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Eric Alexander: Nightlife In Tokyo
by Franz A. Matzner
"Nemesis," the opening track of Eric Alexander’s latest release, Nightlife in Tokyo, encapsulates within its twisting motif and exotic garb both the positive and negative qualities of the album. The motif is compelling, but only because it is so reminiscent of Coltrane tracks like “India” and “Naima.” The tune provides a utilitarian launching pad for Alexander’s skillful, well-developed, well-blown tenor improvisations, but fails to provide enough fuel to ignite truly burning runs. That said, it is certainly a well-crafted piece, ...
Continue ReadingEric Alexander: Summit Meeting
by David A. Orthmann
A direct descendent of competitive, no nonsense titans such as Sonny Stitt and George Coleman, Eric Alexander plays the horn with a decidedly assertive temperament, as if he always has something to prove. Summit Meeting, his fourth release for Milestone, is arguably the tenor saxophonist’s finest recording as a leader in a prolific, decade-long career. No longer a series of brilliantly executed segments, his solos flow logically from beginning to end, exhibiting calculation and a quickness of mind that match ...
Continue ReadingOne For All: Live at Smoke, Volume 1
by David A. Orthmann
As anyone who frequents jazz clubs will attest, there are nights that live on in memory for years after the last note fades. Aside from basic details easily recalled (personnel, tunes, arrangements, etc.), what really matters is the way the music made us feel. On these rare occasions, the sounds were so potent that, for a time, nothing else mattered and all worldly concerns yielded to the happenings on stage. In search of another incredible experience, we keep coming back ...
Continue ReadingOne For All: Live at Smoke- Volume 1
by C. Andrew Hovan
Growing out of a weekly jam session that drummer Joe Farnsworth used to lead at a New York club called Augie’s, the hard bop ensemble One For All now encompasses a pool of leaders who still manage to get together and cultivate the kind of musical empathy that they’ve developed over the years. After two initial albums for the Sharp Nine label, the group jumped ship to Criss Cross Jazz where the majority of the guys cut records of their ...
Continue ReadingEric Alexander: The Second Milestone
by Jack Bowers
Let’s be honest; no Jazz reviewer can ever be completely objective because each of us has his or her favorite players, those musicians who, in our eyes, can do no wrong and whose next venture we look forward eagerly to hearing. When I was a young man (yes, I can remember that, albeit vaguely) Zoot Sims was, for me, such a paragon. In my opinion Zoot was the man, and no one (except perhaps Stan Getz) even came close. Irrational, ...
Continue ReadingEric Alexander: The Second Milestone
by C. Andrew Hovan
If you insist on your jazz being loud and of the avant variety, then this disc will not be for you. If you’ve convinced yourself that the young guys are just revisiting the past, then this disc won’t be for you either. But, if you’re interested in serious mainstream jazz performed by some of the greatest artists of current vintage, not to mention by one of today’s leading young tenor saxophonists, you are sure to find a lot to keep ...
Continue ReadingEric Alexander: The First Milestone
by Jack Bowers
Eric Alexander, the most fearsome young lion of them all, even looks the part on his “official” debut recording for Milestone Records — pensive, unsmiling, saxophone case in hand, primed and ready for another day of jungle warfare whose chief purpose is not so much to vanquish his musical peers as to earn their respect, something the hard–working tenor has been accomplishing with relative ease since he placed second nearly a decade ago in the Thelonious Monk Institute’s saxophone competition. ...
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