Eric Mingus was born in New York. He grew up through a maze of twists and turns, some musical, some just bizarre.
All along, music was a staple. After studying voice and bass with various luminaries of the music world and a brief semester at Berklee college of music, Eric sought the education of the road, touring as a vocalist. The artists he worked with included Carla Bley and Karen Mantler. This was also the period where Eric made his first recordings. Moving to London in 1994, Eric met trumpeter Jim Dvorak and they formed a poetry based duet which resulted in the recording of This Isn't Sex (SLAM Records UK). Eric worked in many major European venues, including The Jazz Cafe, London; Quasimodo, Berlin; and Momontra, Copenhagen. He also played at all of the major European jazz festivals. Additionally, Eric taught vocal improvisation classes and a Charles Mingus workshop at London's Community Music House.Upon returning to the United States in 1996 Eric was signed to the independent label Some Records, culminating in the release of the CD Um...Er..Uh...
Known for featuring performers from history such as The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, Eric has also gained notoriety for working with famed producer Hal Willner on such projects as The Poe Project, two benefits for the Poetry Project (The Music of Doc Pomus and the writing of the Marquis De Sade) and A Tribute to Harry Smith (in support of the Harry Smith archives) having performed in these concerts (including one at the Royal Festival Hall).