Jazz Goes To Church...with Dewey Erney


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Jazz Goes To Church...with Dewey Erney
by RYAN RITCHIE
Long Beach Press-Telegram - May 14, 2004

   Dewey Erney's musical career has not made him a household name, and he's just fine with that. The 67-year-old jazz singer has been singing as long as he can remember and has released 11 albums since 1982. Growing up in Latrobe, Pa., Erney was introduced to songs from the Great American Songbook and plans to perform some of them tonight, when he takes the stage at Grace Presbyterian Church in Long Beach.
   "I heard a lot of records growing up," Erney says. "The material I do now I learned from what I was listening to when I was real young." For many musicians, the path to sucesss starts with excessive touring, something Erney shied away from because of family. He credits his wife of 42 years and three children as his inspiration. "I love my wife so much I never wanted to leave," Erney says. "I wanted to sleep in my own bed. I did a jazz festival in the mid-80s in Washington, D.C., and I was miserable. So I decided then and there I was going to stay home."
   Erney maintained his job as a tax accountant at Texaco for 40 years while moonlighting as a singer at night. He went through two lengthy periods of not singing, but both times was drawn back to his passion. "There were two five-year periods when I didn't sing," Erney says, "but something kept drawing me back."
   Although touring was never his thing, Erney found plenty of time to perform and is no stranger to the stage. His latest album, "Live at Steamers Jazz Club," was recorded in March 2003 at the album's namesake in Fullerton, where Erney has performed the fourth Thursday of every month for the past eight years. He has played numerous times throughout the region, did a stint with the Long Beach Municipal Band, sang in his church choir and has two shows on the horizon at the Four Olives Cafe in Bixby Knolls.
   Now retired from his day job, Erney sees no signs of slowing down his musical career any time soon, but realizes some things might supercede his singing. "I'm not young, but my voice is in relatively good shape," Erney says. "I've got a lot going with my family, which is OK. I have 11 CDs. I have this legacy which I'm so proud of. The legacy that I leave with these recordings says, "Hey, I was here. And I'll always be here."