Monty Alexander
Monty Alexander , actually Montgomery Bernard Alexander (born June 6, 1944 in Kingston , Jamaica ) is a jazz pianist and melodica player.
Live and act
Alexander started playing the piano at the age of four. From 1950 to 1959 he had systematic instruction. He gained his first experiences as a teenager in local calypso and rhythm & blues bands and already worked as a studio pianist in the legendary "Studio One". After studying classical music, he soon turned to jazz. In 1962 he turned his back on Jamaica and moved first to Miami , then to New York . Here he played for the club owner Jilly Rizzo in his jazz house "Jilly's". At Rizzo's one evening he met bassist Ray Brown , who played with Oscar Peterson . From the 1970s Alexander played in the Ray Brown / Milt Jackson band and with Victor Gaskin . His recordings at that time were still under the influence of Les McCann .
In 1971, through the mediation of Oscar Peterson, he came into contact with the label MPS , for which numerous recordings were made, such as his albums We've Only Just Begun (1974, which was awarded the Grand Prix Mondial of the Hot Club de France ) and Live at the Montreux Festival 1976. At the Montreux Jazz Festival he also appeared in an all-star formation with Ray Brown and Milt Jackson. Alexander deserves the credit for being one of the few jazz musicians to have incorporated not only Afro-Cuban, but also Caribbean, especially Jamaican musical elements such as reggae and ska into his personal style. This is particularly evident with albums he had recorded for the Concord label from the 1980s , such as Ivory and Steel from 1980 and Caribbean Circle from 1992. In 1999, an album with Bob was created with musicians such as Steve Turré and Sly Dunbar -Marley- titles (Stir It Up).
Alexander works with changing trio line-ups, mostly with Ray Brown and Herb Ellis or the drummers Mickey Roker and Jeff Hamilton . He also accompanies Ernestine Anderson , Marshall Royal , Sam Most , Kristian Jørgensen and Johnny Smith . He also appeared in the Maybeck Recital- series of the Concord label several times as a soloist on what he previously only once in 1980 with his limited edition of 150,000 copies direct interface -Platte Solo had tried.
In 2012 he was awarded the German Jazz Trophy in Stuttgart .
The concert by Monty Alexander and The Harlem Kingston Express on March 20, 2015 at the 46th Burghausen International Jazz Week was recorded by Deutschlandradio and broadcast on Deutschlandradio Kultur on September 7, 2015 . On New Year's Eve 2015/16 it was broadcast on the TV channel ARD-alpha .
Alexander was married to guitarist Emily Remler from 1981 to 1984 .
Discographic notes
- 1974: We've Only Just Begun (MPS / BASF)
- 1976: The Way It Is
- 1976: Montreux Alexander Live! (MPS / Verve)
- 1977: Live in Holland
- 1977: Soul Fusion
- 1978: Jamento
- 1978: Live at Ronnie Scott’s
- 1979: Facets (Concord) with Ray Brown
- 1979: Monty Alexander in Tokyo
- 1979: So What
- 1980: Trio (Concord) with Herb Ellis, Ray Brown
- 1980: Ivory and Steel (Concord)
- 1980: Monty Alexander & Ernest Ranglin
- 1980: Solo (solo album, direct-to-disc LP, Jeton)
- 1982: Monty Alexander / Ray Brown / Herb Ellis, Triple Treat
- 1982: Overseas Special / To: You Everywhere
- 1982: look up
- 1982: Michel Sardaby / M. Alexander, Caribbean Duet
- 1983: Monty Alexander / John Clayton / Jeff Hamilton, Reunion in Europe
- 1983: The Duke Ellington Songbook
- 1984: Full Steam Ahdead
- 1985: Saturday Night
- 1985: The River (Concord) with John Clayton , Ed Thigpen
- 1985: Threesome (Concord) with NHOP, Grady Tate
- 1985: Estate
- 1987: M. Alexander / R. Brown / H. Ellis, Triple Treat II
- 1987: M. Alexander / R. Brown / H. Ellis, Triple Treat III
- 1988: Ivory and Steel, Jamboree
- 1992: Caribbean Circle
- 1994: Maybeck Recital Series: Volume 40 (solo album, Concord)
- 1995: Steamin '
- 1995: At Maybeck
- 1996: Yard Movement
- 1996: Ivory and Steel, To the Ends of the Earth
- 1997: Echos of Jilly’s (Concord) with John Patitucci , Troy Davis
- 1999: Stir It Up: The Music of Bob Marley (Telarc)
- 2000: Monty Meets Sly and Robbie (Telarc)
- 2001: Goin 'Yard (Telarc)
- 2002: Ray Brown Monty Alexander Russell Malone
- 2003: Impressions in Blue
- 2004: Rocksteady (Telarc) with Ernest Ranglin
- 2005: Live at the Iridium
- 2006: Concrete Jungle
- 2008: The Good Life: Monty Alexander Plays the Songs of Tonny Bennett (Hybrid- SACD , Chesky)
- 2009: Calypso Blues (2009)
- 2011: Harlem - Kingston Express Live! ( Motéma Music )
- 2011: Uplift (Jazz Legacy Productions) with Hassan Shakur, Herlin Riley , Frits Landesbergen
- 2012: Uplift2 - Higher (Jazz Legacy Productions)
- 2014: Harlem - Kingston Express, Vol 2: River Rolls On (Jazz Legacy Productions)
literature
- Ian Carr , Digby Fairweather , Brian Priestley : Rough Guide Jazz. The ultimate guide to jazz. 1800 bands and artists from the beginning until today. 2nd, expanded and updated edition. Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2004, ISBN 3-476-01892-X .
- Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD . 6th edition. Penguin, London 2002, ISBN 0-14-051521-6 .
- Martin Kunzler : Jazz Lexicon. Volume 1: A – L (= rororo-Sachbuch. Vol. 16512). 2nd Edition. Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 2004, ISBN 3-499-16512-0 .
Web links
- Web presence
- Literature by and about Monty Alexander in the catalog of the German National Library
- Monty Alexander at the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Monty Alexander at Discogs (English)
Remarks
- ↑ cf. Kunzler, p. 29
- ^ Cook & Morton, p. 22.
- ↑ German Jazz Trophy 2012 went to pianist Monty Alexander , German Jazz Trophy web presence
- ↑ Fat bass lines & sunny melodies - Jazz meets Reggae , Deutschlandradio Kultur from September 7, 2015
- ↑ Monty Alexander Uplift 2 . Jazz Legacy Productions
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Alexander, Monty |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Alexander, Montgomery Bernard (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz pianist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 6, 1944 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kingston (Jamaica) |