Forget the rumors about Euge Groove. Here’s the scoop from the man himself.

After receiving several inquiries from our readers, and having some inside knowledge that the gossip I was hearing was false, I picked up the phone and called Euge. I asked him if he could tell me in his own words what’s been happening with him.

The popular saxophonist, who, before launching his solo career in 2000, toured with Tower of Power, Joe Cocker and other superstar acts, has been noticeably absent from the concert and festival circuit. But when he canceled his appearance at the Seabreeze Jazz Festival, his fans really began to worry. In response to their concern, he posted this statement to his Facebook page on March 9: “Hello y’all. There has been a lot of speculation and concern about me recently. And rightly so. I have canceled dates for a year to get my sh** together. Steven EUGEne GROoVE is taking a sabbatical from being Euge Groove to re-invent, re-imagine and come up with a better 2.0 version.

I’ll be back in the fall with a new album (coming this summer. And it’s killing if I do say so myself), new show and new breath of fresh air. It’s long overdue. In the meantime, please don’t forget about me. I’m very excited for this next chapter of health, happiness and expanded creativity. Join me won’t you!”

Still, the rumor mill churned out inaccurate speculation about Steven Eugene Grove, who received the moniker “Euge Groove” decades ago when he joined Tina Turner’s band for her 50th anniversary tour.

“Do they know what a sabbatical is?” he asked jokingly. He then explained that he’s been experiencing severe anxiety. It got so bad, that during a show at Yoshi’s in Oakland, California, he had to leave the stage early. That was Sept. 4, 2022, his last live performance. During our conversation, he was upbeat, talkative and ecstatic about the new record, which is scheduled for release in August. He even sent me a sample of one of the songs, which was on fire! He also expressed how much fun and pleasure he’s having creating music.

The 60-year-old has been busy, happily immersed on his own record and producing other artists’ projects from his home studio, where he doesn’t experience any symptoms. However, each time he’d start driving to a gig, or a car service would arrive to take him to the airport, his anxiety would activate. He is receiving treatment for this disorder, which, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, affects an estimated 31 percent of adults in the United States at some time in their lives.

Looking back at a feature we published on Euge in April 2010, he mentioned how when the Turner tour was stretching into 2009, it began to wear on him, and he began writing songs for his sixth solo record, Sunday

Morning. During that interview, he said: “I wrote most of it on the road with Tina when I was really quite homesick. A lot of my emotion got into the songs when I wrote them. Some of it can be melancholy and some of it upbeat and funky, which is the mood I needed at that time to kind of pull through it all.”

I sent Euge a copy of that article. “That’s truly when the anxiety started,” he said. “I had it under control I think until COVID. This is album 13 by the way. Where does the time go?”

He endured all those decades of long plane trips, early-morning lobby calls, buses and lost luggage, but now, the escalating rigors and perils of air travel and flight cancellations make traveling even more grueling.

Still, Euge is optimistic that he’ll be back on the road this fall. And, he had this message for his fans, for whom he truly misses performing: “My physical health is great. In a nutshell, my mind never recovered from COVID. Instead of just ‘getting through’ shows, I decided to work on mind, body and spirit. Come back 100 percent.

To be honest, it’s not like I checked out of the scene altogether. I’ve been in my ‘happy place,’ my studio, quite busy. My new album, which I feel is quite new and fresh, just got finished. I produced and mixed Jazmin Ghent’s last album. Mixed Brian Simpson’s last album. Mastered Lindsey Webster’s, Norman Brown’s, Rick Braun’s, Vincent Ingala’s, Larry Carlton and Paul Brown’s last projects. And worked with a bunch of up-and-coming artists as well. I look forward to being back at live shows in full swing with the energy people have come to expect from me by the fall.

Thank you for the understandable concern. I hope this clears things up.”

I hope to attend a live Euge Groove concert in the future, but until then, I’m looking forward to hearing his new CD and feeling the vibe that his signature sound always evokes.

To stay informed on Euge, visit his website, www.eugegroove.com, and social media platforms.