Cecil Alexander is a unique guitarist of his generation. Besides being an accomplished jazz guitarist, he is always exploring different genres and sounds in his guitar playing.
This EP might surprise those who have only checked out Cecil’s jazz and bebop playing in general, but if you’ve been watching Cecil’s videos on Instagram and YouTube, you know something like this EP was imminent.
Within these five tracks, in just over 13 minutes, Cecil takes us on a sonic journey that is more reminiscent of Michael Hedges if he was lo-fi rather than the bebop and modern jazz sounds we heard in Cecil’s previous release, Introducing in 2022.
The first track, midwest, midwest starts with some nice acoustic strumming and harmonics. The verse melody is cool and then we hear the chorus which is absolutely catchy. After that we come back to the verse and then chorus, which has pedal steel (I think?). It’s a short piece but is super dreamy.
Next up, we have miles and miles which is the title track of the record. The record noise is appropriate here along with the layers of guitars that are kind of answering each other before more nice layers of synth come in. There’s a nice hypnotic repetitive vibe going on in this track.
The third track, full court press gives me a bit of some Yvette Young in the intro riff before the other parts come in. Everything is really melodic! Plus, the orchestration and reharmonization are all really subtle which adds to the charm of this piece. At 3 minutes and 10 seconds, this is the longest track so far on the EP which gives the melodic themes more time to develop.
When we listen to remembered, it has more of a nostalgic video game soundtrack kind of feeling to it. The piece reminds me a bit of Rena Laine’s writing, perhaps because of the sound choices too. Maybe this is a sign for me to go back and play some Celeste? Maybe.
The final track on the EP, i wish i had a dog is probably the song with the most direct song title for the EP. The layers are really comforting on this and I particular love how Cecil used the different sounds and harmonies on this. This is real ear candy material with how the parts are mixed.
Overall the EP has a nice united feel to it, even in the short 13 minutes.
The question is: is there anything that Cecil can’t do well?
For me, the honesty and vibe in the music is what hits me the best. Is this one of my favorite new instrumental EPs for 2025? Yes it is. Congratulations to Cecil on this release, I certainly will be enjoying this on repeat.
Rating: 5/5
Stream the album here:
Spotify
Amazon Music
About Cecil Alexander
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 Jimi Hendrix, 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 recently released Duos, a collection of guitar and voice duets with his wife, vocalist Ari Alexander, and is currently preparing the release of a new solo project that explores his interests in Math Rock and Progressive music.
Check out what Cecil is up to on his website: https://www.cecilalexander.com/