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Eric Alexander Quintet featuring Jim Rotondi at the Green Mill, May 2-3 |
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Written by Ronaldo Oregano
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Wednesday, 30 April 2008 |
 Eric Alexander © Andrea Canter
With 18 CD's out under his own name and appearing as sideman on countless others, Eric Alexander has made his mark on the jazz world and documented his progress as a tenor master. He has a rich tone and an aggressive, driving style that grabs the listeners attention and doesn't let go. One can hear the influence of Sonny Stitt, Jackie McLean and George Coleman in his playing. At William Paterson College in New Jersey Eric advanced his studies under the tutelage of 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, and cut his first album as leader in 1992. Seventeen recordings followed including his latest recording, a CD / DVD combo called Prime Time - Eric Alexander Quartet in concert. For more information, see www.ericalexanderjazz.com.
 Jim Rotondi © Andrea Canter
Jim Rotondi's extensive recording experience most recently includes the release of his either date as a leaderm Four of a Kind. He can also be heard on several of Charles Earland's Highnote Records releases, alongside saxophonist Eric Alexander, with whom Jim made his recording debut on Eric's Delmark release "Straight Up." Other recordings include saxophonist George Coleman's Octet, featuring Harold Mabern, as well as drummer Ray Appleton's Sextet, which features Slide Hampton, Charles McPherson, John Hicks, and One For All, whose Sharp Nine Records releases "Too Soon To Tell" and "Optimism" received critical acclaim from Cadence, JazzTimes, and The Detroit Free Press. For more information, see www.jimrotondi.com
Eric Alexander Quintet featureing Jim Rotondi
May 2-3
Green Mill Jazz Club
4802 N. Broadway Ave.
Chicago, IL 60640
773.878.5552 greenmilljazz.com
Friday, April 18; 9pm-1am
Saturday, April 19; 8pm-midnight |
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 Saturday, 17 May 2008
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