Eric Wheeler

Acclaimed for "chasing dazzling melodies far up the fingerboard" (CapitalBop, 2016) and solos that "combine walking bass with a muscular swagger" (Washington Post, 2015), Eric Wheeler is a jazz bassist with over two decades of professional experience.

A native of Washington, DC and encouraged by his mother from a young age to pursue music, Wheeler began studying classical music at the age of nine at the DC Youth Orchestra Program and, at age thirteen, was accepted into the Duke Ellington School for the Arts. While at Ellington, Wheeler was under the tutelage of the master educator, Carolyn Kellock, who also taught other renowned bassists – from Ameen Saleem to Corcoran Holt and Ben Williams. It was during these four formative years at the Duke Ellington School for the Arts that he initially had the opportunity to travel to Canada, England, France, and Germany and play professionally on world-famous stages. In 1998, Wheeler was accepted into the prestigious National Symphony Youth Fellowship Program, giving him the opportunity to study with Jeff Weisner, a section bassist of the National Symphony Orchestra. Crediting Weisner with providing him his uniquely strong technical facility, Wheeler began earning a solid reputation as a bassist in his own right amongst his musical peers. Wheeler was accepted into the jazz studies program at Howard University where he studied jazz bass with Keter Betts and classical bass with Jeff Koczela, completing both his Bachelor's and Master's in Jazz Bass Performance at Howard.

While attending Howard, Wheeler worked professionally in the DC metro area, playing at some of the most eminent jazz venues. Wheeler performed with the likes of Pharoah Sanders, Benny Golson, Stefon Harris, Terell Stafford, Tim Warfield, Mickey Roker, and Curtis Fuller at notable venues – Bohemian Caverns, Blues Alley, and The Kennedy Center – all located in his hometown of DC. After his Howard years, Wheeler continued his work as a professional bassist in the DC and Baltimore area, performing frequently with the region's top musicians and quickly gaining a reputation as an up-and-coming sideman. After performing with the Warren Wolf group at Andie Musik in 2011, with Warren Wolf on Vibes and Cyrus Chestnut on piano, Chestnut began hiring Wheeler in his working trio. For about a decade now, Wheeler has been a member of the Cyrus Chestnut Trio, having done well over 100 tours at jazz festivals and theaters around the USA and worldwide with the group.

In 2013, Wheeler moved to New York City and began touring and recording with a number of high-profile artists on the New York jazz scene. Over the course of his career in New York, Wheeler has regularly played with the likes of Russell Malone, Eric Lewis ('ELEW'), Sullivan Fortner, Willie Jones III, Marcus Printup, Marquis Hill, Mark Whitfield, Jazzmeia Horn, Wycliffe Gordon, Wallace Roney, Marcus Strickland, E.J. Strickland, Rory Stuart, Ulysses Owens Jr., Eric Harland, Tia Fuller, and the Delfeayo Marsalis group, which featured the late master, Ellis Marsalis. Wheeler is the electric and upright bassist for Dee Dee Bridgewater's touring band and for Theo Croker's band. He also tours with acclaimed pianist Christian Sands and his trio, which had a month-long European debut tour in the fall of 2017.

Wheeler played on Theo Croker's album "Escape Velocity" which was nominated for an ECHO Jazz Award, a German music prize awarded annually by the Deutsche Phono-Akademie. In 2018, Eric recorded on four critically acclaimed albums: Theo Croker's "Star People Nation", which received a Grammy nomination for best contemporary jazz album; Cyrus Chestnut's "Kaleidoscope", which received more than nine million plays on Spotify and a 4 out of 5 stars on AllMusic; Greg Murphy's "Bright Idea" featuring Jeff 'Tain' Watts, which reached number one on the JazzWeek Chart for three consecutive weeks; and saxophonist Jay Rodriguez's "Your Sound", an album that was WBGO's "Take 5 Pick of the Week" and that features jazz greats, Billy Harper and Larry Willis. In 2021, Eric played on Jazzmeia Horn's "Dear Love" which received a Grammy nomination for best-large-ensemble album.

In addition to an extensive recording career, Wheeler has had a successful touring career, gracing the stages of the Marciac Jazz Festival, Newport Jazz Festival, Umbria Jazz Festival, the Detroit Jazz Festival, the Chicago Jazz Festival, among many others. Wheeler's musical versatility has led to performances across musical genres, including ones with Jennifer Holliday, Roberta Flack, and Harry Connick, Jr. Most recently, Wheeler became a member of Seal's band, which performed at venues in Palm Desert, California, and Miami, Florida.

Wheeler prides himself in not only his professional music career, but his burgeoning career as a music educator. Throughout his career, he has led and participated in numerous clinics and workshops at the collegiate and university-level around the world. These include masterclasses and private instruction at music institutes and programs in Canada, Ukraine, Venezuela, Australia, as well as the United States. In 2019, he participated in pre-concert discussions and clinics in Mexico City with the E.J. Strickland Quartet for Jazz at Lincoln Center's Education Abroad Program. Most prominently, Wheeler has been a part of the Jazz for Young People (JFYP) program since 2012, an educational program founded by Wynton Marsalis that showcases professional ensembles through interactive performances and lessons for New York area students. Heading these shows, titled "Let Freedom Swing", Wheeler led a three-part concert series geared towards helping students understand how jazz music played a pivotal role in the social norms of America.

Wheeler has led many of his own performances featuring his original music around the New York area, from shows at Smalls Jazz Club and Fat Cat to performances at St. Alban's Church and on Roosevelt Island. Currently, Wheeler resides in New York and works as a full-time musician and educator.