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2006-04-06
7:30PM
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"Alexander is a gifted melodist with an unerring sense of groove."
- Rick Anderson, AllMusic Guide
"Imagine the Nat King Cole Trio sitting in with the Wailers and you'll get the CD's boppish island-breezed vibe."
- Eugene Holley Jr. |
[ Complete Show Schedule... ] |
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| Monty Alexander Trio - "Concrete Jungle" |
FEATURING:
Monty Alexander - piano
Junior Jazz - vocals, guitar
Hassan Shakur - bass
Herlin Riley - drums |
By grafting the traditions of American jazz to his authentic Jamaican roots, pianist MONTY ALEXANDER has spent a lifetime exploring the rich depths of musical and cultural diversity. In a career that spans more than four decades, he has performed and/or recorded with artists from every corner of the musical universe: Frank Sinatra, Ray Brown, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Quincy Jones, Ernest Ranglin, Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare and many more.
Through it all, he continues to draw inspiration from the great icons of American music and popular culture. "All these people came from struggling circumstances," he says. "They didn't go to music school. They came from the street. Nat Cole, Sinatra, Louis Armstrong - they all had to hustle to get where they got. It's that story of people who can grow up in America or come to America and achieve something just because they have this great attitude and they have the talent to go with it, and they reach for something and they get it."
In many ways, Alexander has lived that same story. Born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, he took his first piano lessons at age six. Alexander came to the United States in the end of 1961. Less than two years later, he'd landed a gig with Art Mooney's orchestra in Las Vegas, where he caught the eye of New York City club owner Jilly Rizzo and his friend, Frank Sinatra. Rizzo hired the young pianist to work in his club, where he accompanied many well-known performers, including Sinatra. He also met Milt Jackson, who hired Monty to work with him, and eventually introduced him to bassist Ray Brown (with whom he subsequently recorded and performed on many occasions). One introduction led to another, and before long he was working with Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, and Sonny Rollins.
Alexander joined the Telarc label with the 1999 release of Stir It Up, an album that combined acoustic jazz and Jamaican reggae rhythm sections to interpret the music of the great Bob Marley. He was joined in he studio by the Jamaican reggae rhythm section known as Gumption. Gumption interfaced rhythmically with the jazz rhythm section, which included drummer Troy Davis and bassist Hassan Shakur. Telarc labelmate Steve Turre guested on trombone and conch shells.
Stir It Up marked the beginning of a prolific period for Alexander on Telarc - one that continues to this day. In 2000, he released Monty Meets Sly and Robbie, an album featuring Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare - reggae's most respected and experienced rhythm section. This summit meeting of multi-talented and multi-faceted players results in a vibrant combination of classic soul tunes, funky jazz and hardcore grooves.
Alexander's My America, released in 2002, includes guest appearances by guitarist John Pizzarelli and vocalists Freddy Cole and Kevin Mahogany. The following year, he teamed up with his jazz trio - including bassist Hassan Shakur and drummer Mark Taylor - for the first time in five years for Impressions in Blue. The album is a celebration of the bluesier side of jazz, with eleven tracks that include favorites from the great American songbook, as well as few selections of more exotic origin.
Alexander revisits his roots with Rocksteady, a collaborative album with reggae guitarist Ernest Ranglin scheduled for release on Telarc in April 2004. The album is a tribute to the ska movement that flourished in Jamaica 's Studio One (the island version of Motown) in the late '60s and early '70s and eventually spread throughout the world. Rocksteady revisits a time and place in which Alexander and Ranglin were two young guns, loaded with talent and in the midst of a sweeping musical movement.
Separate and apart from being the best musician he can be, Alexander's most important objective - whether his vehicle is reggae or jazz or soul, small combo or symphony - is to express the joy of music to all within earshot, regardless of prevailing differences in taste or culture. "My goal is to uplift," says Alexander. "The piano, to me, is a vehicle for connecting to other human beings. I'm very open to all forms of music. I'm not a bebop musician, I'm not a calypso musician, I'm not a reggae musician. I'm a musician who loves it all."
www.montyalexander.com |
