“His music is always very, very joyful,” Kenny Barron says about fellow piano master Monty Alexander in the notes accompanying Love You Madly, documenting a … Read More “Monty Alexander: Love You Madly: Live at Bubba’s (Resonance)”
“Like a Rastafarian in Jamaica, he was different,” Jamaican-born pianist Monty Alexander says of Thelonious Monk, whom he first heard in person at New York … Read More “Monty Alexander: Wareika Hill (RastaMonk Vibrations) (MACD)”
Bridging reggae and jazz without losing the sound of either is a delicate balance. It generally means maintaining the heavy off-beat accents and syncopated basslines … Read More “Monty Alexander: Harlem-Kingston Express Vol. 2: The River Rolls On”
By the time Monty Alexander brings “When the Saints Go Marching In” to a chord-crashing close, it’s clear he won’t have to audition twice to … Read More “Monty Alexander: Uplift2 Higher”
Harlem-Kingston Express is Monty Alexander’s second release this year, like its predecessor a live collection that emphasizes the pianist’s breadth. Where the sequel differs is … Read More “Monty Alexander: Harlem-Kingston Express”
Although Jamaican pianist Monty Alexander is the quintessential interpreter of Caribbean roots in a jazz context, he is equally in his element with good ol’ … Read More “Monty Alexander: Uplift”
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