David Michael Ervin (born March 16, 1961 in
Englewood, New Jersey, USA) is an American jazz funk keyboard player.
He grew up in
Altadena, California
Altadena () ("Alta", Spanish language, Spanish for "Upper", and "dena" from Pasadena, California, Pasadena) is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in the Verdugo Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, approximately 14 ...
, where he began to take after his musical father DiFosco Ervin, a.k.a.
Big Dee Irwin
DiFosco "Dee" T. Ervin Jr. (July 6, 1932 – August 27, 1995), usually known professionally as Big Dee Irwin, was an American singer and songwriter whose biggest hit was a version of "Swinging on a Star" in 1963, recorded as a duet with Little Ev ...
. DiFosco Ervin was a singer, songwriter, and recording artist who led the Doo-Wop singing group "The Pastels". At the age of 14, David combined elements of rock, funk and soul using analog
synthesizers. Shortly thereafter David moved to digital keyboards and synthesizers.
A few years later around the age of 20, David Ervin became a sought after Los Angeles session musician. David created and performed complete rhythm tracks and continued to harness the cutting edge music technology of newly developed digital synthesizers and sequencers as tools to inspire his creations. David's tracks were heard on various 80's and 90's chart topping recordings. David's recording credits include hit albums by
Tina Turner
Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...
,
Natalie Cole
Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the h ...
,
Phyllis Hyman
Phyllis Linda Hyman (July 6, 1949 – June 30, 1995) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Hyman is best known for her music during the late 1970s through the early 1990s, some of her most notable songs were "You Know How to Love Me" ...
,
Gladys Knight and the Pips
Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B, soul and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early 1950s.
Starting out as simply ...
, various albums by the Jacksons, including hits by
Jermaine
Jermaine ( ) is a masculine given name of Latin language, Latin origin, derived from the French given name , which is in turn derived from the Latin given name , meaning "brother".
The masculine given name Jermaine was popularized in the 1970s b ...
and
Michael,
The Crusaders and
Joe Sample
Joseph Leslie Sample (February 1, 1939 – September 12, 2014) was an American keyboardist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Jazz Crusaders in 1960, the band which shortened its name to "The Crusaders" in 1971. He remained ...
. David's songwriting credits include songs recorded by
Bobby "Blue" Bland
Robert Calvin Bland (born Robert Calvin Brooks; January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer.
Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. He was descr ...
and
Bobby Womack
Robert Dwayne Womack (; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing gui ...
.
References
External links
David Ervin's All Music siteDavid Ervin's discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ervin, David
1961 births
American jazz pianists
American male pianists
African-American pianists
American keyboardists
Living people
20th-century American pianists
21st-century American pianists
20th-century American male musicians
21st-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians
20th-century African-American musicians
21st-century African-American musicians