Eric Von Essen was an American jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 bassist, pianist, and composer active on the West Coast jazz

West coast jazz

West Coast jazz refers to various styles of jazz music that developed around Los Angeles and San Francisco during the 1950s. West Coast jazz is often seen as a sub-genre of cool jazz, which featured a less frenetic, calmer style than bebop or hard bop. The music tended to be more heavily arranged,...

 scene of the 1970s, 80s, and 90s.

Von Essen played in the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra in 1978, where he met Jeff Gauthier and began working with him. Together with twin brothers Alex

Alex Cline

Alex Cline is an American jazz drummer.Cline began playing drums with his twin brother, guitarist Nels Cline, at age 11. Their first band was called Homogenized Goo and included David Hirschman on guitar. He began a musical association with woodwind artist Jamil Shabaka in 1976 as "Duo Infinity"...

 and Nels Cline

Nels Cline

Nels Cline is an American guitarist and composer, currently the lead guitarist of alternative rock band Wilco. David Carr of the New York Times describes Cline as "one of the best guitarists in any genre."-Career:...

, the four formed an ensemble called Quartet Music, which played together until 1990. While working with Quartet Music, Essen studied tabla

Tabla

The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...

s in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

.

In 1989, Quartet Music was commissioned by the Milwaukee Symphony to write music for a performance. Von Essen wrote "Prayer for James Pt. 1 and Pt. 2" and orchestrated three of the group's existing pieces to fulfill the commission.

In 1992, Von Essen became the bassist of the Lighthouse All-Stars at the Lighthouse Cafe

Lighthouse Café

The Lighthouse Café is a nightclub located at 30 Pier Avenue in Hermosa Beach, California. It has been active as a jazz showcase since 1949 and, under the name "The Lighthouse", was one of the central West Coast jazz clubs from the 1950s through the late 1970s....

 in Hermosa Beach, alongwide Shorty Rogers

Shorty Rogers

Milton “Shorty” Rogers , born Milton Rajonsky in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, was one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played both the trumpet and flugelhorn, and was in demand for his skills as an arranger. Rogers worked first as a professional musician with Will Bradley and...

 and Bud Shank

Bud Shank

Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank, Jr. was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and throughout the decade worked in various small jazz combos. He spent the 1960s as a first...

; he replaced Monty Budwig

Monty Budwig

Monty Rex Budwig was a West Coast jazz double bassist. He was born in Pender, Nebraska. He began playing bass during high school, continuing in the military band while he was enlisted in the Air Force....

 as the group's bassist. Among the other musicians Von Essen played with are Frank Morgan

Frank Morgan

Frank Morgan was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of the title character in the film The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...

, Jimmy Rowles

Jimmy Rowles

Jimmy Rowles was an American jazz pianist who was best known as an accompanist. He also released a number of albums under his own name, and explored various idioms including swing and cool jazz. - Biography :Born in Spokane, Washington, Rowles studied at Gonzaga College in Spokane, Washington...

, Vinny Golia

Vinny Golia

Vinny Golia is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist specializing in woodwind instruments. He performs in the genres of contemporary music, jazz, free jazz, and free improvisation....

, and Mike Campbell. He directed the Jazz Tap Ensemble for seven years.

In the mid-1990s Von Essen relocated to Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 to instruct at a conservatory there. He died in 1997.

In 2000, Cryptogramophone Records

Cryptogramophone Records

Cryptogramophone Records is a Los Angeles-based jazz record label which was formed in 1998 by violinist Jeff Gauthier to document the music of his late friend and musical companion, bassist Eric von Essen...

released a tribute album, The Music of Eric Von Essen, Vol. 1 which consisted of Von Essen's compositions performed by others. Cryptogramophone released two additional volumes in 2001 and 2002.