David Michael Ervin (born March 16, 1961, in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of Engle ...

, US) is an American jazz funk keyboard player. He grew up in

Altadena, California Altadena () is an unincorporated area, and census-designated place in the San Gabriel Valley and the Verdugos regions of Los Angeles County, California. Directly north of Pasadena, California, Pasadena, it is located approximately from Downtow ...

, where he began to take after his musical father DiFosco Ervin, a.k.a.

Big Dee Irwin DiFosco "Dee" T. Ervin Jr. (July 6, 1932 – August 27, 1995), better known as Big Dee Irwin, was an American R&B singer and songwriter whose biggest hit was a version of "Swinging on a Star" in 1963, recorded as a duet with Little Eva. Life and ...

. DiFosco Ervin was a singer, songwriter, and recording artist who led the Doo-Wop singing group "The Pastels". At the age of 14, David combined elements of rock, funk and soul using analog

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

s. Shortly thereafter David moved to digital keyboards and synthesizers. A few years later around the age of 20, David Ervin became a sought after Los Angeles session musician. David created and performed complete rhythm tracks and continued to harness the cutting edge music technology of newly developed digital synthesizers and sequencers as tools to inspire his creations. David's tracks were heard on various 80's and 90's chart topping recordings. David's recording credits include hit albums by

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to prominence in the mid-1970s, with the release of her debut ...

Phyllis Hyman Phyllis Linda Hyman (July 6, 1949 – June 30, 1995) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Hyman's music career spanned the late 1970s through the early 1990s, and she was best known for her expansive contralto range. Some of her most ...

Gladys Knight & the Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American Rhythm and blues, R&B, soul music, soul, and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early ...

, various albums by the Jacksons, including hits by

Jermaine Jermaine ( ) is a masculine given name of Latin origin, derived from the French given name , which is in turn derived from the Latin given name . The masculine given name Jermaine was popularized in the 1970s by Jermaine Jackson (born 1954), a m ...

and

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

, The Crusaders and

Joe Sample Joseph Leslie Sample (February 1, 1939 – September 12, 2014) was an American jazz keyboardist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Jazz Crusaders in 1960, whose name was shortened to "The Crusaders" in 1971. He remained a p ...

. David's songwriting credits include songs recorded by

Bobby "Blue" Bland Robert Calvin Bland (born Robert Calvin Brooks; January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer. Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. He was describ ...

and

Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack ( ; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's ...

References

External links

David Ervin's All Music siteDavid Ervin's discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ervin, David 1961 births American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists African-American pianists American keyboardists Living people 20th-century American pianists 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians