Monty Alexander
Albums
Monty Alexander's career was beginning to take off at the time of this 1971 club date at the Monticello in Rochester, NY. Accompanied by Dave Brubeck's former bassist, [more]
How do you reconcile a harmonically basic, rhythmically upside-down idiom like Bob Marley's reggae with the bop-derived environment in which pianist Monty [more]
Jazz purists may turn up the nose at this jazz-reggae summit meeting, but that's their loss. It's not that they wouldn't have the right to be [more]
Monty Alexander follows up his tribute to Tony Bennett with an homage to another classic jazz singer, Nat King Cole. Also recorded in New York City at [more]
Appearances
Although Rhino's four-disc box set, Q: The Musical Biography of Quincy Jones, was released to coincide with Quincy Jones' autobiography, and that's what gives [more]
Quincy Jones had jazz fans wondering when he released his killer Gula Matari album in 1970. That set, with gorgeous reading of Paul Simon's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" with a lead [more]
Angel's Tribute To Duke Ellington features loving interpretations of the jazz master's works from artists like Earl Hines, Cecil Taylor and [more]
Monty Alexander's career was beginning to take off at the time of this 1971 club date at the Monticello in Rochester, NY. Accompanied by Dave Brubeck's former bassist, [more]
How do you reconcile a harmonically basic, rhythmically upside-down idiom like Bob Marley's reggae with the bop-derived environment in which pianist Monty [more]
Jazz purists may turn up the nose at this jazz-reggae summit meeting, but that's their loss. It's not that they wouldn't have the right to be [more]
Right in the middle of celebrating his 79th birthday, Clark Terry went into the studio for several days to record 14 duets with a different pianist on each track, with many of them being [more]
Monty Alexander follows up his tribute to Tony Bennett with an homage to another classic jazz singer, Nat King Cole. Also recorded in New York City at [more]
Biography
- Born Jun 6th 1944 in Kingston, Jamaica
Monty Alexander long ago combined together the influence of Oscar Peterson with the soul of Gene Harris and Nat "King" Cole to form his own appealing and personable style. Long a bit underrated (due to the shadow of Peterson), Alexander has recorded more than a score of excellent albums. Monty Alexander began piano lessons when he was six and he played professionally in Jamaican clubs while still a teenager; his band, Monty and the Cyclones, was quite popular locally during 1958-1960. He first played in the U.S. when he appeared in Las Vegas with Art Mooney's Orchestra. Soon he was accompanying a variety of top singers, formed a friendship with vibraphonist Milt Jackson, and began gigging with bassist Ray Brown. With the recording of a pair of Pacific Jazz albums in 1965, an RCA date in 1967, and a Verve session in 1969, Alexander began to gain a strong reputation. His series of exciting albums for MPS during 1971-1977 found him in prime form, and his recordings in the '80s, '90s, and 2000s found him building on his original style. Alexander, who often pays tribute to his Jamaican heritage, performs regularly with his own trio and swings hard in his own voice. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
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