''Alexander the Great '' is an album by saxophonist Eric Alexander which was recorded in 1997 and released on the HighNote label in 2000.

Reception

In his review on

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

, Michael G. Nastos states "The combination of tenor saxophonist Alexander, trumpeter Jim Rotundi, guitarist Peter Bernstein and drummer Joe Farnsworth has yielded great results, with the collective One for All and their own individual bands. Their longstanding association with organ master Charles Earland unfortunately ends with this CD, as Earland has passed away. So this is their last chance to cook with the Mighty Burner, and they do it up right. Although this is Alexander's date, all five take equal roles in this effort". On

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

, David A. Orthmann said "In contrast to Alexander’s regular, straight-ahead fare as a leader for a number of record labels, ''Alexander the Great'' pretty much sticks to the formula of Earland’s popular recordings for Muse and HighNote, with an emphasis on funk and soul grooves". In

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade of growt ...

, Miles Jordan wrote "Alexander is in the tradition of Windy City tenormen, and it’s entirely appropriate that he’s reunited here with B-3 boss Charles Earland, with whom he earned a name for himself after landing in Chicago about 10 years ago ... Recorded just three months after the hornmen guested on the late Earland’s ''Blowing the Blues'' 1997 HighNote CD, the three principals continue the mood established there".Jordan, M
JazzTimes Review
accessed October 24, 2018

Track listing

All compositions by Eric Alexander except where noted # "Burner's Waltz" – 7:32 # " Let's Stay Together" (

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", ...

, Al Jackson Jr., Willie Mitchell) – 6:00 # " God Bless the Child" (

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

, Arthur Herzog Jr.) – 6:31 # "Explosion" – 8:11 # " Through the Fire" (

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

Tom Keane Thomas Lawrence Keane (September 7, 1926 – June 19, 2001) was an American football cornerback. High school Keane played football and graduated from Linsly Military Institute in Wheeling, West Virginia (now known as the Linsly School) in ...

Cynthia Weil Cynthia Weil (born October 18, 1940) is an American songwriter who wrote many songs together with her husband Barry Mann. Life and career Weil was born in New York City, and was raised in a Conservative Jewish family. Her father was Morris Weil ...

) – 5:24 # "

Soft Winds "Soft Winds" is a 1940 jazz standard composed by Benny Goodman, with lyrics by Fred Royal. Charlie Parker performed it regularly in the 1940s. In 1961, jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby released an album of the same name with the song as the title track, ...

" (

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His conc ...

, Fred Royal) – 8:13 # " Born to Be Blue" ( Robert Wells,

Mel Tormé Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "The Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for " The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roasting on an ...

) – 5:57 # "Carrot Cake" (Peter Bernstein) – 7:56

Personnel

* Eric Alexander –

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

James Rotondi James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

–

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

(tracks 1, 2, 4-6 & 8) *

Charles Earland Charles Earland (May 24, 1941 – December 11, 1999) was an American jazz organist. Biography Earland was born in Philadelphia and learned to play the saxophone in high school. He played tenor with Jimmy McGriff at the age of 17 and in 1960 form ...

–

Hammond B3 organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs ...

* Peter Bernstein –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

Joe Farnsworth Joseph Allen Farnsworth (born February 21, 1968, Holyoke, Massachusetts) is an American jazz drummer. Farnsworth was one of five sons born to trumpeter and bandleader Roger Farnsworth; one of the brothers played saxophone in Ray Charles Ra ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

References

{{Authority control Eric Alexander (jazz saxophonist) albums 2000 albums HighNote Records albums Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio