Jazz Articles about Eric Alexander

About Eric Alexander

Album Review

The New York All-Stars: Live Encounter

Read "Live Encounter" reviewed by Chris May

by Chris May
March 11, 2020

Some things live forever and take-no-quarter hard bop is one of them... If you time travelled back to New York City circa 1958 and wandered into the Half Note or Five Spot, Live Encounter contains the sort of music you might have heard. Tough, emotionally-rich jazz with no-fuss head arrangements, extrovert horn solos and a propulsive rhythm section. The album, recorded at London's Pizza Express Jazz Club in 2018, will appeal to anyone who keeps their Hank Mobley and Tina ...

Album Review

Eric Alexander: With Strings

Read "With Strings" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
March 9, 2020

To paraphrase Cole Porter: “Bird did it, Chet did it... even many vocalists I bet did it..." And now tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander did it--recorded an album with strings, that is. This represents quite a departure for Alexander who is widely known as one of the more emotive and resourceful improvisers on the scene; but so it was too for Charlie Parker, the foremost architect and unquestioned sovereign of the bop movement who was the first post-Swing Era superstar to ...

Album Review

Eric Alexander: Leap of Faith

Read "Leap of Faith" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi

by Angelo Leonardi
March 6, 2020

Eric Alexander è uno dei massimi tenoristi della sua generazione. In oltre quaranta dischi da leader e un centinaio di collaborazioni, ha evidenziato piena adesione al modern mainstream, privilegiando l'esibizione in quartetti o quintetti con la tipica sezione ritmica comprendente un pianista (spesso il suo mentore Harold Mabern) o talvolta un chitarrista (Pat Martino o Peter Bernstein). Anche la relazione coi partner s'è dimostrata stabile, confermando in molti album John Webber o Nat Reeves al contrabbasso e Joe Farnsworth alla ...

Live Review

Eric Alexander, Steve Davis, John Swana and the Philly All-Stars: Chris’ Jazz Cafe

by Victor L. Schermer
February 28, 2020

Eric Alexander, Steve Davis, John Swana and the Philly All-Stars Chris' Jazz Café Philadelphia, PA February 22, 2020 This first set on the second night of a two night stand with a packed house featured three superb and well-known hard bop masters backed by a local rhythm section called the Philly All-Stars (a young Joe Block on piano, seasoned and adaptable Mike Boone on bass, and much in demand Sonny Fortune alumnus ...

Reassessing

In The Moment

by David A. Orthmann
February 9, 2020

The trail of splendid hard bop influenced recordings extends well beyond the genre's heyday of the 1950s and '60s. A case in point is trumpeter John Swana's appropriately titled In The Moment. The 1996 release on the Criss Cross Jazz imprint merits the exalted status of its celebrated predecessors. Captured in a one-day studio session, despite the familiar stylistic lineage it sounds fresh, spontaneous and unsullied. A sextet of intrepid, strong-willed individuals fully commit themselves to a program of compelling ...

Radio & Podcasts

Eric Alexander, Tristano and Nat Cole Centennials & Ellingtonia

by Marc Cohn
November 22, 2019

Tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander appeared in Baton Rouge Tuesday, November 19th @ the Manship Theatre, downtown Baton Rouge. So we warmed you up for his visit with his trio and quartet work, as well as a sideman with Mike LeDonne on the B-3 and pianist Junior Mance (knee deep in the blues). There's also our last centennial feature for Lennie Tristano with Lee Konitz from 1949, a bit of Ellingtonia (new Bill Frisell and Rodney Whitaker as well as Duke ...

Album Review

Eric Alexander: Leap of Faith

Read "Leap of Faith" reviewed by Friedrich Kunzmann

by Friedrich Kunzmann
July 24, 2019

Acclaimed saxophonist Eric Alexander needs no special introduction. His pioneering work in the jazz world has been an inspiration to many of his peers since the early 90s. On this special chordless endeavour—featuring the chops of Doug Weiss on bass and drummer Jonathan Blake whose own recording in a very similar chordless constellation was likewise recently documented on the Giant Steps Arts label to high critical praise—Alexander makes a giant leap into somewhat uncharted territory for him and is rewarded ...