Search - Eric Alexander :: Nightlife in Tokyo

I think he's reached critical mass

Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 01/25/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Some guys work at it forever, learn the idiom, become quite competent, and that's about it. They never really find their own distinctive voice. Other guys just seem to have it right from the beginning. Somehow, they intuit the entire history of jazz early on, emerge on the scene as full-blown monster musicians, and everyone's shaking their heads as these cats transform the music as twenty-somethings. Then there's guys like Eric Alexander. I'd pegged him for a journeyman--a guy with significant chops who knew the hard-bop/post-bop language inside out, but didn't really have much original to say conceptually, tonally, or compositionally. A better-sounding and higher-echelon journeyman, but still a journeyman.Until this date. Granted, I haven't heard every single disc he's put out over the years, but I've heard my share. And I must say that, at least to these ears, he's experienced a quantum leap forward, vaulting himself out of the vast swamp of saxophonic proficiency into the highest plateaux of wind instrument brilliance. There's simply so much more substance, res, power, ease of execution, maturity of conception, tonal and timbral depth, sheer authority, and brash confidence here than ever before that he hardly seems the same player. It's like he's suddenly become an Old Soul. A Sax Master.An Overnight Sensation (albeit a decade-plus--and scores of discs as leader and sideman--in the making).Let's start with his tone. OK, he's not Pharoah Sanders yet, but he's darn close. He's finally come into that huge fullness of tone that characterizes the best tenor sax players. And he's worked hard to nail the tone center throughout his instrument's register. Indeed, he sounds just as authoritative up high as in the middle or lower registers.Then there's his compositions. There's a fairly major Milesish/Tyneresque modal/Latin thing happening here ("Nemesis," "Cold Smoke," in 5/4, I believe)--and Harold Mabern has McCoy's moves stone down, but in his own unique voice. But there's a lot more going on as well--an Afro-Cuban groove on "Island," with it's entirely authentic Caribbean Calypso vibe; heavy blues ("Big R.C."); and very nifty post-bop ("Lock Up and Bow Out"). The thing about these compositions is how natural they sound. There's none of that "Hey, watch me, I can do Wayne Shorter!" vibe. Or, "Look how many idioms I've mastered!" thing happening. Instead, there's such complete familiarity with all major jazz languages that his compositions come out sounding absolutely effortless, almost instinctual, like instant classics. That's what endless hours on the bandstand as well as major woodshedding will get you, if you've got the right stuff.You can always tell a major session. Everyone seems to play just a little bit better; there's an uncanny electricity combined with warmth and intimacy. The leader's in a zone, and the rest of the guys sense it and find a way to lock into the extraordinary thing that's going down. That's what I sense here. And it can only happen when a player has reached a certain level of maturity. This may be the most important aspect of this disc--Anderson's emergence as a brilliant leader. One sure sign of this is that everyone plays at the top of their capability--and beyond. Now understand, this is a very accomplished band: the great but underappreciated Harold Mabern (piano); Ron Carter, perhaps THE premier bassist of his generation, sounding as good as I've ever heard him; and the simply stunning Joel Farnsworth giving the young lion drummers (of whom there is certainly no shortage) a lesson in swing, coloration, and polyrhythmic dexterity.Conceptually, there's nothing radical going on here--just highest-order playing from young and old jazz masters. No hip-hop, trip-hop, trance, dance, house, alt-rock, or any other alien influences. Nothing to hide behind. Nothing to give the music some exotic sheen that will fool the unwary listener into thinking more's happening here than really is. Just the classic, naked jazz quartet. It takes consummate musicianship, chutzpah, and conversational interaction of the highest order to separate a disc like this from the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of similar sessions released during any given year. That's one reason, I'm sure, so many guys are (quite successfully, in many cases) resorting to expanded musical palettes and soundscapes. But it's harder--and therefore in a weird way probably more significant--to make great-sounding music in this pared-down environment.That's why I'm giving this disc my absolute highest recommendation. Do check it out."

It's A Keeper

Jan P. Dennis | 09/23/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"An excellent setting for tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander. A wonderful group which includes legend Harold Maybern on piano. Eric studied with George Coleman in New York and it shows, reworking of standard "I Can Dream Can't I?" allows Alexander's melodic sense to really blossom. A world class band playing jazz as it was meant to be....swung."