A veteran saxophonist, Tim Eyermann was best known as the leader of East Coast Offering, a band that he formed in 1974 as a sort of East Coast alternative to Tom Scott's L.A. Express. Eyermann had piano lessons for five years starting when he was six but grew to hate them. However, when he was 14 he heard the album Cannonball Adderley and Strings and was inspired to take up the alto saxophone. He developed quickly and within two years was playing professionally. After graduating from Duquesne University, Eyermann spent six years in the Air Force, playing with the NORAD Band and eventually the U.S. Air Force's Airmen of Note. After his discharge, Eyermann became a busy studio musician and worked in many settings, including with Count Basie, Maynard Ferguson, Julie Andrews, the Spinners, and Anita Baker. He led several versions of East Coast Offering, with his best-known sideman being keyboardist Gregg Karukas (from the 1977-1979 version of the group). Tim Eyermann's bands tended to be hard-driving yet funky, accessible but with plenty of solo space for his reeds. East Coast Offering recorded for the tiny Juldane label, MCA, and Bluemoon. Eyermann's album Karla's Fire was released in 1999. The saxophonist moved to Florida in the early 2000s and resided in North Miami Beach; he died at age 60 of complications from lung cancer at Miami's Veterans Affairs Medical Center. ~ Scott Yanow