Eric Holroyd settled in Sydney in the late '60s, moving from the North of England where he'd been involved with many musical outfits ranging from jazz and big swing bands to dance orchestras and rhythm and blues bands.
A multi-instrumentalist, Eric's main instrument is trumpet (or cornet) although his musical training began on classical piano at the age of six. In his early teens he learned cornet, trombone, and tuba, later switching to electric guitar to play in UK rock and roll bands. He's also played plectrum banjo in various Australian jazz bands although wrist and tendon problems have now curtailed his guitar and banjo playing. His musical heroes include Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke and Django Reinhardt.
Eric took his first professional music job at age sixteen, in Bradford, Yorkshire. It was in a 16-piece dance orchestra complete with three vocalists and it was here that Eric's love of jazz blossomed as he became the trumpeter in the band's seven piece jazz unit which played both the Harry Gold 'Pieces of Eight' Dixieland orchestrations and much improvised jazz.
A foundation member of Tom Baker's mid-'70s San Francisco Jazz Band, Eric has played trumpet with other popular jazz groups such as the Abbey Jazz Band, Ocean City Jazz Band, Southern Jazzmen, Melbourne's 'Society Syncopators', etc, as well as featuring regularly with Graeme Bell's All Stars. Eric's own band has several times played as support to Britain's Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen on their Down Under tours.
Eric's a regular at Australia's annual Jazz Conventions, also featuring regularly at jazz festivals right around Australia both as a soloist and with various bands. As well, he's toured in California (USA) several times with Melbourne's Creole Bells, playing the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, Santa Rosa (Sonoma County) Jazz Festival, the Los Angeles Sweet & Hot Festival and a short season in Las Vegas.
On Sydney's big band scene Eric has played regularly in the trumpet section of bands as various as: New Trocadero Dance Orchestra; Swing Factory; Mel-O-Tones, Yellow Rolls Royce; Casablanca Roof Orchestra; Marc Bowden Big Band; Bob Gibson Orchestra; Chris Marshall's 'Top Hat Club' Big Band; Arthur Greenslade Orchestra; Bill Barlow Orchestra; and George Washingmachine's 'Big Spin' etc.
For three years Eric played cornet with New Wolverine Jazz Orchestra, an Australian band which pays tribute to the music of Bix Beiderbecke, Red Nichols, ODJB, Jean Goldkette, and other greats of the classic jazz era. Eric toured the American Midwest with the NWJO, playing at the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Festival in Davenport (Iowa) and the Great River Festival at La Crosse (Wisconsin) as well as playing many club and concert dates from Milwaukee to Chicago.
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