ROMANC E F LOURISHES in the realm of smooth jazz

By Marcia Luttrell

Smooth jazz can create a romantic ambiance, not only for the fans, but for the artists performing it as well. We spoke with saxophonists Eric Darius and Jeff Kashiwa, and guitarist Adam Hawley, to find out how they fell in love with their wives.

When these three couples first met each other, they experienced a strong, physical attraction. There was the enchantment of an engaging smile. There were long, intimate conversations and the discovery of similar points of view.

They also share a common love of smooth jazz music, a magnetic power that united them from the beginning. It remains an anchoring force, even after years of marriage.

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After his performance, Eric had to autograph albums and participate in a meet-and-greet event with fans.

“I saw her standing from a distance and I was completely drawn to her,” Eric said. “There was an energy about her. I was mesmerized. I thought, ‘I just have to know who this woman is.’”

After Eric signed Lynne’s CD, she returned to sit with her family. When Eric looked up from the signing table, she had vanished.

The festival was thick with throngs of music lovers.

At the time, Eric’s father, Serge Darius, was his manager and an advocate of resisting romantic entanglements during a tour. There was also a family friend at the concert, and Eric saw that she had spoken briefly to Lynne while in line to purchase the CD.

Eric asked both of them to go out and find Lynne so he could speak with her backstage. It was Arizona

“We met up for drinks, and we hit it off,” Eric said. “When we started to have conversation, her accent got me. She’s from Zimbabwe. It took my breath away. As we were conversing, there were so many similarities. We had the same outlooks on life, and she is a beautiful person, inside and out. She had all the qualities I could have dreamed of in one person.”

The relationship was challenging at first because Eric was living in Florida, and Lynne resided in Arizona.

“I didn’t know him at all before we dated,” Lynne explained. “He’s a very old soul. I also learned through the dating process how persistent he is. He’s a very persistent man in his career. And when we were living on opposite coasts, the more I tried to shoot down the relationship, the more persistent he became.”

When Eric decided to propose, he set up a romantic scenario at the Wilson Creek Winery in Temecula, California. The owner, Bill Wilson, would request the couple to tour the winery so a photographer could take publicity pictures for a magazine. The “tour” would lead to a barrel room that was set up for popping the question––Champagne, flickering candlelight and beautiful floral arrangements. After making elaborate preparations, Eric called Lynne to invite her to fly to California so they could lunch at the winery. She turned him down. She had fallen and sprained her leg.

“I said, no, I don’t want to be hobbling around everywhere,” Lynne recalled. “He said he would push me in a wheelchair if he had to. We did a video call and the look on his face … it broke my heart. So, I said, ‘OK, I’ll come.’”

Lynne flew to Los Angeles, and the couple drove to Temecula, where Eric proposed as planned.

“She did say, ‘Yes,’” Eric said. “She moved to Los Angeles, which is where we live now. The cool thing is that our cultures are similar. My dad is from Haiti, and my mom is from Jamaica. Our values are rooted in the same place. As we started spending more time together, even when cooking, the things we liked were the same. It has always been interesting, that dynamic.”

The couple married five years ago at a luxe resort in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. “The whole day was just so amazing,” Lynne said. “It was a perfect, brilliant day.” hot and starting to sprinkle, but to Eric’s surprise, his dad and his friend agreed to search the audience.

Though the newlyweds planned to spend time in Mexico, Eric got a call to perform in Barbados, so they honeymooned there instead.

Lynne was eventually spotted, sitting with her family. However, she was resistant to the idea of going backstage.

“I had two rules at the time,” she said. “Don’t date an athlete or a musician. I wasn’t interested. It was because of the stereotypes. But Eric won me over.”

Trying to have a conversation backstage was a problem. Though it was loud and fans kept interrupting, Lynne agreed to a date the following day.

“The beautiful thing is, she supports me in every single thing I do,” Eric said.

“She is my tour manager and travels with me everywhere I go, and she helps me run SagiDarius Music, my independent record label. We have a great bond. She’s my life partner; we are teammates, and we get along. With each year, our relationship strengthens.”

Eric Darius is scheduled to perform at the Daytona Jazz Weekend in Florida, March 16-19 (https://floridasmoothjazz.com); the Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest in Reading, Pennsylvania, March 31; and Brian Culbertson’s Napa Valley Jazz Getaway in St. Helena, California, June 7-11. For more information on Darius, including his complete tour schedule, visit www.ericdarius.com.