Eric Alexander with Strings

[GA Russell]

 

Eric Alexander "Eric Alexander with Strings" Format(s): Jazz     Artist Title Time           Eric Alexander Gently 06:34       Eric Alexander Dreamsville 05:09       Eric Alexander Some Other Time 05:35       Eric Alexander Lonely Woman 06:59       Eric Alexander Slow, Hot Wind 06:20       Eric Alexander The Thrill is Gone 05:53         Eric Alexander joins the ranks of of the most famous saxophonists in jazz with his newest recording ERIC ALEXANDER WITH STRINGS HighNote Records HCD 7330   Eric Alexander, tenor saxophone • David Hazeltine, piano John Webber, bass  •  Joe Farnsworth, drums Featuring an orchestra with a complement of 13 strings with flute and French horn Orchestral arrangements & conducting by Dave Rivello     ERIC ALEXANDER WITH STRINGS now #2 on the latest JazzWeek Radio Chart   Suggested Radio Tracks Track 1 - Gently Track 3 - Some Other Time Track 4 - Lonely Woman Track 5 - Slow, Hot Wind   Eric Alexander's prowess on the tenor saxophone, his unimpeachable virtuosity and technical skill, is obvious to anyone who has paid attention to his fluent and stirring work over the past three decades. His reputation as a hard blowing jazz gladiator has stood him well with fellow musicians and loyal listeners. Admired and enjoyed for his exceptional powers, Alexander is a model of mainstream jazz expertise. However, on his latest HighNote recording Eric, backed by three of his favorite colleagues and the lush sounds of a string orchestra, brings his lyrical side to the fore. “I wanted to get straight into the beauty of a song, always putting the melody first,” Alexander states about his expressed intentions for the album. “Improvisations are the icing on the cake.” With the fruition of this dream project Alexander has again succeeded in proving that his long obvious gifts as a player are equaled by his respect for the gift of song.      Record Company Info: HighNote / Savant Records, Inc. • jazzdepo@ix.netcom.com  • (212) 873-2020 www.jazzdepot.com Attachments   7330 Email.. 7330 Eric .. HCD7334_Er..

[Chuck Nessa]

sigh.

 

[BFrank]

3 hours ago, Chuck Nessa said:

sigh.

 

[EKE BBB]

I agree. We could live without yet another "with strings" album.

[JSngry]

Who is Dave Rivello?

[felser]

1 hour ago, JSngry said:

Who is Dave Rivello?

• About
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DAVE RIVELLO

Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media

Director, New Jazz Ensemble

Department:

• Jazz Studies & Contemporary Media

Contact:

• drivello@esm.rochester.edu
• (585) 274-1455

[JSngry]

So what kind of charts is he likely to write?

I hope more like Robert Freedman did for Wynton. That was great writing.

Hope springs eternal.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

Sound samples here: https://www.highresaudio.com/en/album/view/ux63s2/eric-alexander-eric-alexander-with-strings

Not a big fan of strings on Jazz recordings... well, I do like Getz's "Focus", but that's about it. As much as I dig Alexander's work, I won't be picking this up.

Why is this so short though? 36 minutes is barely even LP length.

[felser]

37 minutes ago, bresna said:

I do like Getz's "Focus"

Yes, that one is unique and outstanding!  I like the Clifford Brown one also, but "Focus" is something completely different.

[Steve Reynolds]

Strings with Evan Parker is great 

[JSngry]

Strings are never a problem. Bad and/or hackneyed writing for them is.

[CJ Shearn]

On 2/19/2020 at 2:06 PM, JSngry said:

Strings are never a problem. Bad and/or hackneyed writing for them is.

The charts that Gil Goldstein and Alan Broadbent came up with on Pat Metheny's From This Place are wonderful.  Pat was really going for the Sebesky CTI vibe, and that approach of orchestrations being drawn from small group playing.

[Milestones]

I've heard strings be effective on recordings by Getz, Brownie, Joe Lovano, McCoy Tyner, Tom Harrell, Max Roach, Andrew Hill, Metheny, Charlie Haden, and Mark Whitfield.  Not something I really look for, but it can be done well--and that includes the strings being no more than a quartet.

 

[Chuck Nessa]

Back in the early '60s I had a Verve Sonny Stitt record with Ralph Burns arrangements I enjoyed. Haven't heard it in over 50 years. I have fond memories.

[Larry Kart]

24 minutes ago, Chuck Nessa said:

Back in the early '60s I had a Verve Sonny Stitt record with Ralph Burns arrangements I enjoyed. Haven't heard it in over 50 years. I have fond memories.

Very nice indeed.
 

 

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I used to like Art Pepper's "Winter Moon" but only if I was feeling mellow and wanted to fall asleep. I haven't spun it in ages.

 

[JSngry]

Hot House Flowers - never mind Wynton, listen to Bob Freedman!!!!

[Larry Kart]

Jim -- Do you know Freedman's composition "On the Other World" (a feature for Charlie Mariano) and his arrangement of it. It's on a Herb Pomeroy Band 1958 album on United Artists, "Band in Boston," which was reissued on Fresh Sound in 2010, coupled with the Pomeroy Band's "Life is a Many Splendored Gig"? It's quite something. That coda!

 

[JSngry]

I've heard it, can't yet say that I "know" it. Yet.