In 2003 he was name Musician of the Year in Jazz Week magazine, and the following year he signed an exclusive contract with the prestigious label High Note Records. Since 2012 Eric Alexander has worked in various projects with the Austrian drummer Bernd Reiter, who studied in Graz and New York and lives now in Paris. Despite his youth Reiter has worked with many international jazzstars such as Kirk Lightsey, Don Menza, Steve Grossman, Charles Davis, Claudio Roditi and many more. In this quartet Alexander and Reiter will be joined by a true jazz legend, the American piano player Harold Mabern. The 80-year-old pianist Harold Mabern started playing piano at the age of 16, he mentions Bill Lee, George Coleman, Phineas Newborn, Chris Anderson and Ahmad Jamal as his major influences. In the late 1950s he worked in Chicago, and for the next 10 years he accompanied Harry Edison, Lionel Hampton, J. J. Johnson and Joe Williams, and toured and recorded in Europe in 1965 with Wes Montgomery. Mabern recorded with Lee Morgan and Art Farmer, played in 1961/62 with Benny Golson, in 1963 with Miles Davis, and also with Sarah Vaughan, Roland Kirk, Sonny Rollins, Freddie Hubbard, George Coleman, Clark Terry and Joe Newman. His style takes in Blues, Stride and Modern Jazz, and he is a dynamic accompanist and virtuosic soloist. Since 1960 he has lived in New York, and he teaches at William Patterson College. The American bassist Darryl Hall has lived in Paris for many years. Through his virtuosity, warm sound and impeccable beat he has become one of most sought-after sidemen on the international jazz scene. This quartet plays energetic and swinging music on the highest level, presented with professionalism and enthusiasm.
