Alexander Seton Coke (born November 13, 1953 in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

) is a jazz saxophonist and flutist.

Early life

Coke was born in Dallas on November 13, 1953. He started playing the flute at the age of eight. He graduated high school in Austin, Texas, and then studied flute at the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado syst ...

. He played in local groups while at university and received private lessons from

Clifford Jordan Clifford Laconia Jordan (September 2, 1931 – March 27, 1993) was an American jazz tenor saxophone player. While in Chicago, he performed with Max Roach, Sonny Stitt, and some rhythm and blues groups. He moved to New York City in 1957, after ...

and

Lew Tabackin Lewis Barry Tabackin (born March 26, 1940) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and flutist. He is married to pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi with whom he has co-led large ensembles since the 1970s. Biography Tabackin started learning flute at age 1 ...

. In 1977, after graduating, he settled in Austin.

Later life and career

Coke and his wife, Mary Yznaga, lived in Washington, D.C., in the early 1980s. This was followed by two years in Europe, after which they returned to Austin. Coke toured with the Dutch jazz ensemble the

Willem Breuker Willem Breuker (4 November 1944 – 23 July 2010) was a Dutch bandleader, composer, arranger, saxophonist, and clarinetist. Career During the mid 1960s, he played with percussionist Han Bennink and pianist Misha Mengelberg, co-founding the Insta ...

Kollektief between 1990 and 2000. In the late 1990s, he lived in the Netherlands while maintaining some activities in Austin. In 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Coke reported on how he was continuing as a musician: "First Presbyterian Church where I have played for over a dozen years has continued to keep my paycheck coming in. I'm teaching online".

Discography

As leader

* ''New Visions'' (Re Records, 1982) * ''Jumping Shark'' with Willem Breuker (BV Haast, 1991) * ''New Texas Swing'' (CreOp Muse, 2002) * ''Wake Up Dead Man/Iraqnophobia'' (VoxLox, 2005) * ''It's Possible'' (VoxLox, 2008) * ''13'' with Rich Harney (Aardvark Records 2013) * ''Alex Coke, Liminal 1 (Rock Tumbler Records, 2019)

As sideman

With

* ''Parade'' (BV Haast, 1991) * ''Deze Kant Op, Dames! = This Way Ladies'' (BV Haast, 1993) * ''Overtime/Uberstunden'' (NM Classics, 1994) * ''Sensemaya'' (BV Haast, 1995) * ''Dans Plezier/Joy of Dance'' (BV Haast, 1995) * ''The Parrot'' (BV Haast, 1996) * ''Music for His Films 1967/1994'' with

Johan van der Keuken Johan van der Keuken (; 4 April 1938 – 7 January 2001) was a Dutch documentary filmmaker, author, and photographer. In a career that spanned 42 years, Van der Keuken produced 55 documentary films, six of which won eight awards. He also wrot ...

(BV Haast, 1997) * ''Pakkepapen'' (BV Haast, 1998) * ''Psalm 122'' (BV Haast, 1998) * ''Kurt Weill'' (BV Haast, 1998) * ''Thirst!'' with Denise Jannah (BV Haast, 2000) * ''Hunger!'' (BV Haast, 2000) * ''Trilogy: Hunger/Thirst/Misery'' (BV Haast, 2003) * ''At Ruta Maya Cafe'' (BV Haast, 2006) * ''Fidget'' (BV Haast, 2007) With others *

Dennis Gonzalez Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius. The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is someti ...

, ''Witness'' (Daagnim, 1983) * Austin Klezmorim, ''East of Odessa'' (B.A. Music, 1994) * Austin Klezmorim, ''Bubba's Waltz'' (B.A. Music, 2005) *

Eric Vloeimans Eric Vloeimans (; born 24 March 1963) is a Dutch musician, songwriter, and record producer. Biography Although he studied classical music as a child, he became interested in jazz at the Rotterdam Academy of Music. After graduating in 1988, he ...

, Willem Breuker, ''The Compositions of Eric Dolphy'' (BV Haast, 2006) *

Voxtrot Voxtrot is an American indie pop band formed in Austin, Texas in 2003. Their first recordings were released in 2003, and their debut EP, '' Raised by Wolves'', was released in 2005 to critical acclaim, garnering attention from music bloggers as ...

, ''Voxtrot'' (Playlouderecordings, 2007) *

White Denim White Denim is an American four-piece rock band from Austin, Texas, United States. Their music is influenced by dub, psychedelic rock, blues, punk rock, progressive rock, soul, jazz, experimental rock with home-based recording, jamming appro ...

, ''D'' (Downtown 2011) Source:

References

External links

*
AllMusic credits
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coke, Alex American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists American jazz flautists 1953 births Living people 21st-century American saxophonists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians 21st-century flautists