Sax man Eric Alexander brings his gorgeous tones to SF Bay Area shows
Eric Alexander exemplifies a form of greatness that tends to be undervalued in jazz.
With no particular ambition to break new ground, he’s honed one of the most arrestingly beautiful sounds of any tenor saxophonist on the scene. Much like one of his primary mentors, tenor sax master George Coleman, the 50-year-old New Yorker combines extraordinary fluency at every tempo with a clear, rounded tone and an expansive harmonic palette.
With more than 40 albums under his own name and another 100 or so as a co-leader or sideman, he’s one of the more prolific players of his generation. For his sold-out SFJazz performances Saturday and Kuumbwa gig Monday, he’s joined by his long-time rhythm section tandem of bassist John Webber and drummer Joe Farnsworth. The pianist is the estimable Eric Reed, a brilliant accompanist and arranger who did formative stints in bands led by Benny Carter, Freddie Hubbard and Joe Henderson.
The Erics don’t have extensive bandstand history, but Alexander has long admired Reed’s playing because “he sounds great, and he’s a complete musician,” Alexander said. “He swings like crazy. He feeds me ideas and reacts to my ideas. Some pianists don’t care so much about their comping (being an accompanist). They’re thinking more about their next solo. Eric is right there with you, doing whatever the music needs at the moment.”
Details: 7:30 and 9 p.m. June 22 at SFJazz Center, San Francisco; $30; 866-920-5299, www.sfjazz.org.; 7 p.m. June 24 at Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Santa Cruz; $26.25-$31.50; 831-427-2227, www.kuumbwajazz.org.