Alex Graham Quartet

"In one word: Impressive. Alex Graham’s The Good Life showcases not only his ability as a reedman but as an improviser, composer and arranger. Backed by a veteran New York rhythm section, Graham shows hints of Dexter Gordon and Horace Silver throughout the six compositions. Additionally, Graham’s talents are furthered by the inclusion of two original tunes thrown in with four created by other artists.

While Graham is an alto saxophonist by trade he adds the flute and clarinet to his repertoire on the original opening number "Push." The intro to this tune is composed of an interplay between Graham’s three reeds before finally rolling into the meat of the composition. Unfortunately, Graham leaves both the flute and the clarinet with this tune and carries only the alto throughout the rest of the tracks. The next to last tune "Explosion" is another Graham-penned composition; and it is just that...an explosion. This quick-paced snappy tune is rich with influence from some of the great sixties jazz hits. It is clearly one of the best on the CD with each individual artist being allowed to showcase their abilities.

The rest of the compositions are a few great jazz tunes—Mack Gordon and Harry Warren’s tune "I Had the Craziest Dream," Wayne Shorter’s "It’s a Long Way Down," Sacha Distel and Jack Reardon’s "The Good Life" and Tadd Dameron’s "On a Misty Night." The band’s collective sound is best during "On a Misty Night" where Graham, while still the headliner, allows his band members to highlight their talent a bit more than on previous tracks. During "It’s a Long Way Down" the up-tempo beat brings the rhythm section into line giving Graham a bouncy back beat to the tune.

Graham may not be in line with Cannonball Adderly, Charlie Parker or John Coletrane but he’s good...real good. While the artistry is beyond proficient, the tunes are probably more suited for a nice evening in rather than for a hip party on a weekend night. This CD is meant to be savored like a fine wine. Treat it as such and it will do you right."
- jazzreview.com

Alto saxophonist, composer and arranger Alex Graham is another one of those really fine musicians who has worked within the music arena gathering rave notices among musicians, but not getting the widespread attention his work deserves. As an arranger, he has scored for Diane Schuur and John Boutte. As a performer, he’s worked with Sam Yahel, Nnenna Freelon, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Diane Schuur and Joe Magnarelli, to name a few. He currently teaches Jazz Performance at Eastman where he is also working on his Doctorate in Jazz Studies.

On Brand New, Graham’s playing is strong, confident, utilizes improvisation concepts solidly locked within the traditional concepts of modal/scalular/altered-chord concepts as taught in most universities, and plays with the fire of an artist who truly loves his work. Even with all of this going for him, the concept that makes this disc special is his arranging. Graham has such a wonderfully unique way of harmonizing the three horn front line that you actually want to replay the tracks over and over to see if you heard it correctly the first time.

The disc abounds with excellent examples of this talent. “All The Things You Are,” that truly overplayed standard, gets a fresh treatment incorporating some atonal workings near the end and a treatment of the head that is both off-kilter rhythmically, yet locked in the pocket at the same time. “You Make Me Feel Brand New,” the cool hit by The Stylistics, not a tune one would associate with anything but smooth jazz, is worked into a samba, and a really hip one at that.

Other highlights include Hoagy Carmichael’s “Skylark,” done as a duet with David Hazeltine. While the two don’t always mesh, at too many points it sounds like Graham’s playing to an Aebersold play-along, but Graham still has a singular vision in the way he arranges his licks. Throughout Carl Allen’s drumming is exquisite, pianist David Hazeltine’s solos are incredible and the inclusion of the too-rarely-heard “Wabash” by Cannonball Adderley’s helps to make the disc fun to listen to. While Graham can still use some seasoning as a performer, his arranging ability is top-rank. - jazzreview.com

Altoist Alex Graham's The Good Life is easy-going, straightahead post-Coltrane hard bop executed with skill by all involved. Although released in late 2005, it was recorded less than three years after Graham's 1995 debut, Countdown. And it, too, includes Rick Roe on piano. This time, however, the instrumentation is a basic quartet, and the bassist and drummer are the veterans Rodney Whitaker and Joe Strasser.

While the nicely varied program includes two Graham originals (one of which has him overdubbing alto, flute and clarinet), it also features the standards "I Had the Craziest Dream," taken in quick waltz time, the ballad "The Good Life" and two jazz classics in Wayne Shorter's "It's a Long Way Down" and Tadd Dameron's "On a Misty Night."

On the up-tunes, Graham plays fluently and unpretentiously with an attractive tone that's somewhat evocative of Kenny Garrett's. And his slow-tempo work, as on "The Good Life," is tender and moving. His colleagues are all accomplished pros. Whitaker's big tone is especially impressive on the slow-moving ballad, where each note rings out fully until the next one pushes it aside." -David Franklin
- Jazz Times

"Reinterpreting jazz standards and soul classics with equal vigor, alto saxophonist Alex Graham rolls, honks and swings in this upbeat, breezy set. A first-class band joins him, with David Hazeltine’s jolly piano setting much of the mood. There are unexpected twists, including a surprise 12-tone break on “All the Things You Are” and an original tune that inverts the chord progression from “Giant Steps,” both examples of a group that doesn’t take anything too seriously." -Forrest Dylan Bryant, Jazz Times Magazine, June, 2008
- Jazz Times

- “Big-sound alto saxophonist Alex Graham convenes pianist David Hazeltine, trombonist Steve Davis and trumpeter Jim Rotondi from One For All, and synchronous bass-drums tandem Rodney Whitaker and Carl Allen on Brand New ***. It's a rollicking, well-crafted session comprised of "new standards" (Hazeltine's charts on "You Make Me Feel Brand New" and "For The Love Of You"), two grooving originals and three songbook charts by Graham. A careful, lucid improviser, Graham references, with erudition and panache, vocabulary and tonal connotations from Cannonball Adderley, Phil Woods, Jackie McLean, Kenny Garrett and Donald Harrison, among others.” –Ted Panken, May, 2009. - Downbeat Magazine