Hailing from Austin, Texas, Eric Johnson integrates the influence of the blues greats with more modernistic harmonic structures and grooves. Eric is a virtuoso player with a unique style. One thing that distinguishes him is his incredible picking technique. His musical language is sophisticated and personal, and I’ve crafted this month’s examples as an intro to Eric’s style without making them too daunting.
The first is a bluesy phrase typical of Eric’s melodic phrasing. The use of the low A note states the harmony, and a lot of players who are used to working in a trio setting use this approach to fill out the texture.
