“I wish I had more time and space to answer this properly but Blues is the beginning of all music here in the USA that isn’t classical. Every type of music we have sprung out of the Blues, which we can say began in 1619 when the first Dutch ship landed and traded slaves for supplies. Jazz, Soul, Rock, Funk, R&B, Country, all of it comes from the blues.”

Glenn Alexander:

A Music Knight of Shadowland

Glenn Alexander is a composer, guitarist and vocalist. He has received extensive airplay and critical  acclaim  from  around  the  world  on his recordings Stretch (Half Track 1984), Glenn Alexander (Chase Music Group 1987), The Connection (Shanachie 1992), Rainbow’s Revenge (Shanachie 1993), Oria (Palmetto 1996), The Coalition (Midlantic/Fractal 2004), Northern Lights (Scott Healy~Glenn Alexander Quartet – Blue Dog 2011). He has played everywhere from bars to theaters, to concert halls, to stadiums and live on both radio and television. He has performed and/or recorded with some of the biggest names in music, including: Chico Hamilton, L. Shankar, Jan Hammer with The Mahavishnu Project, The Max Weinberg 7 (Late Night with Conan O’Brien), Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes, Randy Brecker, Bruce Springsteen, Levon Helm, Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint, Tom Scott, Brenda Russell, Regina Bell, Liza Minnelli, Manolo Badrena (Weather Report), Dave LaRue and T Lavitz (The Dixie Dregs), Gary US Bonds and many, many others. Glenn has recorded on countless CDs as a sideman, recently appearing on jazz saxophone great Jon Arabagon’s “Outright, Unhinged” to which Downbeat gave five stars and singled out the guitar work, calling it “fusionistic,face melting guitar solos.” Glenn has served on the faculty of his alma mater, Wichita State University and The New School. He is currently on the faculty of Sarah Lawrence College.

(Glenn Alexander / Photo by Jerry Frishman)

His latest project Glenn Alexander & Shadowland is guitar-driven, horn-laced, soulful, blues-drenched music. Fronted by Glenn Alexander, a virtuoso guitarist and vocalist who has toured the world with both his own music and for 16 years as the lead guitarist in Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes. In Shadowland, Glenn is joined by his Jukes brothers, the world-famous Asbury Jukes horns - John Isley, Chris Anderson and Neal Pawley - as well as a stellar rhythm section comprised of Greg Novick on bass and Gary Dates on drums. Rounding out the band is singer, flutist and songwriter Oria, whose soaring vocals takes the music of Shadowland to a whole 'nother level. Whether it's blues, soul or down and dirty rock, Shadowland delivers in spades. A Blues and Rock 'N' Roll Summit is coming to Lizzie Rose Music Room, featuring a potent double-bill of New Jersey-based talent: rocker Glenn Alexander & Shadowland featuring Oria and the Asbury Jukes Horns; and some tasty original blues by James 'JB' Barnes and the JB Blues Band, Friday, January 30. 217 E. Main St., Tuckerton.

Interview by Michael Limnios        Special Thanks: Glenn Alexander & Doug Deutsch

How has the music influenced your views of the world?

One thing I learned a long time ago was that music is colorblind and there are no racial, ethnic or frankly any kind of boundaries. It’s been like that for nearly 100 yrs to my knowledge. Back in 1933 when Billie Holiday was signed by John Hammond to her first recording deal, John went to Bennie Goodman to assemble a band for those sessions and the band was completely integrated. They couldn’t do this in public yet but that soon followed with Benny Goodman when his touring band in the late 30’s was Charlie Christian, Teddy Wilson,(sometimes Count Basie or Fletcher Henderson), Lionel Hampton, Artie Bernstein, Dave Tough and then Nick Fatool. Here’s a another little tidbit for ya, A few years back I was in Spain, with Southside Johnny, Barcelona I believe it was and after the show the promoter wanted to take us out so we went to this club/restaurant and it was the most unbelievable night. None of the patrons spoke English and none of us spoke Spanish to any degree but we hung out for hours laughing, hugging, drinking and having the best time, all because of music. Music unites and sees NO boundaries.

What moment changed your music life the most?

I don’t know that I can remember one particular night but I have had night’s opening for James Brown and getting to hang with him, talk and he even signed my guitar. Spending time with Willian Bell who wrote Born Under a Bad Sign for Albert King and so many nights like that, that it has had a profound effect on me. When I was with the great drummer Chico Hamilton I met everyone including the great Jo Jones. Those things stick with you. The first time I heard Allan Holdsworth live at the Bottom line, that scared me and had a profound effect.

“In my humble opinion, hopefully music technique and skills allows one to better express soul and emotions. That is if one does not get lost along the way. Technique/skill is only a means to an end but sometimes people get caught up in the first part and it rules their world and they miss the souful and emotional part.” (Photos: Blues & Rock 'N' Roll Summit 2026 poster & Glenn Alexander)

You’re part of ‘Blues & Rock 'N' Roll Summit’ 2026 line up. How did the blues shape rock and roll?

I wish I had more time and space to answer this properly but Blues is the beginning of all music here in the USA that isn’t classical. Every type of music we have sprung out of the Blues, which we can say began in 1619 when the first Dutch ship landed and traded slaves for supplies. Jazz, Soul, Rock, Funk, R&B, Country, all of it comes from the blues. The Blues is completely African American and it totally defied everything about western music(classical music) and music theory. Never before on planet earth had we heard major chords with minor melodies blatantly laid over them and it is completely microtonal. Rock and Roll comes straight out of the blues, major chords moving based on the minor scale, the 12 bar blues consisting of all dominant chords, filled with tension. No blues, No rock and roll, it’s that simple.

Why is it important to we preserve and spread the blues?

Blues, Jazz and Rock and Roll all were born here in  America and are American arts forms at this point but Blues is the almighty parental figure. How can one even play rock, funk, soul, country, any of it and not be aware of the blues. We must keep it going. It is the purest of all American art forms.

How do you describe your sound, music philosophy and songbook?

Shadowland is a band and music steeped in everything that came before it. It is an amalgamation of decades of playing Blues, Jazz, Country & Rock. It is the influence of the great Mike Finnigan/Jerry Wood horns based out of my home grounds Wichita, right up through my work with The legendary Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes. All oozing with Blues, Jazz, Soul, Rock and Country. Of course we mostly do originals but we have the covers by Albert King, Hank Williams, Etta James, Jimmy Reed etc.

What keeps a musician passionate over the years in rock, blues, jazz?

It is simply the music itself, expressing ourselves and performing for audiences and watch them light up and jump on the train with us.  It is wanting to constantly get better, be better and share all the we do and love with as many folks as we can… what could be better?

“Blues, Jazz and Rock and Roll all were born here in  America and are American arts forms at this point but Blues is the almighty parental figure. How can one even play rock, funk, soul, country, any of it and not be aware of the blues. We music keep it going. It is the purest of all American art forms.” (Glenn Alexander / Photo by Jerry Frishman)

What´s been the highlights in your career so far? Are there any memories from gigs, jams, and studio sessions which you’d like to share with us?

Oh wow, so many I don’t have enough time and space but it started when I was around 19 years old and I was hired to back up Helen Ready at The Kansas State Fair. On the same bill was the Woody Herman big band, the Thundering Herd with Woody Herman, and they were hired to be her back up band with me playing guitar. Holy frickin cow. A year later I was hired to play for Liza Minelli with a 60 piece orchestra and band out of NYC. These things inspired me and made me want to be better and do music for my life’s work. This includes my own sessions for my own albums getting to work with members of Pat Metheny’s band and the Dixie Dregs back in the 1980’s. Along the way I have had the good fortune to work with some of the most incredible and famous musicians and entertainers in the world. It’s been a good life.

How has your experience with the “golden era” of Rock/Jazz music influenced the way you compose and perform today?

Hmmm? I love your questions by the way. I think the main thing is that all of that amazing music and innovation that came before me and during my working years has shaped everything I do and continues to inspire me. There have been, and continue to be, so many incredible, creative and entertaining people out there, some so incredible that it is daunting but ultimately inspiring. I do feel damn lucky and incredibly fortunate to have been able to make a living at music my entire life. As far as composing I am and kind of always have been on my own journey, just doing what I am inspired to do, trying to be the best I can and try and have as much fun as possible along the way.

What do you miss most nowadays from the music of the past?

When I was younger and getting started in the 1970s the music was also new, fresh and just getting started. That’s the big difference. We never heard anything like Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Led Zepplin, The Allman Bros., Lynyrd Skynyrd,  Then ZZ Top, David Sanborn, and we were coming off the heels of Mike Bloomfield with The Paul Butterfield Band, Eric Clapton & Cream, It was groundbreaking, new music and new sounds that had never ever happened before on this planet. It was frickin exciting. No it is simply harder to even detect if something is new, innovative or cutting edge because it is in the nuances now as so much has come before it and been done. Gigs were also everywhere in the 70’s and 80’s. You could work 5 or 6 nights a week every week out of the year. Things have changed.

“One thing I learned a long time ago was that music is colorblind and there are no racial, ethnic or frankly any kind of boundaries. It’s been like that for nearly 100 yrs to my knowledge.” (Glenn Alexander, an amalgamation of decades of playing Blues, Jazz, Country & Rock / Photo by Phillys McQuillan)

What are your hopes and fears for the future of?

I know music will continue and people will continue to be creative. It’s so hard to make money in music now and I hope that gets better but I fear it will not. I also know that there are good things and bad things having to do with AI in music. My biggest fear again is that it will take money out of the hands and mouths of creative musicians and that is already happening.  Technology has always been a doubled edged sword and we can trace that back to the TV, which, along with many other factors, had a hand in killing ballroom dancing and thereby the dance halls themselves. The one things that cannot berelace, even by AI is live music performance. I encourage everyone to continue to support your favorite live music and I don’t think we will ever see that end.

What are some of the most important lessons you have learned from your experience in the music paths?

For starters, it’s not what others outside of music think. You have to be disciplined and insanely hard working if you are going to be successful on any level in music. It is not the drug infested, drunken degenerate fest it may have once been. There’s too much competition, too much at stake and you have to be at the top of your game always and work hard at the business as well. As you age, you have to take care of yourself and try and be as healthy as possible so you can continue performing. We must also always treat all others with respect, politeness and dignity. There is no room for anything else.  

What is the role of music/musicians in today’s society?

Well I do think that has changed a great deal as well. It used to be fashionable and cool to be a guitar hero but no so much anymore. And as you age, if you are not a household name as in a superstar, most people I meet can’t really even wrap their head around the fact that you do music for a living and speaking from experience, the women don’t seem to be interested at all in older guitar players, which I completely understand. Let’s be honest, who want to hang out every night of the week or have their spouse gone always at night, or for weeks and months at a time on the road. Society doesn’t look favorably on musicians unless, as I said, you are a household name and known to be worth a lot of dough. People here in America particularly, equate success with monetary gain and that is quite sad to me. It is different in other parts of the world.

“I think the main thing is that all of that amazing music and innovation that came before me and during my working years has shaped everything I do and continues to inspire me. There have been, and continue to be, so many incredible, creative and entertaining people out there, some so incredible that it is daunting but ultimately inspiring.”

(Photo: Glenn Alexander, New Jersey-based talented musician, a virtuoso guitarist and vocalist who has toured the world)

What's the balance in music between technique/skills and soul/emotions?

In my humble opinion, hopefully music technique and skills allows one to better express soul and emotions. That is if one does not get lost along the way. Technique/skill is only a means to an end but sometimes people get caught up in the first part and it rules their world and they miss the souful and emotional part.

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