Eric Alexander Trio

Eric Alexander has had many opportunities to record as a leader for several different labels, though producer Tetsuo Hara, owner of the Japanese label Venus, has become a huge fan, recording him almost any time he travels to New York City. This is another superb outing by Eric Alexander on a freewheeling trio to compile a nine-track full of jazz's favorite staples from John Coltrane, Cole Porter and many more! There's a new sort of edge in Eric's horn, sided with the sublime work of Dezron Douglas on bass and Neal Smith on drums, which he displays throughout the set with a new great sense of spirituality.

Eric Alexander has had many opportunities to record as a leader for several different labels, though producer Tetsuo Hara, owner of the Japanese label Venus, has become a huge fan, recording him almost any time he travels to New York City.

It can be argued with some validity that one's overall movement through life is reflected in his creative endeavor, and Eric Alexander's strength and versatility on the saxophone can be viewed from this perspective. At this point in his career, Eric has certainly covered a lot of territory, both literally and figuratively. He himself has lost count of how many albums feature his playing; our guess is 100 or more. While he has garnered critical acclaim from every corner, what has mattered most has been to establish his own voice within the illustrious bop-based jazz tradition which is exactly what he does on his latest HighNote release. The close-knit ensemble of a band of regular buddies, coupled with the bass-clef contributions of the extraordinary Bob Cranshaw, make for a listening experience not soon forgotten.

Harold Mabern is a hard bop, post-bop and soul jazz pianist and composer. He is described in The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings as "one of the great post-bop pianists." On this release, Mabern is joined by Nat Reeves on bass, Joe Farnsworth on drums, and Eric Alexander on tenor sax.

A cool-toned Austrian jazz vocalist, Simone Kopmajer sings in flawless English. For this release, Simone takes an evocative country-folk song associated with Alison Kraus, and, with her stunning voice and the combined musicality of herself and co-producer/pianist John di Martino, makes it into something even more special.

For a change of pace, Eric Alexander recorded this set with an organ trio. The fact that it was cut in Europe is not too relevant, since the musicians are all Americans. With stimulating backing by organist Melvin Rhyne, guitarist Bobby Broom, and drummer Joe Farnsworth, Alexander plays five originals by bandmembers (including three of his own) and a trio of standards. However, the originals all swing and mostly sound as if they could have been veteran standards, too. With the underrated Rhyne keeping the rhythm grooving and lightly funky, Alexander often tears into the pieces, while playing the ballads with a great deal of warmth. Virtually all of Eric Alexander's recordings are easily recommended.

Malcolm Cecil, a greatly in-demand record producer, engineer, programmer and keyboardist for a countless number of major names in the music world during the past half-century, is returning to his first love, playing acoustic bass. A new recording, The Malcolm Cecil Project, will feature the bassist in a trio with tenor saxophonist Joel Frahm and drummer Eric Binder. As the record is titled, this recording was the trios first meeting. The group had never played together and met for the first time in the studio. The product is an organic, unedited recording, reminiscent of the meetings Malcolm had with greats like Johnny Griffin, Stan Getz, and J.J. Johnson.

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 the point, always shows up ready to play. Nothing seems to impede him, even the severe back pain he was suffering as this latest recording was being made.