Eric Alexander: Boasting a warm, finely burnished tone and a robust melodic and harmonic imagination, tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander has been exploring new musical worlds from the outset. He started out on piano, took up clarinet, switched to alto sax when he was 12, and converted to tenor when jazz became his obsession during college. At William Paterson College in New Jersey he advanced his studies under the tutelage of Harold Mabern, Joe Lovano, Rufus Reid, and others.
During the 1990s, after placing second behind Joshua Redman in the 1991 Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition, and in front of Chris Potter, Alexander threw himself into the whirlwind life of a professional jazz musician. He played with organ trios on the South Side of Chicago, made his recording debut in 1991 with Charles Earland on Muse Records, and cut his first album as leader in 1992 (Straight Up for Delmark). More recordings followed for numerous labels, including Milestone and others, leading to 1997's Man with a Horn; the 1998 collaborative quartet session with George Mraz, John Hicks, and Idris Muhammad, Solid!; and, that same year, the first recording by One For All, Alexander's ongoing band with Jim Rotondi, Steve Davis, Joe Farnsworth, Peter Washington, and Dave Hazeltine.
Eric has appeared in many capacities on record, including leader, sideman, producer as well as composing a number of the tunes he records. He’s toured the world with Harold Mabern, and has played with Pat Martino, McCoy Tyner and many other jazz greats. By now, Alexander has lost count of how many albums feature his playing; well over one hundred. While he has garnered critical acclaim from every corner, what has mattered most has been to establish his own voice within the illustrious bop-based jazz tradition.
Multi-talented vocalist SARAH PARTRIDGE, who's wowed audiences everywhere from the legendary Algonquin Oak Room to the Bitter End rock club, with a repertoire that spans the Great American Songbook to Janie Ian! A wonderful Wednesday evening filled with incredible jazz.
No music charge, $25 food & drink minimum per person. Two sets beginning at 7:00. Reservations are always recommended