"Evolution" is the title of the landmark 20th CD by Eric Essix which musically charts the spiritual growth and healing of Birmingham, Alabama fifty years after the events that energized the Civil Rights Movement in 1963. On this recording, Eric's guitar fronts contemporary jazz arrangements supported by traditional jazz instrumentation (acoustic piano, bass and drums) throughout most of the set. Along with six new original compositions are covers of Bob Dylan's, "Blowin In The Wind", Stevie Wonder's, "Love's In Need Of Love", John Coltrane's, "Alabama" and a foot stompin', bluesy rendition of "This Little Light Of Mine". "With this project, I definitely wanted to, of course, acknowledge the past but also highlight the amazing progress we've made over the past fifty years," Eric says. The original compositions - all written by Essix - connect to the Movement with titles like "Foot Soldiers", "Path To Peace", "A Love That Forgives", "Considering These Things" and "Evolution". But by far, the album's centerpiece is the hauntingly beautiful, "For Four", which like Coltrane's "Alabama", is a moving tribute to the four girls who died in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham. The song's melody is accented with wordless vocals sung with a powerful combination of strength and fragility by Tracy Hamlin (Gloria Gaynor, Pieces Of A Dream). Produced by veteran Grammy nominated producer/keyboardist Kelvin Wooten (Anthony Hamilton, Jill Scott, Mary J. Blige), "Evolution" is