Erik Skov is a jazz guitarist, educator, and composer working in the Chicago area. As a graduate of North Central College (BA in Jazz Studies, minor in Anthropology, 2011) and Northwestern University (M.M. in Jazz Studies, 2015), Skov has established himself as an up and coming new voice for jazz guitar. An experienced performer on guitar, as well as banjo, Skov has been able to work professionally with top musicians and composers in the jazz and classical worlds including Victor Goines, Ryan Kisor, Jonathan Newman, Derek Bremel, Mallory Thompson, Ben Bolter, Frank Caruso, Charleen Brooks, Chris Madsen, and several others. Skov can be seen performing in several Chicago based ensembles including Kitt Lyles Real Talk, Gustavo Cortinas Snapshot, BTQ, Roy McGrath Chi-Town Sounds, the EWA trio and Victor Bastidas DePasie Project. He has performed as a leader or sideman at the Green Mill, Room 43, Millennium Park, Skokie Theater, Hemingway’s Bistro and held a 7 year residency at Heaven on Seven in Naperville.
Skov’s most recent project, Liminality, is a six piece jazz ensemble that features saxophonist Dustin Laurenzi, trumpeter Emily Kuhn, trombonist Euan Edmonds, bassist Kitt Lyles, and drummer Gustavo Cortinas. The ensemble’s name, Liminality, comes from the anthropological term relating to the middle stages of a ritual or rite. In this stage, the participants have left their previous state and have begun a transformative process that will lead to the desired rewards. Skov’s upcoming album aims to celebrate music as the state of liminality, a life long musical process aimed at connecting and communicating with others.