Chicago To New York Eric Alexander

• 1 Afro Blue 07:59
• 2 Wise One 07:23
• 3 This Is Always 08:21
• 4 Only The Lonely 02:52
• 5 Hittin' The Jug 05:28
• 6 The Lamp Is Low 10:51
• 7 Angel Eyes 08:52
• Total Runtime 51:46

Info for Chicago To New York

The new album from NY saxophonist Eric Alexander pays tribute to the intersection and interplay that still exists between Chicago and New York.

Boasting a warm, finely burnished tone and a robust melodic and harmonic imagination, tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander has been exploring new musical worlds from the outset. His new album 'Chicago to New York' pays tribute to the intersection and interplay that still exists between Chicago and New York. Unlike Alexander's 2014 album, Chicago Fire that featured an all-NYC rhythm section, the stellar casting on this new album is split evenly with LeDonne and Alexander representing New York, and the always excellent bassist Dennis Carroll and drummer George Fludas representing Chicago, where this dynamic rhythm section continues to live and work.

The record's theme cleverly explores the shared interconnection between two far-flung cities and benefits from a proximity that all four individuals share in terms of musical approach, supreme accomplishment on their instruments, and an adherence to a group aesthetic that prioritizes groove, swing, and the 'give-and-take interplay' that is the hallmark of the best jazz. Coupled with thoughtful selection choices by John Coltrane, Matt Dennis, and Mongo Santamaria (among others), the recording's repertoire provides Alexander and company excellent improvisatory vehicles with which to skillfully traverse the nearly 800-miles that separate these two great American jazz cities...enjoy the drive!

Eric Alexander, tenor- and soprano saxophone
Mike LeDonne, piano
Dennis Carroll, bass
George Fludas, drums

Recorded at Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, NJ on May 7th, 2024
Engineered, mixed and mastered by Maureen Sickler
Produced by Eric Alexander and Cory Weeds
Executive Producer: Cory Weeds

Eric Alexander
Boasting a warm, finely burnished tone and a robust melodic and harmonic imagination, tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander has been exploring new musical worlds from the outset. He started out on piano as a six-year-old, took up clarinet at nine, switched to alto sax when he was 12, and converted to tenor when jazz became his obsession during his one year at the University of Indiana, Bloomington (1986-87). At William Paterson College in New Jersey he advanced his studies under the tutelage of Harold Mabern, Joe Lovano, Rufus Reid, and others. "The people I listened to in college are still the cats that are influencing me today," says Alexander. "Monk, Dizzy, Sonny Stitt, Clifford Brown, Sonny Rollins, Jackie McLean, Joe Henderson--the legacy left by Bird and all the bebop pioneers, that language and that feel, that's the bread and butter of everything I do. George Coleman remains a big influence because of his very hip harmonic approach, and I'm still listening all the time to Coltrane because I feel that even in the wildest moments of his mid- to late-Sixties solos I can find these little kernels of melodic information and find ways to employ them in my own playing."

During the 1990s, after placing second behind Joshua Redman in the 1991 Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition, Alexander threw himself into the whirlwind life of a professional jazz musician. He played with organ trios on the South Side of Chicago, made his recording debut in 1991 with Charles Earland on Muse Records, and cut his first album as leader in 1992 (Straight Up for Delmark). More recordings followed for numerous labels, including Milestone and others, leading to 1997's Man with a Horn; the 1998 collaborative quartet session with George Mraz, John Hicks, and Idris Muhammad, Solid!; and, that same year, the first recording by One For All, Alexander's ongoing band with Jim Rotondi, Steve Davis, Joe Farnsworth, Peter Washington, and Dave Hazeltine.

Eric has appeared in many capacities on record, including leader, sideman, producer as well as composing a number of the tunes he records. By now, Alexander has lost count of how many albums feature his playing; he guesses 80 or 90. 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.

In 2004, Eric signed an exclusive contract with the New York-based independent jazz label, HighNote Records where he has amassed a considerable discography of critically-acclaimed recordings. Most recent among them is “Chicago Fire” HCD 7262, “The Real Thing” with Pat Martino HCD 7278 and “Second Impression” HCD 7296. Eric’s most recent HighNote release, “Song of No Regrets,”(HCD 7311) was featured in Downbeat’s “Hot Box”. He is currently working on a new recording project which will see commercial release in mid-2019.

Eric continues to tour the world over to capacity audiences. Using NYC as his home base he can regularly be seen in the city’s most prestigious jazz clubs.

This album contains no booklet.