Jazz Articles about Eric Alexander

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Be-Bop at the Bach with Eric Alexander's Quartet and Jackie Ryan, Half Moon Bay, CA

by Bill Leikam
May 30, 2009

Eric Alexander Quartet and Jackie RyanDouglas Beach HouseHalf Moon Bay, CaliforniaMay 10, 2009

Considered one of the top jazz tenor sax players of our time, Eric Alexander and his quartet laid down a heavy be-bop style show at the Douglas Beach House (aka Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society) in Half Moon Bay, California on May 10th 2009. Accompanying him were pianist David Hazeltine, bassist Michael Zisman, and drummer Akira Tana with featured jazz vocalist Jackie ...

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The Eric Alexander Quartet: Prime Time

by Jack Bowers
April 13, 2009

Prime Time, another tour de force from tenor saxophone standout Eric Alexander, is one of those two-for-one packages that includes a DVD and CD so one can see as well as hear Alexander's quartet at work. While both components were recorded in concert in Asheville, NC, the CD / DVD performances aren't the same (unless they've been edited, as the playing times are entirely dissimilar). There is one song on the CD ("Some Other Time") that is not on the ...

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Eric Alexander: Three Times Around the Block

by Jim Santella
December 6, 2008

Eric Alexander Quartet Prime Time HighNote Records 2008 Eric Alexander Quartet My Favorite Things Venus Records 2008 Eric Alexander Quartet Gentle Ballads III Venus Records 2008

Tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, 40, made his debut at the Monk Competition in 1991. Since then, he's won the ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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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 ...