Home » Jazz Musicians » Alec Haavik

Alec Haavik

Tenor and soprano saxophonist Alec Haavik, hailing from the New York City area, is now based in Shanghai, China. His urban, yet personable compositions fuse the multi-textured language of jazz with the raw energy of rock. The result is an array of tunes which cause listeners to both scream and reflect, laugh and grow quiet. This spectrum, made even wider by his new hometown, is captured on Alec's latest CD, Ye Shanghai.

Raised in the New York City area, Alec has performed internationally in a broad array of jazz and performance groups. During his eight years on the scene in New York City, he performed or recorded with such artists as Jane Monheit, Ronnie Burrage, Daniel Carter, Taro Koyama, Gregory Hutchinson, Shoko Nagai, and Eric Harland, among others. Alec's CD from this period, entitled "Rocks," features a quintet with not one, but two electric guitars. The video of his charged-yet-classic tune, "Instant Death, Part 2," (as recorded by a quartet) appears on this website.

Prior to Shanghai, Alec lived in Taipei, Taiwan, where he performed at top jazz and Latin music venues including The Blue Note, Brown Sugar, and The Stage. He also appeared regularly at Club 75, with local legends Roberto Zayas and Xiao Bai. In 2003, Alec performed in Seoul, Korea, as saxophonist and flautist for Musical: The Play, an original theatrical production.

During his Master's Program at the Manhattan School of Music, Alec studied with Dick Oatts and Mark Turner. More recently, Alec has studied with Ralph Bowen, Dave Tofani and George Garzone.

Gear

Tenor and soprano


Tags

1,102
Live Review

Alec Haavik Friction Guzheng: Fusion With A Chinese Flair

Read "Alec Haavik Friction Guzheng: Fusion With A Chinese Flair" reviewed by Jenn Chan Lyman


Alec HaavikJZ ClubShanghaiDecember, 3rd, 2009In an interview a few months ago, local Shanghai sax machine Alec Haavik mentioned his desire to include more Chinese elements into his band, Friction Seven, which plays regularly at JZ Club on Thursday nights. On Thursday, December 3rd, JZ was abuzz with tons of people anticipating Alec Haavik Friction Guzheng, a union of Chinese traditional guzheng with Haavik-style jazz fusion. The set list included songs that Haavik has written for ...

Read more articles
125

Festival

Alec Haavik at 2009 JZ Music Festival

Alec Haavik at 2009 JZ Music Festival

Source: All About Jazz


136

Performance / Tour

The Jenn Chan Lyman Interview for urbanatomy.com

The Jenn Chan Lyman Interview for urbanatomy.com

Source: Michael Ricci

The first time I saw Alec Haavik ('Hoe-vick', Norwegian pronunciation) on stage at JZ was one of the moments when I really fell in love with live jazz. If you've seen him on stage, you'll know what I mean. Charismatic and wacky, you can barely tell Alec apart from his saxophone when he's whizzing around on stage, shaking his crazy shock of hair to the beat. He's got an energy that not only infects the audience, but his fellow players ...

102

Performance / Tour

It's Clobberin' Time!

It's Clobberin' Time!

Source: All About Jazz

Just because Alec Haavik is a minor celebrity and his band Friction Seven has a weekly gig at the coolest club in town doesn't mean they're too high on their horses to get down-and-dirty and mix it up with the local rockers in an old-fashioned BATTLE!

That's right, folks, the Friction posse are gonna THROW DOWN at YuYinTang on Sunday September 27 at 9:06 pm, in the 2009 Global Battle of the Bands - Shanghai heat. Ten bands will compete, ...

143

Performance / Tour

Alec Haavik and Willow Neilson - Double Sax Attack in Shanghai

Alec Haavik and Willow Neilson - Double Sax Attack in Shanghai

Source: All About Jazz

The Alec Haavik Friction Seven is pleased to welcome special guest saxophonist Willow Neilson for Thursday at JZ: June 25, July 2 and July 9. Come witness two of Shanghai's fiercest saxophonists teaming up for a double-saxophone extravaganza! We will feature some brand new works by Willow which utilize the diverse talents of Alec's top-notch band, such as “Recycling Man," an experimental piece combining jazzy chords with a recording of the infamous bicycle-riding loudspeaker-blaring presence in Shanghai, which calls out ...

"Haavik masterfully adds raw and funky rock flavor into the jazz genre." Shanghai Daily Jan 8, 2009

"Alec Haavik, the lanky saxophonist known for his wildly physical shows and musical contortionism on the JZ stage, has channeled his powers of transformation in a newly released album called Ye Shanghai. " That's Shanghai August 2008

"Alec is a plastic performer, plastic enough to move from one dimension to the next with full control of the situation, and his love for music and sound is so attractive you just want to be right there. "
Layabozi, shanghai Jun 2008

"Alec is a theatrical player: he plays with all the elements that cross his path on every tune, and his body is an essential tool for mixing the colors and emotions coming from his horn, from the people listening, from the couples flirting, from the pals laughing and drinking, from the bartenders calling, from the cars passing by and from the friends playing with him on the stage. "
Layabozi, shanghai Jun 2008

Read more

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Ye Shanghai!

Red Ankh Records
2008

buy

Ye Shanghai

Red Ankh Records
0

buy

Cruise Control

From: Ye Shanghai
By Alec Haavik

Videos

Similar

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.