Nearly sixty-five years after he moved to the United States from Kingston, Jamaica, his hometown, Grammyยฎ nominated legendary pianist Monty Alexander is an American classic, touring the world relentlessly with various projects, delighting a global audience drawn to his vibrant personality and soulful message. A perennial favorite at the Montreux Jazz Festival where he has performed and headlined concerts 23 times since 1976 his spirited conception is one informed by the timeless verities: endless melody-making, effervescent grooves, sophisticated voicings, a romantic spirit, and a consistent predisposition, as Alexander accurately states, โto build up the heat and kick up a storm.โ In the course of any given performance, Alexander applies those aesthetics to a repertoire spanning a broad range of Jazz and Jamaican musical expressions....
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Nearly sixty-five years after he moved to the United States from Kingston, Jamaica, his hometown, Grammyยฎ nominated legendary pianist Monty Alexander is an American classic, touring the world relentlessly with various projects, delighting a global audience drawn to his vibrant personality and soulful message. A perennial favorite at the Montreux Jazz Festival where he has performed and headlined concerts 23 times since 1976 his spirited conception is one informed by the timeless verities: endless melody-making, effervescent grooves, sophisticated voicings, a romantic spirit, and a consistent predisposition, as Alexander accurately states, โto build up the heat and kick up a storm.โ In the course of any given performance, Alexander applies those aesthetics to a repertoire spanning a broad range of Jazz and Jamaican musical expressions.
Documented on more than 75 recordings and cited as the fifth greatest jazz pianist ever in The Fifty Greatest Jazz Piano Players of All Time (Hal Leonard Publishing), the Jamaican government designated Alexander Commander in the Order of Distinction in 2000 and in 2018 the University of The West Indies bestowed him with an honorary doctorate degree (DLitt) in recognition of his merits.
Alexander is most widely known as an upper echelon master of the swinging piano trio function, as he has demonstrated with several top-shelf groups, including iconic units with bassist John Clayton and drummer Jeff Hamilton (โMontreux Alexander โ76โ), and with the legendary bassist Ray Brown and guitarist Herb Ellis (โTriple Treatโ).
Born on D-Day, June 6, 1944, Alexander was playing Christmas carols by ear at 4, entertaining neighbors and relatives by 5, taking his first piano lessons at 6. He resisted formal instruction, but still, as a child, absorbed all the musical flavors that comprise his mature sonic palette. Alexander began playing in local Kingston clubs at 14, when he also made his first recordings, as leader of a group called Monty and the Cyclones that landed a hit on the top ten charts. In Jamaica he witnessed the legendary singer-pianist Nat Cole in concert in 1953 at Kingstonโs Carib Theater as well as Louis Armstrong in 1956. โIn our home, Nat Cole was the voice of America,โ says Alexander, who describes the Cole and Armstrong concerts to which his father took him in the 1950s as a transformational moment.
While playing in Las Vegas in 1962 he caught the eye of New York City club owner Jilly Rizzo and his friend Frank Sinatra. Alexanderโs trio swung at Jillyโs until the wee hours for Sinatra, a mix of celebrity entertainers, tough guys, and iconic jazz musicians like Miles Davis, Count Basie, Milt Jackson, and Roy Haynes. Before long, Alexander was working with Jazz titans Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, and Sonny Rollins.
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