Eric Alexander

As difficult times often beget new beginnings, the COVID-19 quagmire gave birth to alto saxophonist Eric Alexander.

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.

Eric has made several appearances on my label: One For All - Invades Vancouver, Michael Weiss - Persistence, The Heavy Hitters, Xaver Hellmeier - X-Man in New York and my record O Sole Mio, he has never appeared as a leader until now. When I started Cellar Live in 2000, recording a musician the stature of Eric Alexander was a dream–Eric enjoyed long stints with some pretty incredible record labels over the years and I wasn't ready to play in the BIG leagues at that point.

Eric has made several appearances on my label: One For All - Invades Vancouver, Michael Weiss - Persistence, The Heavy Hitters, Xaver Hellmeier - X-Man in New York and my record O Sole Mio, he has never appeared as a leader until now. When I started Cellar Live in 2000, recording a musician the stature of Eric Alexander was a dream–Eric enjoyed long stints with some pretty incredible record labels over the years and I wasn't ready to play in the BIG leagues at that point.

Like its predecessor, Gentle Ballads, Gentle Ballads, Vol. 2 is another fairly low-key session led by Eric Alexander.

While New York may have eventually emerged as the city in which to both hear, and perform jazz, Chicago continues to be influential, not only for its many fine clubs but for the excellent musicians that the “Windy City” continues to produce. For Eric Alexander, Chicago quite clearly remains a site of inspiration, import, and impact. He found and formed a community early in his career in Chicago, where he lived for two years partly through a fruitful association with the great organist, Charles Earland during which Alexander, had become steeped in the Chicago tenor tradition of such natives as Gene Ammons, Eddie Harris, Johnny Griffin, and Von Freeman. Such attributes as how to dynamically shape a solo, create long ornamented bebop lines, and the cultivation of an improvisatory style that never forgets the importance of the blues were developed early, and continue to be a hallmark of Alexander’s unique style today. Another equally meaningful connection to Chicago for Alexander came in the form of a productive musical and personal relationship that the young saxophonist made with pianist Harold Mabern (with whom Alexander studied at William Patterson).

While New York may have eventually emerged as the city in which to both hear, and perform jazz, Chicago continues to be influential, not only for its many fine clubs but for the excellent musicians that the “Windy City” continues to produce. For Eric Alexander, Chicago quite clearly remains a site of inspiration, import, and impact. He found and formed a community early in his career in Chicago, where he lived for two years partly through a fruitful association with the great organist, Charles Earland during which Alexander, had become steeped in the Chicago tenor tradition of such natives as Gene Ammons, Eddie Harris, Johnny Griffin, and Von Freeman. Such attributes as how to dynamically shape a solo, create long ornamented bebop lines, and the cultivation of an improvisatory style that never forgets the importance of the blues were developed early, and continue to be a hallmark of Alexander’s unique style today. Another equally meaningful connection to Chicago for Alexander came in the form of a productive musical and personal relationship that the young saxophonist made with pianist Harold Mabern (with whom Alexander studied at William Patterson).

Das neue Album des New Yorker Saxophonisten Eric Alexander würdigt die nach wie vor bestehende Schnittstelle und das Zusammenspiel zwischen Chicago und New York.

Das neue Album des New Yorker Saxophonisten Eric Alexander würdigt die nach wie vor bestehende Schnittstelle und das Zusammenspiel zwischen Chicago und New York.