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Eric Alexander: Song of No Regrets
by Jack Bowers
Eric Alexander, who has been wielding as impressive a tenor saxophone as anyone on the scene for more than two decades, returns to the studio for what seems the umpteenth time with an abundant stockpile of point-blank pleasures on Song of No Regrets, an essentially Latin-grooved session that leaves room on the first two numbers for the superlative trumpet work of guest artist Jon Faddis. One of Alexander's strengths, and perhaps the one that has caused him ...
Continue ReadingJohn Swana: Bright Moments
by Victor L. Schermer
Simply put, this album is so listenable and stood out so noticeably among the many CDs I've been spinning for myself recently, that I thought All About Jazz readers ought to know about it. I first heard then trumpeter John Swana a decade or more ago when he jammed at pianist Tom Lawton's memorable long-term gig with the late great bassist Al Stauffer at the Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia. I was awestruck by Swana's clarity, sustained non-vibrato tone, and ...
Continue ReadingEric Alexander: Second Impression
by Jack Bowers
Not only has tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander recorded more than thirty-five albums as a leader since arriving in New York City some twenty years ago, he has appeared on almost as many others as a sideman. He's such an earnest blue-collar worker that one almost expects him to carry his saxophone in a lunch pail instead of the standard instrument case. Any Second Impression would mirror the first: Alexander is a tireless craftsman who loves to play and, more to ...
Continue ReadingEric Alexander: Chicago Fire
by Jack Bowers
When weighing the merits of tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, two words spring readily to mind: prolific and consistent. Alexander, an implacable workhorse even in his mid-40s, has since 1992 recorded no less than thirty-seven albums as leader of his own groups and appeared on many others as a sideman. As for consistency, Alexander has been widely praised, and rightly so, for his awesome technique and seemingly endless reservoir of eye-opening ad libs. In other words, he approaches every theme with ...
Continue ReadingEric Alexander: Touching
by Jack Bowers
Tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander has chosen an intriguing title for his latest recording on HighNote Records, as Touching can not only be used as a verb or an adjective, whose meanings differ widely, but in this case is also a blues (by pianist Bobby Lyle), the opening salvo in an album of ballads and blues that lays bare Alexander's warmer side. For those who've grown accustomed to the tenor virtuoso's formidable technique and quicksilver phrases, this may come as a ...
Continue ReadingEric Alexander / Vincent Herring: Friendly Fire
by Jack Bowers
For those who long for the time when hard bop reigned supreme, Blue Note and Prestige Records were riding high, and no-holds-barred saxophone cutting contests and unscripted jam sessions were the order of the day, here's a sure cure for any lament that those days are lost and gone forever. From the opening notes of Friendly Fire, recorded live in August 2011 at the New York City supper club Smoke, the it's clear that the album's principal combatants, tenor saxophonist ...
Continue ReadingEric Alexander: Don't Follow the Crowd
by Jack Bowers
Tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, now well into his forties and no longer the precocious young lion who burst on the New York scene some two decades ago, nevertheless remains the relentless hunter, avidly pursuing--and easily wrestling to the ground--obscure melodies that are beyond the pale of his contemporaries. Such diligence pays dividends again on Don't Follow the Crowd, on which Alexander heeds his own advice by including songs from such seemingly inapt films as The Deer Hunter and Shaft's Big ...
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