Monty Alexander

Alexander was born on 6 June 1944 in Kingston, Jamaica.[2] He discovered the piano when he was four years old and seemed to have a knack for picking melodies out by ear. His mother sent him to classical music lessons at the age of six and he became interested in jazz piano at the age of 14. He began playing in clubs, and on recording sessions by Clue J & His Blues Blasters, subbing for Aubrey Adams, whom he describes as his hero, when he was unable to play.[3][4] Two years later, he directed a dance orchestra (Monty and the Cyclones) and played in the local clubs covering much of the 1960s early rock and pop dance hits. Performances at the Carib Theater in Jamaica by Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole left a strong impression on the young pianist.

Alexander and his family moved to Miami, Florida, in 1961, where he played in various nightclubs. One night Monty was brought to the attention of Frank Sinatra and Frank's friend Jilly Rizzo. They were there to see the act in the next room, a Sinatra imitator. Somebody suggested they also check out the kid playing piano in the front room bar, "He's swinging the room pretty good" they said. Thus, Monty was invited to New York City in 1962 to become the house pianist for Jilly Rizzo's night club and restaurant simply called "Jilly's." In addition to performing with Frank Sinatra there,[3] Alexander also met and became friends with bassist Ray Brown and vibist Milt Jackson. He also became friendly with Miles Davis, both men sharing a love of watching boxing matches.

In Los Angeles, in 1964, Alexander recorded his first album, Alexander the Great, for Pacific Jazz at the age of 20.[4] The album was very energetic and upbeat with the climax tune being "Blues for Jilly".

Alexander recorded with Milt Jackson in 1969, with Ernest Ranglin in 1974 and in Europe the same year with Ed Thigpen. He toured regularly in Europe and recorded there, mostly with his classic trio for MPS Records. He also toured around 1976 with the steelpan player Othello Molineaux. Alexander has also played with several singers such as Ernestine Anderson, Mary Stallings and other important leaders (Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Golson, Jimmy Griffin and Frank Morgan). In his successive trios, he has played frequently with musicians associated with Oscar Peterson: Herb Ellis, Ray Brown, Mads Vinding, Ed Thigpen and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen.

In the mid-1970s he formed a group consisting of John Clayton on bass and Jeff Hamilton on drums, creating a stir on the jazz-scene in Europe. Their most famous collaboration is Montreux Alexander, recorded during the Montreux Jazz Festival in July 1976.

Alexander formed a reggae band in the 1990s, featuring all Jamaican musicians. He has released several reggae albums, including Yard Movement (1996), Stir It Up (1999, a collection of Bob Marley songs), Monty Meets Sly & Robbie (2000), and Goin' Yard (2001). He collaborated again with Ranglin in 2004 on the album Rocksteady.[3]

Alexander married the American jazz guitarist Emily Remler in 1981. They divorced in 1985.[5] Alexander is currently married to Italian jazz singer Caterina Zapponi.

• Musgrave Medal, Institute of Jamaica, 2000[6]
• Best Live Performance Album, Independent Music Awards, Harlem Kingston Express Live!, 2012[7]
• Grammy-nominated 2011 CD - Harlem-Kingston Express: Live
• 2014 Soul Train Award nominated followup, Harlem Kingston Express 2: The River Rolls On, both released on Motéma Records

An asterisk (*) indicates that the year is that of release.

• Al Di Meola, Stanley Clarke, Jean-Luc Ponty – Live at Montreux (1994)
• New Morning – The Paris Concert (2008)

• List of jazz pianists

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Monty Alexander.

• Official website
• Images of Monty Alexander, digitized photographs from the James Arkatov Collection at UCLA Library Special Collections.
• New England Jazz History Database Audio Interviews
• ON THE COVER: Monty Alexander. Article by Alex Henderson. NYCJR, December 2019 - Issue 212, page 8. Retrieved 3 December 2019.