…Ideas and chops and sensitivity. Everything we want to hear and everything we want to play. I was an instant fan!
-Kurt Rosenwinkel
…He has a command of jazz language and speaks it in a natural, unforced way- like he’s saying things as he hears them in the moment, rather than reciting what he think’s he’s supposed to say…
-Bobby Broom
Cecil Alexander is a guitarist, composer, and arranger from Muskegon, MI. He graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2016 with a B.M. in Jazz Composition. He is a recent graduate (2019) of the Jazz Performance M.M. program at William Paterson University. In 2016, he co-founded the folk-rock group Visen, which released its first EP, Shoulder Deep, in 2017. Cecil was the 1st place winner of the 2017 Wilson Center Jazz Guitar Competition and the 2018 Lee Ritenour Six String Theory Competition. In 2019, Cecil was one of 3 finalists in the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz International Guitar Competition. Cecil has recorded/performed with Bill Charlap, Antonio Hart, Lee Pearson, Luis Perdomo, Nathan East, and Steve LaSpina. Some of his greatest influences include Charlie Parker, Thurston Moore, Grant Green, John Coltrane, Omar Rodriguez Lopez, and Frank Zappa. As of Fall 2021, Cecil started a teaching position at Berklee College of Music as Assistant Professor of Guitar. Cecil recently was recently signed to Heartcore Records, a Berlin-based label founded by legendary guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel. Cecil’s debut album with Heartcore , Introducing Cecil Alexander, was released September 23rd, 2022. Most recently, Cecil has begun playing in the touring band of Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah (formerly Christian Scott). Cecil is currently planning the release of a duo album with his wife, vocalist Ari Alexander, as well as a new solo project that explores his interests in Math Rock and Progressive music.
