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Alex Weiss

Alex began playing the alto saxophone when he was twelve years old. At the age of fifteen, he began performing with The John Payne Saxophone Choir through his first teacher, Duncan Martin, at the Tam O'Shanter in Harvard square Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Alex went on to study music at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and in 1995, Alex relocated to San Francisco and began performing with local groups like One Nation Underground, The Unknown Giants, and The Dutch Falcone Orchestra.

During this time Alex studied with Roberto DeHaven, minister and musician for the Saint John's Orthodox church, also known as the John Coltrane church. In 1996, Alex took the first alto chair in the Glen Spearman/Marco Ineidi Creative Music Orchestra and recorded with such luminaries as Wadada Leo Smith, Bertram Turetsky, and Jackson Krall. At this time, Alex began doubling on tenor saxophone and formed his first quartet under his own name. This group included DeHaven on saxophones, Ben Pfeuffer on bass and Paul Spina on drums. In 1997 the group recorded its first album, Make Your Own Lightning.

In 1998 Alex went to Denmark with the Lords of Outland, a jazz quintet headed by Rent Romus on saxophones and George Cremaschi on bass. It was during this visit to Denmark that Alex met and performed with the great Danish saxophone player, John Tchicai. Later that year, he and Tchicai reunited in California to collaborate on a collection of compositions titled, So It Goes. During this time, he was also part of a quintet called Little Giant, comprising Bay area musicians Ara Anderson on trumpet, Patrick Moorehead on piano, and Safa Shokrai on bass.

In late 1999, Alex moved to Madrid where he met and performed with the group MOJO, going on to tour Spain with them. While in Spain, he also formed his own quintet, Gallo Pinto. After nearly four years in Europe, Alex moved back to the Bay Area in 2003 and began playing with the Brazilian funk outfit, Brazuka Brown. Alex also co-founded the saxophone quartet Space Invaders with fellow horn players Eric Drake and Charlie Gurke. Charlie and Alex later formed the bass- and drums-driven quartet, Outhead, an original composition-based band whose first album is called Quiet Sounds for Comfortable People. Outhead is currently about to release a second album called Send This Sound to the King.

In 2007, Alex moved back East to New York City and since his return to the East Coast, he has performed and recorded with musicians and groups such as Ches Smith, Dave Mason, Dmitry Ishenko, Mike Irwin, Dalius Naujo, Paul Banks, Nate Wooley, Abraham Gomez Delgado and his group El Gallo Bueno (Montreal Jazz Festival 2009), Sam Mickens Music Review, John Tchicai's Five Points (Nubop records 2009), and many others.

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5
Album Review

Alex Weiss: Most Don't Have Enough

Read "Most Don't Have Enough" reviewed by Robert Middleton


This album is really special. It doesn't sound like anything else and every song is engaging and interesting. The titles of the songs are also fascinating. Even the collage cover is great and seems to reflect the music. Tenor saxophonist Alex Weiss started writing Most Don't Have Enough during the pandemic and went deep into writing and practicing. Much of the inspiration came from Chris Speed, as Weiss is a big fan of his writing and his tone. ...

4
Album Review

Alex Weiss: Fighter Planes & Praying Mantis

Read "Fighter Planes & Praying Mantis" reviewed by Eyal Hareuveni


Saxophonist Alex Ward's musical journey so far reflects his restful musical personality. He studied music in Boston, then relocated to San Francisco where he studied with Roberto DeHaven, the minister and musician of Saint John's Orthodox Church, better known as the John Coltrane Church. In the Bay Area he collaborated with innovative improvisers as saxophonist Glenn Spearman, Wadada Leo Smith, and Bertram Turetzky. Then he continued to Denmark where he performed with John Tchicai and later moved to Madrid, Spain. ...

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6

Recording

Saxophonist/Composer Alex Weiss Exhibits His Surrealist Jazz Conception On 'Most Don't Have Enough,' Due Feb. 24 From Ears&Eyes Records

Saxophonist/Composer Alex Weiss Exhibits His Surrealist Jazz Conception On 'Most Don't Have Enough,' Due Feb. 24 From Ears&Eyes Records

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity

Alex Weiss’s idiosyncratic vision of post-bop jazz finds a new apex with the tenor saxophonist-composer’s February 24 release of Most Don’t Have Enough (ears&eyes). Weiss’s third album as a leader is also his first with Glad Irys,hisworking quintet since 2019 comprising soprano saxophonist Dan Blake, guitarist Yana Davydova, bassist Dmitry Ishenko, and drummer Ches Smith, with pianist Marta Sanchez adding her distinctive stamp to two of the album’s nine moody, mysterious tracks. Seven of Most Don’t Have Enough’s tunes are ...

OUTHEAD- Quiet Sounds for Comfortable People "A most impressive debut for a fine new quartet." DMG newsletter This long and winding road turned Weiss into a highly versatile musician whose diverse musical tastes cover country, Brazilian, and funk music and even reaches post punk bands as Black Flag. All efforts are is integrated into Fighter Planes & Praying Mantis and with the powerful and aggressive band that features drummer Ches Smith, guitarist Eyal Maoz, and trombonist Rick Parker, both collaborating in the 9Volt band. The power of this band is layered first with the driving massive pulse of Smith, assisted by bassist Dmitry Ishenko, then strengthened with the heavy, distorted sound of Maoz' electric guitar and on top of this heavy mix of sounds are the urgent, manic blows of Weiss and Parker, all orchestrated in a tight, thick interplay

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Most Don't Have Enough

ears&eyes Records
2023

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Fighter Planes &...

OutNow Recordings
2014

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Outhead- Send This...

Chahatatadra music
2014

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John Tchicai Five...

NuBOP Records
2012

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OUTHEAD- Quiet Sounds...

Chahatatadra music
2007

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Marco Ineidi/Glen...

Music and Arts Programs of America, inc.
1995

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https://soundcloud.com/alexweissmusic/4-glass-house-and-gift-horses

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