The Jazz Cruise Music Director Eric Marienthal has won two Grammy® Awards and has been nominated eight times as a member of the Chick Corea Elektric Band, Jeff Lorber Fusion and Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band. Having performed in over 80 countries and played on hundreds of recordings, films and TV shows, Eric also has recorded 15 solo recordings including his latest entitled Double Dealin’ with his friend Randy Brecker. Eric’s recordings have produced several top 10 radio singles including three tunes that reached #1 on its respective chart.
Eric is the recipient of the Berklee College of Music Distinguished Alumnus Award for outstanding achievements in contemporary music. Eric was also named one of the top 3 alto saxophonists in Jazziz Magazine’s Readers Poll along with Phil Woods and David Sanborn. For the past 22 years Eric has organized an annual charity concert for the High Hopes Head Injury Program in Tustin, CA. These concerts have raised awareness for this great organization and have raised over 2 million dollars.
For the past few years, Eric has applied his vast knowledge and experience in the world of jazz to being the Music Director for all of Jazz Cruises’ sailings. In that challenging role, Eric is charged with curating the performances, schedules and support for hundreds of the top musicians in the world. His ability to perform this task with skill and professionalism has made the quality of the programming on those sailings among the very best in the world.