Eric Leeds
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Eric Leeds is an American saxophone player, mostly known for his work with
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
. He has recorded mostly music in the
pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...
and
funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
genres, but is a studied jazz musician.Cole, George.
Eric Leeds: Interviews: The Last Miles: The Music of Miles Davis 1980 – 1991
. Retrieved on November 4, 2008.


Life and career

Leeds was born in
Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
, Wisconsin, the son of a retailer. He moved to
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
, Virginia, at the age of seven, where he lived from 1959 to 1966, and then moved to
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
, Pennsylvania, at the age of fourteen, where he attended junior high school and college. Leeds lived in Pittsburgh for eighteen years and started a music career there. Leeds studied saxophone with mentor
Eric Kloss Eric Kloss (born April 3, 1949) is an American jazz saxophonist. Music career Kloss was born blind in Greenville, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, and attended Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children, which was run by his father. When he was ...
, who had signed to
Prestige Records Prestige Records is a jazz record company and label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock in New York City which issued recordings in the mainstream, bop, and cool jazz idioms. The company recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz music ...
at the age of sixteen. He attended
Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( ; also known as Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a Private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of ...
. He played in a band named "On The Corner" during the 1970s, which consisted of two trumpets, one tenor sax, one baritone sax, and a four-piece
rhythm section A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band that provides the underlying rhythm, harmony and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic and harmonic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band. The rhythm ...
. Eric played baritone sax in the band. Rich Mansfield, also known as Brother Rick and the musical director from the American Soundtrack series played tenor sax in the band. Leeds' brother,
Alan Leeds Alan Leeds (born January 26, 1947) is an American music executive, tour manager, production manager, writer and archivist best known for his work organizing performances and concert tours for artists such as James Brown, Prince, KISS, Cameo, D'Ange ...
, was the tour manager for Prince in the early 1980s and introduced his brother to Prince not long after the '' Purple Rain'' tour. Prince was impressed by Leeds' talents and featured him in the band The Family in 1985. The band was short-lived, but Prince invited Leeds into The Revolution for his ''
Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...
'' tour. Leeds brought along long-time friend Matt Blistan, who was renamed
Atlanta Bliss Matthew "Atlanta Bliss" Blistan (born c. 1952) is an American jazz trumpeter. He is best known for his work with Prince from 1985–1991. He won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for the 1986 single "Kiss" by ...
by Prince. After the breakup of The Revolution, Prince retained Leeds and Bliss for his succeeding band and used their talents greatly over his next three albums. Bliss left the fold in 1989 but Leeds lent his talents to Madhouse (1987–1993) and various Prince projects throughout the years. In 1991, Leeds released the album ''Times Squared'' on Prince's
Paisley Park Records Paisley Park Records was an American record label founded by musician Prince in 1985, which was distributed by and funded in part by Warner Bros. Records. It was started in 1985, following the success of the film and album '' Purple Rain''. Th ...
, which incorporated rock, pop and jazz sounds. The tracks that Leeds chose for the album were recorded by Prince and Leeds between 1985 and 1988. A second album, entitled ''Things Left Unsaid'', was released in 1993 with one Prince contribution. The Family reunited in 2007 under the name fDeluxe with all original members (except Jerome Benton), including Leeds. In 2012, they released their album, ''Gaslight'', independently.


Discography


Solo albums

*''Times Squared'' (
Paisley Park Paisley Park is a 65,000 square foot estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota, United States, once owned by American musician Prince. It was opened to the public as a museum in October 2016. History Construction of the $10 million complex began in Jan ...
, 1991) *''Things Left Unsaid'' (
Paisley Park Paisley Park is a 65,000 square foot estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota, United States, once owned by American musician Prince. It was opened to the public as a museum in October 2016. History Construction of the $10 million complex began in Jan ...
, 1993) *''Now & Again'' (Nouveau, 2000)


Prince albums

* ''
Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...
'' (1986) * ''
Sign o' the Times ''Sign o' the Times'' (often stylized as ''Sign "☮︎" the Times'') is the ninth studio album by the American singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Prince. It was first released on March 31, 1987, as a double album by Paisl ...
'' (1987) * '' The Black Album'' (1987) * ''
Lovesexy ''Lovesexy'' is the tenth studio album by American recording artist Prince. The album was released on May 10, 1988, by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Records. The album was recorded in just seven weeks, from mid-December 1987 to late Jan ...
'' (1988) * ''
Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
'' (1989) – original soundtrack * '' Scandalous Sex Suite'' (1989) – single * ''
Diamonds and Pearls ''Diamonds and Pearls'' is the thirteenth studio album by American recording artist Prince, and the first with his backing band The New Power Generation. It was released on October 1, 1991, by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Records. T ...
'' (1991) * '' The Love Symbol Album'' (1992) * ''
Emancipation Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure Economic, social and cultural rights, economic and social rights, civil and political rights, po ...
'' (1996) * '' One Nite Alone...'' (2002) – live album * '' N.E.W.S'' (2003) * '' C-note'' (2004) – live album


Prince-related albums

* The Family - '' The Family'' (1985) * Madhouse - ''8'' (1987) * Madhouse - ''16'' (1987)


References


External links


FDeluxe MySpace page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leeds, Eric American male saxophonists American rock saxophonists Duquesne University alumni Musicians from Pittsburgh Paisley Park Records artists The Revolution (band) members Living people 1952 births 21st-century American saxophonists Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians American jazz baritone saxophonists Prince associates