Eric Comstock

b. New Jersey, USA. Interested in music and in singing from early childhood, Comstock learned from hearing records by performers such as Bobby Short, Noël Coward and Fats Waller. At the age of 10 he began studying piano and while in high school played for student shows. Later, at George Washington University, he worked on musical revues, often as an arranger. After transferring to New York University, Comstock expanded his interests to include musical theatre. A spare time job at a record store brought him into contact with another employee, rising writer Will Friedwald, whose interest in jazz singing broadened Comstock’s horizons still further. From this point onwards, singing became the principal ingredient of his performances. At first, he performed in duo with his sister, as Kate And Eric Comstock, later singing solo on cruise ships. After two years of this he planned on a more settled life but in 1994 was offered a job as leader of a Peter Duchin orchestra on a world cruise. Back in New York, he worked in a variety of settings, including intimate rooms and also was involved in the successful off-Broadway show, Our Sinatra, which opened in 1999. In 2001, he worked with Bill Henderson and Dena DeRose in Made For the Movies: A Hollywood Songbook. Inspired in particular by Short, Comstock has also credited Steve Ross and the music of Duke Ellington as influences on his work.