''Solid!'' is an album by
Eric Alexander, with
John Hicks
Sir John Richard 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 economics ...
,
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, Stepha ...
, and
Idris Muhammad
Idris Muhammad (; born Leo Morris; November 13, 1939 – July 29, 2014) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He had an extensive career performing jazz, funk, Rhythm and blues, R&B, and Soul music, soul music and recorded with musicians s ...
.
Background
"Anticipating
Prestige
Prestige may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Films
*Prestige (film), ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnett: woman travels to French Indochina to meet up with husband
*The Prestige (film), ''The Prestige'' (fi ...
's 50th anniversary in 1999, producer
Todd Barkan 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 Richard 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 economics ...
, 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, Stepha ...
, and drummer
Idris Muhammad
Idris Muhammad (; born Leo Morris; November 13, 1939 – July 29, 2014) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He had an extensive career performing jazz, funk, Rhythm and blues, R&B, and Soul music, soul music and recorded with musicians s ...
.
Trumpeter
Jim Rotondi
James Robert Rotondi (August 28, 1962 – July 8, 2024) was 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 b ...
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 ...
.
''
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 b ...
'' 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 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 Mus ...
reviewer concluded: "Nothing startling here, but fans of uncompromising modern hard bop will definitely enjoy this."
Track listing
#"Solid"
#"Little Melonae" (comp.
Jackie McLean
John Lenwood McLean (May 17, 1931 – March 31, 2006) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator. He is one of the few musicians to be elected to the ''DownBeat'' Hall of Fame in the year of their death.
Bio ...
)
#"Theme for Ernie"
#"Fire Waltz"
#"Four"
#"Star-Crossed Lovers" (comp.
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life.
Born and raised in Washington, D ...
)
#"My Conception"
#"Light Blue"
#"Straight Street"
Personnel
*
Eric Alexander – tenor saxophone
*
John Hicks
Sir John Richard 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 economics ...
– 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, Stepha ...
– bass
*
Idris Muhammad
Idris Muhammad (; born Leo Morris; November 13, 1939 – July 29, 2014) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He had an extensive career performing jazz, funk, Rhythm and blues, R&B, and Soul music, soul music and recorded with musicians s ...
– drums
*
Jim Rotondi
James Robert Rotondi (August 28, 1962 – July 8, 2024) was 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 b ...
– trumpet (tracks 2, 9)
*
Joe Locke – vibraphone (track 4)
References
{{Authority control
1998 albums
Eric Alexander (jazz saxophonist) albums