Recipient Information
Location
Birmingham, Alabama
Year of Award
2026
Grant or Fellowship
Jazz Road Tours Grant
Grant Amount
$8,350
Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Southbound
The Eric Essix Group has been performing together for over 30 years in venues worldwide. The members feature world-class musicians whose resumes include some of the biggest names in the music industry. These artists were the core musicians who played in the studio on the Southbound album sessions, whose music will be featured on this tour. Over the years, we have all played together as part of the Eric Essix Group, but at some point, members moved on to other things in their careers. All have agreed to come together again for this tour. Sean Michael Ray has been the bassist for the group for over 35 years.
John Roberts is currently a professor at his alma mater, the Berklee College of Music, and continues to maintain a busy touring schedule with a diverse slate of artists from Stevie Wonder, Janet Jackson, George Benson, and Norman Brown to Rafael Saadiq, Lucy Pearl, Xscape, Goodie Mob, and Herbie Hancock. John was a member of the band for 4 years.
Dr. Melvin Butler, also a Berklee graduate, received his doctorate in ethnomusicology at NYU and is currently a professor at the University of Miami. Melvin is also a charter member of the Grammy Award-winning jazz group the Brian Blade Fellowship. Melvin was a member of the band for 4 years and has done several one-off appearances since then.
Bandleader Eric Essix was a professor in the music department at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the director of programming at the Alys Stephens PAC for 13 years. He is credited with 29 albums as a solo artist and has toured and recorded with Ronnie Laws, Alex Bugnon, Jeff Lorber, Peabo Bryson, and a host of other jazz, soul, gospel, and R&B artists.
Kelvin Wooten is a Grammy Award-winning multi-instrumentalist, producer, and composer who has worked with Anthony Hamilton, Earth, Wind & Fire, Mary J. Blige, Al Green, The Bee Gees, Jill Scott, Raphael Saadiq, The Isley Brothers, Tony! Toni! Toné!, Eric Clapton, and TLC. He was a member of the Eric Essix Group for 2 decades and has appeared on 16 of his albums as a performer or producer.
Bassist Sean Michael Ray has been a fixture in Eric’s band and on all of his albums, starting as a teenager in 1987. He has a lengthy discography, having recorded with scores of jazz and gospel artists over his 40-year career. In addition to the Eric Essix Group, Sean has toured extensively worldwide with Maxwell, Dionne Farris, John Waite, Alex Bugnon, Gerald Albright, and many other notable artists.