Harold Alexander -

Harold Alexander is an American jazz-funk saxophonist and flutist who emerged from the New York soul-jazz circuit of the late Sixties. He played with Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers and organist Big John Patton, then cut the 1971 Flying Dutchman solo album Sunshine Man and the Montreux concert disc Are You Ready?, followed by the 1974 Atlantic release Raw Root.

Background

Harold Alexander was born Feb. 24, 1943, in Charlotte, North Carolina. As a teenager, he played saxophone in North Carolina rhythm-and-blues groups, including Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs and a band led by singer L.C. Cooke, brother of Sam Cooke. Alexander later moved to New York, where he studied with saxophonist Benny Golson and became a student and close friend of Eric Dolphy.

Maurice Williams expanded the Zodiacs lineup in 1959 with saxophonists Alexander and Calvin McKinnie. The group cut local singles and reached Herald Records in 1960 through producers Phil Gernhardt and Al McCullough. In 1966, Alexander joined Pucho and the Latin Soul Brothers and played on their second album, the 1967 Prestige release Saffron and Soul.

In 1968, Alexander played tenor sax for organist John Patton on sessions for the Blue Note albums Boogaloo and Understanding; the latter includes “Ding Dong,” an Alexander composition.

Alexander replaced Joe Farrell in the Elvin Jones trio for a January 1969 engagement at Shelly’s Manne-Hole in Los Angeles, alongside bassist Jimmy Garrison. By 1971, Alexander joined the Flying Dutchman roster under Bob Thiele, who produced the May 27–28 leader sessions with keyboardist Neal Creque, bassist Richard Davis, drummer Bernard “Pretty” Purdie, and percussionist Richard Landrum.

Discography: