Jazz Articles about Monty Alexander

Monty Alexander: Harlem-Kingston Express Live!

by David Rickert
July 23, 2011

Many jazz musicians have mined the music of other cultures and countries for new ideas. Many of the most successful combinations have come from importing the music of warmer climates--Afro-Cuban and bossa nova to name but two. Monty Alexander has always done the reverse: a native of Jamaica who played straight-ahead jazz in the States for decades, he has always included some music of his native country in his book. However, for his new group he has gone ...

Monty Alexander: Harlem-Kingson Express: Live at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola

by Larry Taylor
July 14, 2011

Pianist Monty Alexander has always worn his Jamaican heart on his sleeve, incorporated his country's good time music with jazz for over 50 years. With Harlem-Kingston Express: Live, his Motéma debut, , he ventures even further into reggae territory. Six of the 11 tracks were recorded in 2010 at Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club Coca Cola Club in New York City, with this, his most “reggaefied” group yet. A hybrid crew is onboard, stretched out across the club's stage, ...

The Monty Alexander Trio: Toronto, March 5, 2011

by Alain Londes
March 19, 2011

The Monty Alexander TrioKoerner HallToronto, CanadaMarch 5, 2011 For a night of swinging blues, in honor of Oscar Peterson, the Monty Alexander Trio was an ideal choice for the continuing series Aspects of Oscar at Toronto, Canada's Royal Conservatory of Music. The regular trio included bassist Hassan JJ Wiggins Shakur and drummer Winard Harper. To kick things off, each musician of the trio was introduced and started playing an easy swin,g one at ...

Monty Alexander: Uplift

by Dr. Judith Schlesinger
March 16, 2011

Virtually everyone who plays with pianist Monty Alexander loves the challenge of keeping up with his mischievous music-making and sudden changes in direction. Then there are those quotes--splashes of everything from bugle calls and nursery rhymes to Duke Ellington and “Meet the Flintstones"--that challenge the listeners' repertoire, as well as adding delight and surprise to each track. Who else, for instance, would begin “Sweet Georgia Brown" with a tongue-in-cheek reference to the opera “Carmen"--and make it work? Uplift ...

Monty Alexander: We've Only Just Begun

by Samuel Chell
August 20, 2007

Monty Alexander Trio We've Only Just Begun Universal 2006

Pure and simple, the hardest swinging session on record. Of course, what Duke Ellington meant by his famous criterion concerning swing is as debatable as Louis Armstrong's evasive definition of jazz. But if the listener's idea of “swing" goes beyond time-keeping, or a synchronized pulse, or an empathetic “vibe," or even a forceful drive, and insists rather on the presence of a deep and unshakeable ...

Monty Alexander: Concrete Jungle - The Music of Bob Marley

by Woodrow Wilkins
August 5, 2006

Bob Marley lives. Though the legendary Jamaican songwriter/musician left this Earth in 1981, his music and, therefore, his spirit remain with us. Among those keeping the Marley sound alive is Jamaican-born pianist Monty Alexander. After recording more than sixty solo albums, Alexander joined the Telarc family in 1999 with the release of Stir It Up, a blend of acoustic jazz and reggae rhythms that served as a tribute to Marley. Seven years later, the pianist is at it again with ...

Monty Alexander: Concrete Jungle: The Music of Bob Marley

by Jim Santella
March 22, 2006

Seven years after Monty Alexander's first Bob Marley tribute, Stir it Up (his Telarc debut), the pianist interprets Marley's music again on Concrete Jungle, performing eleven of the legendary reggae artist's compositions and one of his own. This time out, the pianist interprets Marley's songs with a feeling for the blues and folk music textures contained in the music. Reggae remains close at hand, and a clarion vocal emphasis shares the spotlight with Alexander's piano. Lyrics are brought into the ...