Jazz Articles about Eric Alexander

Eric Alexander Quartet: Prime Time

by Jay Deshpande
April 17, 2008

Eric Alexander Quartet Prime Time HighNote Records 2008

After more than fifteen years on the scene, Eric Alexander deserves his due as one of today's top tenor saxophonists. He has trained and toughed it out with some of the best musicians in the business, and is a player possessing both accessibility and intelligence. Prime Time, which features Alexander backed by a rhythm section drawn from his several gigging bands, offers valuable insight ...

Eric Alexander: Temple of Olympic Zeus

by Jack Bowers
November 3, 2007

According to the (incomplete) discography at his website, tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, not yet forty years old, has already recorded more than seventy albums as a sideman, and nearly twenty as leader. He must stand outside recording studios in the morning waiting for the doors to open!

To say that Alexander's perseverance and enthusiasm have paid dividends would be an understatement. One reason he is called upon to perform in so many ensembles of various shapes ...

Eric Alexander: Five Corners & Temple of Olympic Zeus

by Tom Greenland
October 6, 2007

Dmitri Kolesnik Five Corners Twinz-Challenge 2007 Eric Alexander The Temple of Olympic Zeus High Note 2007

Originally from the rain-drenched Northwest, Eric Alexander came to New York in the late '80s amidst a formidable new wave of young tenor-totin' lions, including the likes of Seamus Blake, Joshua Redman, Mark Turner and ...

Eric Alexander Quartet: The Live at the Keynote

by Ken Dryden
November 15, 2006

These impressive live sessions by tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, pianist Harold Mabern, bassist Nat Reeves and drummer Joe Farnsworth come from a 1999 gig at the Keynote in Tokyo. Mabern's furious “The Bee Hive, an intense bopper showcasing each musician in turn, packs a powerful punch as an opener. Alexander's subtle handling of the ballad “Maybe September suggests the lyricism of Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster, yet in a distinctive, modern setting. The racehorse tempo chosen for ...

Eric Alexander: It's All In The Game

by Nic Jones
April 22, 2006

"I'm trying to have the whole horn sing clearly and relatively evenly," Eric Alexander says in a quote in the booklet notes which accompany It's All In The Game. There's ample evidence here of how successful he's been with that aim, but he neglects to mention that allying it with an exceptional level of invention within the idiom of the post bop mainstream makes for the kind of listening that is as much as anything else whatever jazz means in ...

Eric Alexander & Vincent Herring: The Battle - Live at Smoke

by Alain Londes
March 11, 2006

Without a doubt, Eric Alexander is one of the most hardworking and serious young tenor saxophone players out there. To see him perform live is to witness technical fluency combined with up-tempo and hard boppin' intensity. This recording, taped live at Smoke in New York, finds him joined by the equally talented Vincent Herring on alto sax. The first track sets the stage for the whole session. “Blues Up And Down is the classic stomping blues showcased ...

Anthony Wonsey: The Thang

by Mark F. Turner
March 7, 2006

Anthony Wonsey's latest disc finds the pianist coming into his own creative voice. Wonsey has been at the center of some very notable works over the past few years, including recordings by trumpeter Nicholas Payton, songstress Carmen Lundy and others. The Thang, his fifth disc as a leader, continues in the straight-ahead format of his label, Sharp Nine Records. While others artists his age are dabbling in freer modes, make no mistake that Wonsey is a skilled artisan who plays ...