Erly
Thornton
 My
Life
“Playing the saxophone has always been emotionally intense
for me,” says Thornton. “Each performance is a connection
I have with the audience that we mutually enjoy.” Both visual
and aural creativity are the threads that were woven into the fabric
that has become saxophonist Erly Thornton’s life. His dad, an
engineer and a trumpet player, and his mom, a computer analyst and
a visual artist, taught, by example, the value and the beauty of this
esoteric experience we call the art of making music. One might say
that the brotha got a double helping of inspiration from the-get-go!
Fifth grade began a learning curve for young Thornton that serves
him today. It was the performances for his father’s musician
friends every weekend to the music of Ray Charles he credits as his
initiation into the world of improvisation. Taking his weekend performances
for the boyz to the next level, Thornton learned every lick he could
from jazz artists such as Herb Alpert, Grover, Sanborn, Najee, George
Howard, and the Brecker Brother’s Band, committing their work
to memory as he absorbed the flavors of R&B groups like Cameo,
EWF, Zapp, Stevie Wonder, Prince, and The Time, eventually finding
his voice and a style that is distinctively his.
Thornton took the scenic route to music prominence. Prior to graduating
from Tennessee State University in the late ‘90’s with
a degree in electrical engineering, Erly played professionally in
and around the Nashville area. Graduation brought a move to Orlando,
Florida and a nine-to five in his chosen field of study. However,
music remained a passion and leaving was not to be. Thornton returned
to the music scene in central Florida performing with several groups,
as well as, a solo act.
He began writing in 2004, composing many of the songs performed on
his current CD, My Life; a hybrid of all the musical genres he absorbed
as a youth expressing his point of view as an adult. My Life is a
bevy of tantalizing tunes sporting strong bass and drum lines with
funky jazz licks on the top and sum of dat Latin flavor that say …
Oooo, what a feelin’.
Thornton has shared the stage with R&B crooners Phil Perry, Glenn
Jones, and Howard Hewitt. He is a key member and lead voice of the
jazz band B-One, which quickly became one of the must-hear-groups
in Central Florida, recording two CDs, opening for the Clearwater
Jazz Festival with Mindi Abair, as well as getting the party started
for Spyro Gyra at the House of Blues in Orlando.
In early 2007, Thornton launched his solo career by opening for The
Rippingtons performing to an enthusiastic crowd where the Thornton-audience
approve-o-meter was off the chain. Now that My Life has been released,
Thornton expects to be a regular on the jazz festival and concert
scene. I have no doubt that Thornton will accomplish that goal; he
has the chops to be center stage anywhere at anytime! |
