Solid!

Studio album by Eric Alexander

Solid!

Studio album by

Eric Alexander

Recorded| April 25, May 1, 1998
Studio| Clinton Recording Studios, New York City
Genre| Jazz
Length| 60:35
Label| Milestone
Producer| Todd Barkan

Solid! is an album by Eric Alexander, with John Hicks, George Mraz, and Idris Muhammad.

## Background

[edit]

"Anticipating Prestige'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 quartet to purvey."[1]

## Recording and music

[edit]

The album was recorded at Clinton Recording Studios in New York City on April 25 and May 1, 1998.[2] The four main musicians are tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, pianist John Hicks, bassist George Mraz, and drummer Idris Muhammad.[1] Trumpeter Jim Rotondi plays on "Little Melonae" and "Straight Street"; vibraphonist Joe Locke substitutes for Alexander on "Fire Waltz".[1] "Light Blue" is played by Hicks alone.[1]

## Release and reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [1]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz| [3]

Solid! was released by Milestone Records.[3] The Penguin Guide to Jazz 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".[3] The AllMusic reviewer concluded: "Nothing startling here, but fans of uncompromising modern hard bop will definitely enjoy this."[1]

## Track listing

[edit]

1. "Solid"
2. "Little Melonae" (comp. Jackie McLean)
3. "Theme for Ernie"
4. "Fire Waltz"
5. "Four"
6. "Star-Crossed Lovers" (comp. Duke Ellington)
7. "My Conception"
8. "Light Blue"
9. "Straight Street"

## Personnel

[edit]

* Eric Alexander – tenor saxophone
* John Hicks – piano
* George Mraz – bass
* Idris Muhammad – drums
* Jim Rotondi – trumpet (tracks 2, 9)
* Joe Locke – vibraphone (track 4)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f Ginell, Richard S. "Eric Alexander – Solid!". AllMusic. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
2. ^ Eric Alexander: Solid! (CD liner notes). Milestone Records.
3. ^ a b c Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2004). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (7th ed.). Penguin. pp. 20–21.

* v
* t
* e

Eric Alexander

Years listed represent year of recording, not original release.

Studio albums|

* Straight Up (1992)
* Up, Over & Out (1993)
* Alexander the Great (1997)
* Mode for Mabes (1997)
* Solid! (1998)
* The First Milestone (1999)
* The Second Milestone (2000)
* Summit Meeting (2001)
* Nightlife in Tokyo (2002)
* Dead Center (2004)
* Sunday in New York (2005)
* It's All in the Game (2005)
* Temple of Olympic Zeus (2007)
* Revival of the Fittest (2009)
* Chim Chim Cheree (2009)
* Don't Follow the Crowd (2010)
* Touching (2012)
* Chicago Fire (2013)
* The Real Thing (2015)
* Second Impression (2016)

Live albums|

* Live at the Keynote (1999)

Related articles|

* One for All

* v
* t
* e

John Hicks

Years given are for the recording(s), not first release,
unless stated otherwise.

leader

co-leader|

* Hells Bells (1975)
* Steadfast (1975)
* After the Morning (West 54, 1979)
* Some Other Time (1981)
* John Hicks (1982)
* In Concert (1984)
* Inc. 1 (1985)
* Luminous (and Elise Wood, 1985–88)
* Two of a Kind (and Ray Drummond, 1986–87)
* I'll Give You Something to Remember Me By (1987)
* East Side Blues (1988)
* Naima's Love Song (1988)
* Oleo (New York Unit, 1989)
* Rhythm-a-Ning (and Kenny Barron, 1989)
* Blue Bossa (New York Unit, 1990)
* Is That So? (1990)
* Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Volume Seven (1990)
* Power Trio (1990)
* St. Thomas: Tribute to Great Tenors (1991)
* Tribute to George Adams (1991–92)
* After the Morning (Dominic Sciscente Music, 1992)
* Blues March: Portrait of Art Blakey (1992)
* Crazy for You (1992)
* Friends Old and New (1992)
* Moanin': Portrait of Art Blakey (1992)
* Now's the Time (New York Unit, 1992)
* Over the Rainbow (New York Unit, 1992)
* Single Petal of a Rose (1992)
* The Missouri Connection (and Jay McShann, 1992)
* Beyond Expectations (1993)
* Lover Man: A Tribute to Billie Holiday (1993)
* Akari (New York Unit, 1994)
* Duality (and Peter Leitch, 1994)
* Gentle Rain (1994)
* In the Mix (1994)
* Heart Beats (Keystone Trio, 1995)
* Piece for My Peace (1995)
* Cry Me a River (1997)
* Newklear Music (Keystone Trio, 1997)
* Nightwind: An Erroll Garner Songbook (1997)
* Something to Live For: A Billy Strayhorn Songbook (1997)
* Trio + Strings (1997)
* Hicks Time (released 1998)
* Impressions of Mary Lou (1998)
* Beautiful Friendship (and Elise Wood, 2000)
* Music in the Key of Clark (2001)
* Fatha's Day: An Earl Hines Songbook (2003)
* Twogether (with Frank Morgan, 2005–6)
* I Remember You (2006)
* On the Wings of an Eagle (2006)
* Sweet Love of Mine (2006)

With
Art
Blakey|

* 'S Make It (and The Jazz Messengers, 1964)
* Soul Finger (and The Jazz Messengers, 1965)
* Hold On, I'm Coming (1966)
* Child's Dance (and The Jazz Messengers, 1972)

With
Arthur
Blythe|

* Illusions (1980)
* Blythe Spirit (1981)
* Blythe Byte (2001)
* Exhale (2002)

With
David
Murray|

* Morning Song (1983)
* Sketches of Tokyo (co-led, 1985)
* I Want to Talk About You (1986)
* Ming's Samba (1988)
* Ballads for Bass Clarinet (1991)
* David Murray/James Newton Quintet (1991)
* Fast Life (1991)
* MX (1992)
* For Aunt Louise (1993)
* Jazzosaurus Rex (1993)
* Love and Sorrow (1993)
* Saxmen (1993)
* Like a Kiss that Never Ends (2000)

With
Pharoah
Sanders|

* Journey to the One (1979)
* Pharoah Sanders Live... (1981)
* Rejoice (1981)
* Africa (1987)
* A Prayer Before Dawn (1987)

With
others|

* Solid! (Eric Alexander, 1998)
* Sunday in New York (Eric Alexander, 2005)
* Eby (Hamiet Bluiett, 1984)
* Fast Last! (Lester Bowie, 1974)
* Now It's My Turn (Betty Carter, 1976)
* The Audience with Betty Carter (1979)
* It's Not About the Melody (Betty Carter, 1992)
* Gardenias for Lady Day (James Carter, 2003)
* The Bassist: Homage to Diversity (Richard Davis, released 2001)
* Structurally Sound (Booker Ervin, 1966)
* Flying Colors (Ricky Ford, 1980)
* Interpretations (Ricky Ford, 1982)
* Awakening (Sonny Fortune, 1985)
* The Outside Within (Chico Freeman, 1978)
* Spirit Sensitive (Chico Freeman, 1978–79)
* Habana (Roy Hargrove, 1997)
* Again and Again (Oliver Lake, 1991)
* 52nd Street Themes (Joe Lovano, 1999)
* On This Day ... Live at The Vanguard (Joe Lovano, 2002)
* Streams of Expression (Joe Lovano, 2005)
* Hi Voltage (Hank Mobley, 1967)
* Taru (Lee Morgan, 1968)
* Staying on the Watch (Sonny Simmons, 1966)
* Live at the Loosdrecht Jazz Festival (Charles Tolliver, 1972)
* Love Remains (Bobby Watson, 1986)

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template