Home » Jazz Articles » Eric Alexander
Jazz Articles about Eric Alexander
Eric Alexander: Man With A Horn
by John Sharpe
Consider this fact. In 1991, Eric Alexander finished second to Joshua Redman at the Thelonious Monk Institute's saxophone competition. Joshua is now one of jazz's reigning hot-shot young lions while Eric remains a virtual unknown. Who said life is fair? If there is any justice, Man With A Horn should correct this problem. Working hand in hand with veteran jazz pianist Cedar Walton, this collection of standards and originals is loaded with warmth, lyricism and sparkling interplay. Alexander's husky, breathy ...
Continue ReadingEric Alexander: Man With A Horn
by Douglas Payne
Think of the stunning array of tenor greats buoyed at one time or another by pianist Cedar Walton: John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, Gene Ammons, Clifford Jordan, Wayne Shorter, Hank Mobley, Joe Henderson, Lucky Thompson, Junior Cook, George Coleman and Stanley Turrentine to name only a few. And these associations take into account neither the considerable number of classics Walton has introduced to the jazz songbook nor the pianist's simply magical prowess on his instrument - like a fine wine, aged ...
Continue ReadingEric Alexander: Man With A Horn
by Glenn Astarita
A best seller in Japan in 1997, Man With A Horn has recently been released Stateside by the folks at Milestone records. Thirty-year-old tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander shows quite a bit of verve and panache on this release. Alexander’s funk-swing based “Unsung Hero” glowingly demonstrates his sure-fired, well-pronounced phrasing and cleverly stated lyricism through his huge yet commanding tone. Here, Alexander’s shows uncanny maturity for such a young musician with a keen sense of dynamics and a rapid sense of ...
Continue ReadingEric Alexander: Mode For Mabes
by Jim Santella
Tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, who turns 30 this year, has worked with Pat Martino, Freddy Cole, Mel Rhyne, Charles Earland, Peter Bernstein, Joe Magnarelli, Mark Elf, John Swana, Cecil Payne, and his teacher at William Paterson College, pianist Harold Mabern. Alexander’s ninth recording as a leader features a Chicago rhythm section of Mabern, bassist John Webber, drummer George Fludas, and hornmen Jim Rotondi on trumpet & Steve Davis on trombone. The modern mainstream sextet reveals the talents of a ‘90s ...
Continue ReadingAlexander/Hicks/Mraz/Muhammad: Solid!
by Douglas Payne
Solid! is an aptly-titled tribute to Prestige Records, one year shy of its 50th anniversary. The music focuses squarely on the loose, swinging bebop the label made famous in the mid to late 1950s, when big names like Sonny Rollins, Jackie McLean, Miles Davis, Thelonius Monk and John Coltrane “headlined" sessions.Most of the nine tracks are well-known parts of Prestige's heritage, and benefit by the tight-knit communication of the rhythm section, known elsewhere as the ...
Continue Reading
