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11/09/05 - Coalition "Naked Movies" reviews are here! Click to read! |
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The Latest -- 7/21/05 | |
| Finished the first phase of recording for Southside Johnny's new project. Southside is doing a recording with Labamba's big band of all Tom Waits songs. We recorded at Jon BonJovi's studio. Next dates are set for September. | ![]() Photography courtesy of Gene Martin |
| Will be doing a recording late summer with Cellist David Eyges for Midlantic records along with Arthur Blythe and Abe Speller. | |
| In the preliminary stages of gearing up to produce another recording for legendary Jazz guitartist Jerry Hahn. | |
| Continually trying to write for and perform with The Coalition, The Outpost and Big Daddy Soul while staying active performing with The Mark Pender Band, Labamba & The Hubcaps and doing various recording sessions. | |
| Preparing now for the November performance of Concerto for Electric guitar and Symphony Orchestra, a piece composed for me by John Yanelli. It's 20 pages of extremely challenging music and should prove to be very interesting. | |
| Enjoying the summer in the sun & water baby. | |
| Latest News | Past News |
Reviews |
| Yahoo! Music - review of the album "Oria" |
| Yahoo! Music - reviews of the albums "Oria", "Glenn Alexander", and "Rainbow's Revenge" |
| Coalition Groove - NEW: Coalition "Naked Movies" reviews! |
| Coalition Groove - NEW: Coalition "Naked Movies" reviews! |
| Jazz Festival at WSU takes on Wichita flair -- The Wichita Eagle, April 20, 2003 |
| The Washington Post - review of "Rainbow's Revenge" |
| Pulse - review of "Rainbow's Revenge" |
| Guitar World - review of "Glenn Alexander" |
| Guitar Player - review of "Rainbow's Revenge" |
| Downbeat - review of "Glenn Alexander" |
| Billboard - review of The Connection's "Inside Out" |
| JazzTimes - review of The Connection's "Inside Out" |
| Latest News | Reviews |
Past news -- 9/1/04 |
| Just finished the long anticipated recording with The Coalition for Mid-Atlantic records, to be released in May. The CD is slammin, you gotta check it out. Visit The Coalition in the projects section for more info on the group. |
| The long awaited Mark Pender Band CD is finally out. Recording was finished in the summer and yes it's now out. For more info check out www.markpenderband.com |
| Preparing for recording The Outpost in early February at Palmetto Studios. For more info on the group check out The Outpost in the projects section of the site. |
| Rehearsals will start soon for the world premier of Concerto for Electric Guitar & Orchestra, written by John Yanelli. To be performed in early March. |
| Played on one track of the Main Gazane CD "Lightening Strikes" which is a group co-led by Bob Magnuson & Mark Minchello, also featuring Wayne Pedzewater & Ira Siegel. For more info check out www.maingazane.com |
| Recorded 7 cuts on the Ellen Zachos CD "Green Up Time" also featuring Steve LaSpina, Scott Healy, Fred Hersch, Matt Wilson, Michael Merritt and others. |
| Reviews | News |
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| Glenn Alexander - Rainbow's Revenge |
| Jazz Festival at WSU takes on Wichita flair BY CHRIS SHULL -- The Wichita Eagle The Wichita Jazz Festival concluded a week of activities Saturday night at Wichita State University's Miller Concert Hall, when a fine crowd braved threatening weather to hear three bands of international repute.The headliner of the Festival's "Main Event" was Sakesho, a Caribbean-influenced jazz quartet based in Paris and led by steel drum player Andy Narell. Also playing was the Los Angeles Quartet featuring percussionists Steve Houghton and Emil Richards.But the band undoubtedly closest to the crowd's hearts was Wichita Outpost, the opening act.The quartet was formed especially for the Wichita Jazz Festival and featured three players -- guitarists Greg Skaff and Glenn Alexander and drummer Matt Wilson -- who were raised in Wichita or got their musical training at WSU. The odd man out, bassist Ben Allison, has worked with the others on various musical projects.It's an understatement to call the players in Wichita Outpost local guys making good. These are some of the hottest musicians on the New York scene right now.Wilson's latest record, "Humidity," is on jazz charts nationwide; Allison was named by Downbeat magazine as a "talent deserving wider recognition." Alexander has played with Bob Dylan and Paul Simon. Skaff is featured in saxophonist Bobby Watson's band.Wichita Outpost's performance at the "Main Event" concert on Saturday night had a modern, fusion feel but the playing was at times surprisingly delicate.The tunes seemed to grow organically, and though they followed the traditional melody-solo-solo-melody format, there was nothing old-fashioned at all about the sound.The electric guitars played by Skaff and Alexander were easily compatible. Skaff usually played with a tuneful, Wes Montgomery kind of sound, while Alexander stretched out more frequently. At one point his guitar sounded like a Hammond B-3 organ.Wilson's playing on a modest drum set was invigorating. Rather than providing strict rhythmic accompaniment, he integrated the sounds of the drums and cymbals into the melodies swirling around him.Wichita Outpost looked backward and forward during the six song set. One tune was written by Alexander in 1980 while he was a student at WSU; its melody was taken from a snippet of a solo played by his guitar teacher, Jerry Hahn.Another song -- a jam, really -- featured high school alto saxophonist Ben Kincaid, who has been on the scene in Wichita for several years and who has probably not played his last solo on the Jazz Festival stage. |
| Reviews | News |
Guitar Player |
| Glenn Alexander - Rainbow's Revenge |
| When not shadowboxing the legacies of Metheny, Holdsworth, and Stern, Alexander reveals himself to be a sophisticated composer and impassioned guitarist. But on cuts like "Christmas Day" ("Phase Dance" redux?) and "The Black Line" ("Fat Time" II?) he's more of a mimic than a stylist. Fortunately, he finds his own voice on cuts like "Old Man Saguache" and "Miles Between Us," which sound freer and less reverent, if not as refined, as the Pat-offs. Alexander also displays a cool spirit throughout, and when that alone guides his hands, we'll have a lot to look forward to. Shanachie. -- JR |
| Reviews | News |
Downbeat |
| Glenn Alexander - self-titled |
| Glenn Alexander features the leader/guitarist in various electronic jazz/rock settings, with guest artists like Randy Brecker and Mino Cinelu. But the most impressive thing about Alexander's album isn't who he got to play on it, or his solid backup band - it's the quality of the songwriting. Some is Return To Forever-influenced, some very Holdsworth, but the tunes build nicely, often enhanced by some interesting musical curves. And they don't max out on every tune. There's some poise shown. Alexander is in control in the fluid stream-of-note passages, the synth power-chord progressions, or round-tone jazz settings, such as on "Those Closest." |
| Reviews | News |
Guitar World |
| Glenn Alexander - self-titled |
| This native of Kansas has a couple of things in common with wo guitar superstars - Allan Holdsworth and Pat Metheny. First, he shares Metheny's heartland sensibility and often echoes Pat's warm, ringing tone, particularly on "Westfield" and "Alpine Road." Secondly, he recorded this album direct to digital master on a Charvel guitar given to him by Holdsworth. Can the guy play? Are the Kennedys gun-shy? Actually, Glenn flaunts sizzling fusion chops in a power trio context with drummer Bill Elder and current Dregs bassist Dave La Rue, captured on the dynamic Stretch album of a few years back (Half Track Records, 444 N. 3rd St. Philadelphia, PA 19123). While this outing is an attempt at bringing Glenn's compositional aspect into clearer focus, the guiarist still carefully works his considerable technique into the scheme of things. "Westfield" is actually the weakest tune on the album, certainly not my choice to lead off. It's tame, Metheny-esque fare with the accent on pleasant melodies. A much better first impression would have been "Maze," an extended vehicle for Glenn's impressive guitar prowess, or "The Master," a blatant tip-of-the-hat to Holdsworth with its tricky meters, crisp arpeggios and sheets-of-sound legato lines on the distortion-laced Charvel. "Alpine Road" is a probing, daring suite featuring Glenn's ethereal volume swells behind drummer Ben Smith's nimble bashing and Mino Cinelu's colorful percussion work. Glenn builds his solo gracefully on this moody piece, beginning with sparse statements and nuance, then building to some Pat Martino-type single-note flurries before kicking on the fuzz and taking it up a notch in intensity. Trumpeter Randy Brecker is the featured soloist on two cuts, the sublime ballad "Those Closest" and an ambitious piece called "Someone," wherein the guitarist and trumpeter navigate unison lines through some tricky harmonic territory. Yes, the influences do creep in now and again. But Alexander does hit some inspired peaks on this fine album. He's making great strides toward establishing his own voice. Alexander rates right up there at the head of the pack of post-Metheny fusion players. -- Bill Milkowski |
| Reviews | News |
The Washington Post |
| Alexander Updates The Metheny Method |
| Jazz has been made by urban musicians and has inevitably reflected the density, tension, and quickness of America's big cities. There have been some important exceptions to this rule of thumb, however, and rural jazz musicians have tended to create a more pastoral music with an emphasis on hillbilly melodies and atmospheric harmonies. Perhaps the best examples have been the guitarists Pat Metheny of Missouri and Ralph Towner of Washington State. Following firmly in their footsteps is Kansas' Glenn Alexander, a young guitarist whose new album, "Rainbow's Revenge," closely resembles on of Metheny's more conservative, pop-oriented efforts. |
| Alexander not only uses Metheny's original bassist, Mark Egan, on two of the 10 cuts but has also found a Lyle Mays sound-alike in producer/keyboardist Scott Healy, who wrote two peices and plays on nine. Like his model, Alexander is a deft player whose legato phrasing allows melodic phrases to emerge and slide off on a tangent with fluid ease. A ballad like "Miles Between Us" not only pays tribute to the whispery wistfulness of Miles Davis but also to the open spaces of the Midwest where patience is a necessary virtue. Alexander can also play fast and hard, as when he plays Steve Morse-like rock licks aganst T. Lavitz's B-3 organ on "Old Man Saguache," but he's at his best on slower, more bucolic numbers like the joyful "Christmas Day" or the regretful "Letting Go" where his gift for melody comes to the fore. -- Geoffrey Hines |
| Reviews | News |
Pulse |
| Glenn Alexander - Rainbow's Revenge |
| Glenn Alexander sounds heavily indebted to Pat Metheny on Rainbow's Revenge (Shanachie). Lyrical warm-toned offerings like "Christmas Day" and "Letting Go" bear the unmistakeable stamp of Metheny. But Alexander does reveal himself on more aggressive numbers like "The Black Line" and "Sneaky," where his bluesy roots and bebop facility come into play. Genuinely pleasing fare with poetic touches along the way. |
| Reviews | News |
Billboard |
| The Connection - Inside Out |
| All the members of the Connection have some previous connection to the world of jazz fusion: Drummer Danny Gotlieb cut his teeth with the Pat Metheny Group, bassist Dave LaRue and keyboardist T Lavitz played alongside Steve Morse in the Dixie Dregs, and guitarist Glenn Alexander made his imprint as a solo artist. Happily, the four veterans have opted for a true ensemble approach, letting melody be their master and keeping their virtuostic eruptions to a minimum. |
| Reviews | News |
JazzTimes |
| The Connection - Inside Out |
| The Connection is the new jazz-fusion "supergroup" of guitarist Glenn Alexander, keyboardist T Lavitz, bassist Dave LaRue, and drummer Danny Gottlieb. In their debut Inside Out (Shanachie 5003; 38:14), the music unfolds with a subtle flow and muted punch that at moments borders on the sublime. Not surprisingly, given the members' past associations with the likes of Pat Metheny and the Dixie Dregs, there are echoes of jazz and rock as well as country. And when the quartet wants to turn up the heat, watch out for such feverish foars as htose of Lavitz' Hammond organ and Alexander's chorused-up guitar in "Night Long Rain." Melodically liteh and as well rhythmically strong and harmonically bold, this is fusion with edge and attitude - and long shelf life. |
| Reviews | News |

For more information, visit coalitiongroove.com
| Coalition Reviews | News |
...and from RollingStone.com: When is group consisting of four men you've never heard of a supergroup? When those men have backed everyone from Bob Dylan to Bruce Springsteen to, well, Ricky Martin. New York studio sultans Scott Healy (keyboards), Glenn Alexander (guitar), Mike Merritt (bass) and Shawn Pelton (drums) band together and step into the spotlight as the Coalition on Naked Movies. The eight instrumentals play like a loose four-way conversation, and there's enough compelling chatter for jazz and rock fans to want to eavesdrop. Bitches Brew disciples will dig the rollicking electric grooves of "Tuna Whiskey," Alexander pours enough chicken grease on "Coke" for Stevie Ray's faithful, and the spooky, steely title track might just sneak up on the odd Radiohead fan. No wonder these guys get all the gigs. --BILL CRANDALL (Posted May 13, 2005) |
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