Musician/composer/arranger Eric Person played saxophone on Mama's Trippin' and Ashes (The Will To Live, 1997). He also played on stage with Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals and features on DVD Pleasure and Pain (Bonus > Live Tracks > Gold To Me / Fight For Your Mind, extended jam Funk is a Word).


Eric Person - September 2003

My name is Eric Person. I'm a saxophonist living in New York City. I have been active on the NYC/international scene for over twenty years. Right now I have five CD's out as a leader and I have worked with many greats in jazz and rock music. From McCoy Tyner, Donald Byrd, and Dave Holland in Jazz to The Allman Brothers, Vernon Reid and Ben Harper in Rock.
Jim Finn is from New York and has worked with my band and was featured on my CD, More Tales To Tell.
Eddie Allen (a.k.a "EJ") was the first trumpeter we used with Ben. He's a New York Jazz musician featured mainly with jazz big bands. He only did the first few dates with the band in California and I think later he was with us when we played the Vibe TV Show.
Kenyatta Beasley came on board for the Royal Albert Hall Concert.

Ben Harper...
I met Ben through a friend of mine, Bob Coke, who was a sound engineer with Ben, and through his manager JP Plunier. I went to a Ben show in New York City and Bob told me to hangout at this party and meet Ben and cause they were doing a new CD soon and he said I might be able to get on it. I told JP that I had a dream where I was playing music with Ben and I thought I felt close to the music. JP called me and told me they wanted me to play on "The Will To Live."

Recording session...
It was a fun session. JP Plunier and Ben were in the control room telling me what they wanted. We started with Mama's Trippin'. I think it was the first time I heard it. I liked it, and the backing lines you hear me play, me and JP came up with that, but the solo is all me! And it was done in one take too! I also made up the harmonys and added that nice chord im blowing over at the end. I was the only musician there while I did my parts and solos, so there were no distractions. We then went to "Ashes." That was also done in one or two takes. I found the progression that was being played and just felt it and dealt it!
JP Plunier recently told me that the CD "The Will To Live" is his favorite Ben Harper CD, but it's the CD that has sold the least. I like the CD and many people on Ben's message board list it as their favorite. I think it grabed his eclecticism in the best way. Ben had just gotten into the rock thing, but it was not everywhere. It has some very intimate moments.

Horn section...
After JP told me to put together a horn section, we did dates in New York City and throughout California. The air was ripe with possibilitys. We were hoping they would use the horns more and develope it. But it was not to be. We did the Vibe TV Show in LA, which showed me really well. The Roseland in New York City, Paris and London. They were looking to use us on the Horde Tour (Jul/Sept 98) but it was not to be. The horns were brought into the studio in the Spring of 1999 to play on the song, "Show Me A Little Shame." We used a different trumpeter, a guy named Kevin Batchlor. In New York, we worked hard on the harmonys, and it was sounding good! Like a Otis Redding type soulful horn section. We flew to Los Angeles and laid it down, I blew a nice solo and we thought it could be a hit. But when the record came out: no horns!!!! We were mad and disapointed. And the track to me is very dry with some very "regular, mundane" organ chords. And so thats how the gig ended for the horns.

You've played live on Mama's Trippin', Breakin' Down, Gold to Me and Fight For Your Mind. Was it a free jam or a music you wrote and rehearsed?
Oh it was quite rehearsed! I don't want people to think we just threw it together or it was a jam. We worked hard on the arrangements. And we went uncredited in the movie, but we really worked hard on getting the horn section tight. Basically I created all of the horn lines, but all the horn players hashed out harmonys. I only wish that we could have had a bigger part in his music, tours and CD's. I think the horns add alot to his music, without getting in the way. Fans loved it!

The Innocent Criminals...
David is a solid musician, lots of color to his playing. Dean is yearning to always make the music better and Juan is pure feeling, a perfect team player and THE unsung hero of Ben's music. But those three guys fit well together in Ben's music. They were tight!

Live experience...
There's still unreleased footage from the Royal Albert Hall concert, so it may be released later. It was a great gig, but we had another gig that I think was better: it's the performance at Le Zenith in Paris. 7000 screaming fans! Wow! It was a blast. I would solo and I would get to some really exciting things and the kids were just screaming, and cheering like mad. It was a great new experience.

What inspires you in Ben's music?
The power of the rock sound. But I really like the poetic nature of his music. Ben wasn't afraid to feature me front and center in his music and that was fun. It was a chance to play before thousands, and there was great excitement around that.

I enjoyed playing with Ben. I was introduced to a whole new world of music. Playing before thousands, seeing how he worked his promotion and being in that Rock world. I was featured very well, and it was fun. But being a leader of my own music projects, a musician never really knows what direction the manager or leader of the band is going to go in. It may not include him, so he just has to know that, and be ready to move on.

Interview by Emmanuel Rivet / www.swer.net

Photos from "Pleasure And Pain" DVD - Thanks to Victor
04/20/98 - Royal Albert Hall - London, England
Jim Finn (tenor sax) / Kenyatta Beasley (trumpet) / Eric Person (alto sax)
click on thumbnail to enlarge

Ben Harper and The Eric Person Trio - source : benharper.net

06/24/97 - Tramps: New York City, NY
This was the first show ever with a brass section. The Eric Person Trio came out and played "Mama's Trippin". Eric Person on Alto Sax, Jim Finn on Tenor Sax, and EJ on trumpet.

06/25/97 - Tramps: New York City, NY
The Eric Person Trio joined the Innocent Criminals on "Gold to Me", "Fight For Your Mind" and "Mama's Trippin'". Ben and Eric earlier rehearsed "Ashes" but didn't play it during the set. (Eric Person : "Ben and JP were just seeing if it was something they wanted to add to the show. It's a cute country number. I like the version on The Will To Live, it stands out."). "Mama's Trippin'" was released on French "Jah Work" CD single.

07/24/97 and 07/25/97 - Warfield Theatre: San Francisco, CA
Eric Person (sax) and EJ (trumpet) of New York's Eric Person Trio joined the band on "Gold to Me", "Fight For Your Mind" and "Mama's Trippin'".

10/20/97 - Le Zenith: Paris, France
"Mama's Trippin'", "Gold to Me" and "Fight For Your Mind" were performed with the help of Eric Person (alto sax), Kenyatta Mosely (trumpet), and Jim Finn (tenor sax).

03/06/98 - Roseland Ballroom: New York City, NY
"Breakin' Down", "Gold to Me", "Fight For Your Mind" and "Mama's Trippin'" were performed with members of the Eric Person Trio.

04/20/98 - Royal Albert Hall: London, England
"Breakin' Down", "Gold to Me > Fight For Your Mind" and "Mama's Trippin'" all were performed with the help of Eric Person (alto sax), Kenyatta Mosely (trumpet), and Jim Finn (tenor sax). "Gold to Me > Fight For Your Mind" features on DVD "Pleasure and Pain".