - GRP Records
• 1997 Easy Street - PolyGram/Verve/i.e.Music
• 1998 Walk Tall - Verve/i.e.Music
• 2001 Turn Up the Heat - Peak Records
• 2003 Sweet Talk - Peak Records
• 2005 Got You Covered - Peak Records
• 2007 Just Around the Corner - Peak Records
• 2012 It's Love - Peak Records/Ent. One Music
• 2015 Bridges - with Chuck Loeb - Shanachie 5436

Compilation albums

• 1997 Collection - GRP Records

[ Source: Wikipedia ]