John Alexander (saxophonist)

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John Whitesides Alexander (born May 3, 1948 in Gaston County , † November 19, 2017 in Gastonia , North Carolina ) was an American jazz musician ( saxophone , clarinet , arrangement , composition ).

Live and act

Alexander attended Hunter Huss High School, then Erskine College, which he graduated magna cum laude in 1970 and where he received the American Legion Award . He did his military service from 1970-73 in the US Army; During this time he played in the 282nd Army Band in Fort Jackson, South Carolina and in the 8th Army Band in Seoul . After his discharge from the army, he studied music education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (graduated in 1974), then he completed a master's degree in jazz education at the University of Miami (graduated in 1977). In Florida he worked with Ira Sullivan , who led a student band, to be heard on the album Strings Attached (Pausa Records 1985), which was created in 1982/83 and for which he also composed. In 1992 he returned to his hometown Gastonia near Charlotte , where he worked as a music teacher. a. also as the musical director of multiethnic projects such as Harmony Services (1998/99) and Celebrating Unity (2002). As a member of the Ron Brendle Quartet, he performed in Okinawa in 1999; the following year he played in Gotha , Gastonia's twin town.

With the pianist Gary Marcus, Alexander recorded the album Brothers in 1994 and in the same year the album Out of Nowhere with the singer Toshiko Watabe . He was also involved in the production of a DVD ( A Rhythm and Blues Revival ) about R&B bands that played in Gastonia in the 1960s and 70s, including The Counts , to which he was a member. Under his own name he presented the albums You Need 'Dis and Many Hands , which contained his own compositions; In 2004 his gospel album Debt to Heaven was released . He presented his last album Big Octave in 2005 with the trio of the same name, in which he worked with bassist Ron Brendle and drummer Chris Garges. On the Charlotte music scene, he has also worked with Dan Ramsey ( Gentle Giants , 2002), the Charlotte Jazz Orchestra , Monday Night All Stars, and the band Rhythm Plus Latin Jazz , which performed at the local Ritz Hotel . His composition Stargazer can be found on the album On Fire ( Palo Alto Records 1982) by Les Demerle. He also composed the theme song for the album Melts In Your Mouth of the Atlantean Driftwood band . In the field of jazz, Tom Lord lists six recording sessions with him between 1983 and 2005.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Obituary. Legacy.com, November 22, 2017, accessed November 28, 2017 .
  2. ↑ a b c biography
  3. ↑ Tom Lord: The Jazz Discography (online, accessed November 28, 2017)
personal data
SURNAME Alexander, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Alexander, John Whitesides
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz musician
DATE OF BIRTH May 3, 1948
PLACE OF BIRTH Gaston County
DATE OF DEATH 19th November 2017
Place of death Gastonia (North Carolina)