Cecil Alexander Quartet

Vocalist Ari Alexander and guitarist Cecil Alexander bring their rhythmic post-bop sound and real-life chemistry to the Side Door

Ari Alexander - Vocals
Cecil Alexander - Guitar
Bass - TBA

Drums - TBA

Cecil Alexander is a Berklee College of Music-trained guitarist who has emerged as, in the words of one reviewer, "a bold, genre-fluid voice in modern jazz." His playing moves fluidly between the tradition and the experimental, built on what's been described as "lush harmony, deep groove, and melodic storytelling." He's a first-place winner of both the Wilson Center Jazz Guitar Competition and the Lee Ritenour Six String Theory Competition, and was a finalist at the Herbie Hancock Institute, credentials that reflect a player equally comfortable inside the standards and pushing past them.

Alexander's collaborators read like a cross-section of where jazz guitar is headed: he's shared the stage with Bill Charlap, Antonio Hart, and Nathan East, and has recently been touring with trumpeter Chief Adjuah (formerly Christian Scott), work that fuses "ancestral rhythm with electric improvisation." His recent projects miles and miles and Lunette showcase his own compositional voice, one that resists easy categorization. For this show, he's joined by vocalist Ari Alexander, his longtime musical partner, whose rhythmic post-bop phrasing and playful scat work (drawn from influences like Betty Carter, Dave Frishberg, and Blossom Dearie) make her one of the more distinctive voices in vocal jazz. The two have released the albums Duos and Kaleidoscope together, and their onstage chemistry has become a signature of their live shows.

The Side Door Jazz Club is a dedicated jazz listening room located inside the historic Old Lyme Inn, 85 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT.