''Solid!'' is an album by
Eric Alexander, with
John Hicks
Sir John Richards Hicks (8 April 1904 – 20 May 1989) was a British economist. He is considered one of the most important and influential economists of the twentieth century. The most familiar of his many contributions in the field of economic ...
,
George Mraz
George Mraz (born Jiří Mráz; 9 September 1944 – 16 September 2021) was a Czech-born American jazz bassist and alto saxophonist. He was a member of Oscar Peterson's group, and worked with Pepper Adams, Stan Getz, Michel Petrucciani, Stephan ...
, and
Idris Muhammad
Idris Muhammad ( ar, إدريس محمد; born Leo Morris; November 13, 1939 – July 29, 2014) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He had an extensive career performing jazz, funk, R&B, and soul music and recorded with musicians such a ...
.
Background
"Anticipating
Prestige
Prestige refers to a good reputation or high esteem; in earlier usage, ''prestige'' meant "showiness". (19th c.)
Prestige may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Films
* ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnet ...
's 50th anniversary in 1999, producer
Todd Barkan
Todd Barkan (born August 13, 1946) is an American jazz impresario and producer.
Biography
Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, Barkan grew up in Columbus, Ohio and attended Oberlin College. He ran a club in San Francisco called Keystone Korner from 1972 t ...
combed the files to find out which were the label's most successful records and then, with Hicks, chose nine songs – not all of which are in the Prestige catalog, by the way – for this generation-spanning
hard bop
Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz that incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospe ...
quartet to purvey."
[Ginell, Richard S]
"Eric Alexander – Solid!"
AllMusic. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
Recording and music
The album was recorded at Clinton Recording Studios in New York City on April 25 and May 1, 1998.
[''Eric Alexander: Solid!'' (CD liner notes). Milestone Records.] The four main musicians are tenor saxophonist
Eric Alexander, pianist
John Hicks
Sir John Richards Hicks (8 April 1904 – 20 May 1989) was a British economist. He is considered one of the most important and influential economists of the twentieth century. The most familiar of his many contributions in the field of economic ...
, bassist
George Mraz
George Mraz (born Jiří Mráz; 9 September 1944 – 16 September 2021) was a Czech-born American jazz bassist and alto saxophonist. He was a member of Oscar Peterson's group, and worked with Pepper Adams, Stan Getz, Michel Petrucciani, Stephan ...
, and drummer
Idris Muhammad
Idris Muhammad ( ar, إدريس محمد; born Leo Morris; November 13, 1939 – July 29, 2014) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He had an extensive career performing jazz, funk, R&B, and soul music and recorded with musicians such a ...
.
Trumpeter
Jim Rotondi
James Robert Rotondi (born 28 August 1962) is an American jazz trumpeter, composer, arranger, educator, and conductor.
The youngest of five siblings, Rotondi was born in Butte, Montana. He played in New York City for twenty years before moving ...
plays on "Little Melonae" and "Straight Street"; vibraphonist
Joe Locke substitutes for Alexander on "Fire Waltz".
"Light Blue" is played by Hicks alone.
Release and reception
''Solid!'' was released by
Milestone Records
Milestone Records is an American jazz record company and label founded in 1966 by Orrin Keepnews and Dick Katz in New York City. The company was bought by Fantasy Records in 1972. Since then, it has produced LP reissues (including items from Ke ...
in 1998. ''
The Penguin Guide to Jazz
''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled by ...
'' stated that "Alexander's sound is again tremendous; some of his most precocious solos, vaulting into double-time, are enough to have one reaching for the repeat button".
The
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
reviewer concluded: "Nothing startling here, but fans of uncompromising modern hard bop will definitely enjoy this."
Track listing
#"Solid"
#"Little Melonae"
#"Theme for Ernie"
#"Fire Waltz"
#"Four"
#"Star-Crossed Lovers"
#"My Conception"
#"Light Blue"
#"Straight Street"
Personnel
*
Eric Alexander – tenor saxophone
*
John Hicks
Sir John Richards Hicks (8 April 1904 – 20 May 1989) was a British economist. He is considered one of the most important and influential economists of the twentieth century. The most familiar of his many contributions in the field of economic ...
– piano
*
George Mraz
George Mraz (born Jiří Mráz; 9 September 1944 – 16 September 2021) was a Czech-born American jazz bassist and alto saxophonist. He was a member of Oscar Peterson's group, and worked with Pepper Adams, Stan Getz, Michel Petrucciani, Stephan ...
– bass
*
Idris Muhammad
Idris Muhammad ( ar, إدريس محمد; born Leo Morris; November 13, 1939 – July 29, 2014) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He had an extensive career performing jazz, funk, R&B, and soul music and recorded with musicians such a ...
– drums
*
Jim Rotondi
James Robert Rotondi (born 28 August 1962) is an American jazz trumpeter, composer, arranger, educator, and conductor.
The youngest of five siblings, Rotondi was born in Butte, Montana. He played in New York City for twenty years before moving ...
– trumpet (tracks 2, 9)
*
Joe Locke – vibraphone (track 4)
References
{{Authority control
1998 albums
Eric Alexander (jazz saxophonist) albums