Eric Taylor

Greetings beautiful people. My name is Eric Taylor.
Bless you Carlinhos for extending your spirit and wisdom lighting all of those around you!! Muito Obrigado
If you’re reading this you are part of an elite tribe of amazing funky groovy rhythm makers inspired by someone that rivals any superhero that has ever been imagined. Sending sunshine and peaceful soul shaking beats to you and all!!
I grew up in the US in the state of Tennessee and played percussion in concert, jazz and marching bands through high school. I joined the traveling Renaissance Festival after high school and learned some mideastern rhythms and performed with several troops of bellydancers and gypsies. I then moved to Colorado for a few years and was introduced to Capoeira and traditional West African drum and dance. My drummer's path then brought me back to New York where I was blessed with many amazing rhythm masters including Babatunde Olatuja, Nana Vasconcelos and Memo Camara from Las Ballets Africans.
I continued my education by pursuing a degree in Arts for Children and Elementary Education at The State University of New York in Brockport. It was there I was a part of an Afro-Brazilian drum and dance ensemble called Sankofa led by Clyde Morgan. Clyde is married to a native of Bahia and very involved in the dance culture from Salvador.
Before completing my degree, I studied abroad on a program called Semester at Sea. It was on this voyage that I was carried on a dreamlike circumnavigation of the globe, visiting thirteen countries from Cuba to Japan. I assisted the ethnomusicologist and shared my drum experience with the class. As you probably imagined, one of the cities we visited was Salvador, Brazil. It was at our welcome reception that I also met a native Baiana who is now my wife of twenty years.
We now live in Atlanta, Georgia where I teach general music at an elementary dyslexic school. I enjoy sharing Capoeira, Forro, Samba Reggae with my students. They love dancing to Carlinhos’s music!!
Thanks you again for all of your soulful inspiration!!