Saxophonist/Composer Eric Rasmussen recently relocated to the Phoenix area in the summer of 2007. The California native spent the last ten years playing and teaching in New York City where he was a staple of the jazz community. While in New York he performed regularly with some of the most respected names in the jazz community and also was the Director of Jazz Studies at the Center for Preparatory Studies in Music at Queens College.

Earning his Masters of Music degree in Jazz Performance at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Eric studied with Jerry Bergonzi, George Garzone, Danilo Perez and Paul Bley. He received his BFA in Jazz Performance from California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles, where he studied with Charlie Haden and Roscoe Mitchell.

Eric leads the groups Guaranteed Swahili and the Eric Rasmussen Tristano Band both of which tour the United States regularly. He is also an experienced educator and guest clinician with clinics at the University of Iowa, Wellesley College, Saddleback College, Hartnell College, Portsmouth Music and Arts Center, Cedar Rapids, IA public schools and Mamaroneck High School in New York among many others.

Recording for Steeplechase and Fresh Sound Records with his own groups, Eric has recorded with Paul Bley, Danilo Perez, Billy Hart, Christophe Schweizer and the Jazz Composers Alliance Saxophone Quartet. Eric has played at some of the most prestigious venues in the Country including the Kennedy Center and a 2007
performance with the Lee Konitz Big Band as part of the 2007 JVC Jazz Festival at Carnegie Hall. Recent performances in the Phoenix area include the Jazz in the Hills Concert Series and appearances with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra.

Eric teaches privately throughout the Phoenix area and is the jazz saxophone instructor at Mesa Community College.