Jazz Articles about Monty Alexander

Monty Alexander: In Tokyo, Live at Iridium and Steaming Hot

by AAJ Staff
May 1, 2005

The task of listening to all three of these CDs led by the great pianist Monty Alexander (actually four, Steaming Hot being a double disc) is both pleasurable and daunting. There's a “something for everyone type of quality: great for a person that you would like to interest in jazz because of their “good times feel; good for students of the music who would be sure to find a goldmine of techniques and approaches on a wide variety of material; ...

Monty Alexander: Live at the Iridium

by Samuel Chell
April 9, 2005

Take equal parts of Oscar Peterson, Ahmad Jamal, and Gene Harris, add a jigger of Jamaican rum, steep the mix in the spirits of Louis, Nat, and the Count--and you've got a master musician, not to mention a superior piano album and an inspired live recording session that is already looking like one of the outstanding releases for 2005.

This is Monty Alexander's best recording in at least ten, if not fifteen years, an album that brings to mind his ...

Monty Alexander: Live at the Iridium

by Woodrow Wilkins
March 10, 2005

It's always good to open a concert with something familiar--especially when said opening is an extended play offering that allows the performers plenty of opportunity to stretch out. That's how Monty Alexander and his sidemen approached “The Work Song"? on Live at the Iridium. Comprised of some of Alexander's finest compositions and a few numbers from composers he has long admired, the album was recorded in May 2004 at the New York City jazz club and showcases Alexander's ...

Monty Alexander: Live at the Iridium

by Franz A. Matzner
February 9, 2005

Celebrating almost fifty years of professional music, Live at the Iridium is a fitting testament to the unique passion and tremendous talent of master improviser Monty Alexander. Alexander began his career as a youth in Jamaica, where he first encountered jazz through live concerts performed by such iconic figures as Louis Armstrong. This early exposure launched Alexander on a tremendous journey of discovery that would not only bring jazz to Alexander, but the rhythms, sounds, and styles ...

Monty Alexander: Live at the Iridium

by C. Michael Bailey
February 7, 2005

Monty Alexander belongs to the same piano tradition as Gene Harris and Junior Mance. All have a firm command of the blues that can effectively be translated into the ballad realm. Monty Alexander has been cultivating this style and approach for thirty years, with fresh evidence on his new live recording. Alexander's affiliation with the two-fisted block chord approach is fully realized on Nate Adderley's “The Work Song," Neal Hefti's “Little Darlin'," and his own “That's the Way it Is." ...

Monty Alexander: Rocksteady

by Franz A. Matzner
March 25, 2004

Monty Alexander’s totally idiosyncratic current release, Rocksteady , a conceptually confounding cross-breed of Jamaican ska, bluesy jazz, and the film scores of classic American Westerns, might have resulted in nothing more than a campy romp if Alexander and guest guitarist Ernest Ranglin weren’t the devilishly talented musicians they once again prove themselves to be. This complex album blends personal nostalgia with a historical revisiting of time, place, and style. Building on their ability to seamlessly weave subtly ...

Monty Alexander and Ernest Ranglin: Rocksteady

by C. Michael Bailey
March 5, 2004

...I wanna back to the islands Where the shrimp boats tie up to the pilin' Gimme oysters and beer For dinner every day of the year and I'll feel fine I'll feel fine... Rocksteady is officially Monty Alexander's recording. His deal with Telarc, now being realized, was that he record a straight jazz recording and then one of his own choosing. This is the latter. Mr. Alexander, along with his Jamaican brother Ernest Ranglin, ...