Jazz Articles about Alex Coke

Alex Coke & Carl Michel Sextet: Emergence

by Jack Bowers
August 8, 2023

Emergence, the latest album by the Texas-based Alex Coke & Carl Michel Sextet, is by and large chamber jazz, veering often into the realms of avant-garde and free improvisation. The standard of musicianship is high, the urge to listen a second time rather less so--an opinion that must be qualified by the admission that it expresses a neophyte's point of view. The question thus becomes, what can be said about such an enterprise, given one's basic unfamiliarity ...

Alex Coke & Carl Michel Sextet: Emergence

by Jerome Wilson
June 26, 2023

The Alex Coke & Carl Michel Sextet expand their sound on this album, the follow-up to their debut, The Emissary, (Play On, 2022). Their unique instrumental blend of reeds, guitar, pedal steel, vibes, harp, and bass retains its ethereal charm while also pushing forward into fresh musical territory. “Bagatelle II," by Ukrainian composer, Valentin Silvestrov, sounds like a medieval folk song. Its melody is laid out by Michel's guitar and Coke's flute while Carolyn Trowbridge's vibraphone and the ...

Alex Coke, Jeanne Lee, Steve Slagle and Others

by Jerome Wilson
July 27, 2022

This is a largely quieter and more contemplative show featuring a variety of artists such as Alex Coke, Bill Evans, Steve Slagle and Jeanne Lee. Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextett “I Can't Wait Till I Get Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air (Mosaic) 00:00 Steve Slagle “The Heart Of It" from Ballads: Into The Heart Of It (Panorama) 00:57 Lew Tabackin Trio “Minoru" from Soundscapes (Self Produced) 09:29 Host Speaks 15:21 Alex ...

Alex Coke & Carl Michel: The Emissary

by Jerome Wilson
April 16, 2022

With instrumentation that includes harp, pedal steel guitar and vibraphone, this album is clearly not meant to resemble a classic jazz session. Instead, it ambitiously incorporates jazz, medieval composition and exotic folk melodies into a hypnotically beautiful set of diverse rhythms and motifs. The most austere selection is “O Pastor Animarum" by 12th century composer, Hildegarde von Bingen. Here Carl Michel's guitar, Elaine Barber's harp, and Bob Hoffnar's pedal steel guitar combine into a thick, iridescent weave of ...

Alex Coke & Carl Michel: The Emissary

by Kyle Simpler
February 7, 2022

While much of the world was in lockdown during 2020, saxophonist Alex Coke and harpist Elaine Barber had an idea that caught on. They decided to bring their instruments out on the driveway of the Austin, Texas home they were sheltering in and play music while waiting for their groceries to be delivered. These impromptu concerts turned out to be popular and soon became weekly events. The Emissary grew out of these concerts. The Coke-Barber combination opened up ...

Alex Coke/Tina Marsh/Steve Feld: It's Possible

by Elliott Simon
October 2, 2009

With the passing of Tina Marsh this past June (2009), the Creative Opportunity Orchestra or CO2 for short, lost its earthly voice and artistic visionary. While her CO2 is grand in scope, it most recently spawned this intimate meeting of her extraordinary voice, tenor saxophonist/flutist Alex Coke and Steven Feld who plays ashiwa, an African bass rhythm box. Marsh is in superb form here and her voice thrills, especially in the higher registers, as it dovetails beautifully ...

Alex Coke: New Texas Swing

by Jack Bowers
May 2, 2003

When one keeps glancing at the “elapsed time” while listening to the opening track on an album to see how much longer it has to run, that’s not a good sign. Alex Coke’s New Texas Swing, which was actually recorded in the Netherlands, is full of sound and fury, but its significance is lessened by unrelenting waves of clamorous intercourse.

Not to discount anyone's sincerity -- these are four accomplished musicians who undoubtedly believe in what they ...