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U P L I F TM o n t yA lexanderAlexander's Auspicious Label Debut J L P Records) Gives Listeners aFrontR owSeatToLivePiano Perfection AlongsideT he AceRh ythm Section ofHassan Shakur,HerlinRileyand Frits L andesbergenJamaican jazz pia no virtuoso M onty Alexan der is acclaim ed the world over for his seeminglyextraterrestrial techn ique and subl im e, heartfelt swing. Now with the release of his Jazz LegacyProduct ions debut Uplift, th e pian i s t opens h is personal concert archives to eager listenerseverywhere, for anunforg ettably riveting recorded affair."Music is aheal ing force," A lexa nd er says,on the eve of the album's release."M yhope isthatby the end of aconcert, and by the end ofthis albu m too, everybody wil lbe takenwith a feelingofuplift .That'swhat Ialways wan t to do."Fea tur ingpe r fo rma nce s from Alexander's acclaimed l ive concerts over a three-year per iod. Upliftincludes tracks th e prodigious pian i s t has m a d e h is own over astoried, fifty-year career. Fromheartfel t rendi tions of standards l ike "Come F ly Wi th Me" and "Body A nd Soul," to affectingoriginals l ike "Renewal" and "H ope," the alb um grooves hard and wide, m uch l ike Ale xan derhimself ." I l ike to pa in t a ra inbow of man y emot ions d ur ing a program," A lexander says. "You'll hearm eplay some blu es with agood,oldbackbeat l ike'One Mi n tJulep,"and then Iplay"Django,"wh i chis a very reverential piece to me,having known som a n yof the m usicia ns associated w ith i t . Fo r m e,almost everything Iplayhas a personal reference."Alexander w as born in Kingston , Jam aicaan d felt th e gravi tational pull ofm u s ic at an early age."When I was a kid in m y Country, I used to hear the folk b and s play Calypso m usic and other songsma de popul a rbypeople l ike HarryBelafonte,"A lexan der explains. "Every time Icam e into contactwith th e music ians play ingthat music ,there w as always joy.A ndthat was mywhole experiencewi th musicandwhat led me to be am us i c i anin the firstplace."Self-taught and unable to read tradi tional music notation, Alexander's seemingly unorthodoxapproach to the piano would not prevent h im from atta ining widespread global acclaim . He wou ldm ake mu sical waves in his hom eland fi rst , ( leading the g roup Mo nty and T he Cyclones), and soonafter, h is two-fisted piano pyrotechnics would send him into th e musica lstratosphere,pe r fo rmi ngand or recording with legendaryartistsl ike Frank Sinatra, MiltJackson, Ray Brown, and countlessothers. Ac o m m a n d in gcareer as a solo artist would soon fol low, with A lexan der reco rding overs ixty a lbum sas aleader himself,a ndanc hor ing countless tours tosupportthe m.Upli f t f inds Alexan der at the peak of his creative form, with the kind of m usical ly adve nturo us setth e esteemed pianist's concerts are known for . T he a lbum opens wi th a swinging nod to F r a n kSinatra on the J i m m y V an Heusen /Sammy Cahn standard "Com e Fly W ith Me," with A lexander'stechnical tenaci ty on full, recorded display. "That tune takes m e right back to Frank Sinatra si t t ingin the back room at Jilly'swhen I was play ing pian o there at the age on nineteen, hesays. "I l ike totell peoplethat I 'm really asa loon p iano player atheart." Other arresting albumtracks i n c l udeth e

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scintillating,shuffle-fied "O neMint Julep,"and as t r ide-meets-Monk takeon"Sweet G eorgia Brow n,"wi th a nod to two of Alexander's musical mentors. "The real heroes onthat tune for mewereN at"King" Coleand O scar Peterson," he explains. "N atColehad a real simu ltaneou sly hot and coolstylein h isfingers,an d OscarPeterson'spowerful rhythmand big f u l l orchestral approach always struckachord wi thm e aswell."K now n for hisabi l i tyto leap tal l chord changesat break neck speeds, Alexan der surprises on Upl if twith a heal thy dose of musical variety as well . A m our n fu l reading of John Lewis ' venerable j azzballad "Django," (com ple te w i th m id-song swing in te r lude) , a maste rful ly-m odula t ing, wal tz - l ikerendi t ion of the jazz staple "Body an d Soul," an d nods to his J a ma i ca n hom e l a nd on Calypso-flavored tracks l ike his own "Home" and Blue Mitchell ' s "Fungi M ama," round the a lbum outwithfire-filled flair.Uplift f inds Alexander inesteemed m usical com pany, courtesy of rhythm section ringers HassanShakuronbass,a nd Herlin Rileya nd FritsL andesbergen on drum s. "The m ain th ing i sthat I havetheseterri f ic guys play ing with me," Alexand er says of hisband. "They helpme get there "Alexanderm i n edhis own personal concert archives fo rU plift,h and picking a lbum tracks a longs ideJazz Legacy Product ions founderJohn Lee." Iplay a lot ofshows in Europe," Alexan der says, "andsome t i me s I re turn from them wi th recordings of recent concerts. This t ime when Iwent an dl istened to thetapes, I was m ore than pleasantly surprised So I 'm thri l ledthat John found a h o m efo r the m usic on his label . He's don e a great thing."After nearly a ha l f -centuryof piano p restidigi tatio n, Mon ty Alex and er stil l plays with th e samesense ofpurpose that guided his career from th e start. "I t 's about tel l ing your story," Alexandersays,"and f indinga way tobr ing life to the experience every timeyou sit at the piano."O nelisten toth e joyful noiseon Uplift,and you'resureto confirm h ism iss iona saccompl i shed.

F or addi t ional inform at iono n Monty Alexander,pleasevisit montyalcxander.com

Foraddi t iona l informat iononJazzLegacy Productions,pleasevisit:jazzlegacyproductions.comFormore information, pleasecontact:

DL Media 610-667-0501JordyFreed jordvfSid lmediamusic .com

Monty AlexanderMgmt+1-212-731-9291 - management@montyalexander.com

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M O N T Y ALEXANDER-BioIn a career spanning five decades, pianist Monty Alexander has built a reputation exploring theworlds of American j a zz ,popular song, and the music of his native Jamaica, finding in each a sincerespirit of musical expression. In the process, he has performed and recorded with artists from everycorner of the musical universe: Frank Sinatra, Ray Brown, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, ClarkTerry, Quincy Jones, Ernest Ranglin, Barbara Hendricks, SlyDunbar, and Robbie Shakespeare,among many others.Born on D-Day (June6, 1944) and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, he took his firstpiano lessons at agesix but was largely self-taught. As a teenager, he witnessed concerts byLouis Armstrong and Nat"King" Cole atKingston's Carib Theater. These artists had a profound ef fec t on Alexander's ownstyle. He formed Monty and the Cyclones in the late 60s and also recorded on sessions withmusicians who would later form The Skatali tes.Alexander and his family came to the United States at the end of 1961. Less than twoyears later,while playingin Las Vegas with Art Mooney's orchestra, he caught the eye of New York City clubowner Jilly Rizzo and his friend, Frank Sinatra.Rizzo hired the young pianist to work in his club,Jilly's,where he accompanied Sinatra and others.There he met Modern Jazz Quartet vibraphonistMilt Jackson, who hired him and eventually introduced him to former Charlie Parker collaboratorand legendary bassistRay Brown. Alexander recorded and performed with the two j azz giants onmany occasions.His musical collaborations span multiple genres and styles. His projects have been as varied asassisting Natalie Cole in her tribute album to her father, Nat "King" Cole in 1991 (that album,Unforge t table , won seven Grammy awards), performingGeorgeGershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" underthe direction ofBobbyMcFerrinat theVerbier FestivalinSwitzerland,andrecording thepiano trackfor the film score of Clint Eastwood's Bird, amovie about the life of j azz titan Charlie Parker. In2008, Alexander conceived and directed the acclaimed program Ljords o f the Wes t Indies atJazz atLincoln Center. Alexander maintains a rigorous touring schedule worldwide, from jazz clubs toconcert halls and at Jazz Festivalsfrom South Afr ica toMontreux(Switzerland), and Australia.InAugust 2000 Monty Alexanderwasawarded the tide ofCommander in theOrder of Distinctionby theJamaican government for outstanding services toJamaicain hiscapacityasworldwide musicambassador.To date Monty Alexander has recorded over 70 albums as a leader. His recent albums on the Telarclabelinclude trio sessions, such as Impress ions inBlue ,and live concert recordings, suchas Ga i n ' Ya rd .In the late summer of 2005, Alexander traveled to Bob Marley's Tuff Gong Studio in Kingston,Jamaica, and teamed up with Jamaican top session players to record Conc re teJung l e , a set of twelvecompositions penned by Bob Marley and reinterpreted via Alexander's j a zz piano-orientedarrangements. The resulting union of musical perspectives digs deep into the Marley legend andbrings together the two worlds that Alexander most treasures, building themusical bridges thatarethevery essenceof his craft. As atestament to hisversatility,TheG o o dLj fe , on Chesky Records is acollection of songs written and popularized by one of his all-time favorite artists andgood friends,Tony Bennett. His latest release also on Chesky is Calypso B lues , a tribute to his hero Nat "King"Cole.Three releases are in the works for 2011-2012: a trio album on JLP records, an album featuringMonty Alexander's presentation, Harlem-Kingston Express, on the Motema label,in addition to apiano solo album comprised ofMonty Alexander'sowncompositions on Arbors records.

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MontyAlexanderOneWorldOfMusicyTed Pan kenT he adage"absencemakestheheart growfonder,"coinedto conveythekindlingeffectofseparationuponromantic ardor, applies with equal measuretopianist MontyAlexander's ongoing obsessionwith the music of Jamaica, his homeland,fromwhencehemigratedtoMiamiin1961,at age17 .As a Kingston youngster, Alexander re-called, "I soaked up everythingthe calyp-soband playing at the swimming pool in thecountry,local guysat jam sessionswhowishedthey were Dizzy [Gillespie] andMiles [Davisl,a dance band playing Jamaican melodies, songsthat [Harry]Belafontewould have sung.I wasfully aware of the rhythm-and-blues, my he-roes on piano were Eddie Heywood andErrollGarner, and, above all, Louis Armstrongwas myking.I had onefootin thejazz campand theoth-er in theold-timefolkm u s ic noonemore valu-ablethantheother."

Oncein theStates, though, Alexander com-partmentalized,sublimatingroots towardsestab-lishingajazzidentity. By 1970, he was a distin-guished voice, with a CV citing long-haul triogigs with various New York A-listers,as wellasconsequential sideman workin LosAngeleswithMilt Jacksonand RayBrown.By the late

'70s,when he closed the books on his300-days-a-year-on-the-road trio with John Clayton andJeff Hamilton,he was anupper-echelon stylist,referred to byOscar Peterson, h imself descend-edfromSt. Kitts and St.Croix,as "mylittle WestIndian counterpart."

"Youcome toAmerica,you try toblendinand dowhat they do," Alexander explained."Atfirst, Iwas eventryingtospeak l ikeAmericanpeople"he demonstrated several voices"sotheywouldn't keep asking,'Wheredo you comefrom?'But as theyears wentby,Istarted express-ing myselfbyclaimingmyheritage more.Isaid,'Wait a minute, home is as good as itgets.'"

In Orvieto, Italy,for a five-concertengage-ment at Umbria Jazz Winter 2010, Alexanderspoke in the high-ceilingedsitting room of hishotel, which evokedaducal mansion. Withhimfor theweekwas aband comprising anacous-tictriowi thbassist HassanShakur anddrummer

George Fludas and a plugged-in Jamaican con-tingentWendel Ferraro on guitar (f ill ing bothsoloistic and comping roles), Glen BrowneonbassandKarl Wrightondrums.

This configuration,documentedon the 2011release Harlem-Kingston Expre s s (Motema)withHerlin Rileyon drums, is the most recentiterationof aseriesofAlexander-conceptualizedefforts over the past few decades to coalesce"things that reflect my heritageas an English-speaking Caribbean person" with the princi-ples of hardcore swingingjazz."I was bummedout after itended with JohnandJeff because I'dgotten usedtothatprecision, that projection,"hesaid."Althoughother people werefine andgood,no onecame closetothat,and I'm not one to goscouting."Torecharge,hebegan spending qual-itytimeinJamaica. "I'dgo to thestudiowi thSlyandRobbie,whoknowme from wayback. It'ssimple music,two chordsbut life is in thosetwochords."

Later in the "80s, Alexanderwhose firstJamaica-centric dates were the still-sam-pled mid-'70s MPS groove albumsRass andJamentoslarted to present units wi th whichhecould incorporate Caribbeanflavors, includ-ing an "Ivory and Steel" ensemble wi th steeldrummer Othello Molineaux and hand drum-merBobby Thomas. After signingwith Telarcinthemid-'90s,heembarkedon asuccessionofrecordingsonwhi c hhereunited with musicianshe'd knownsincehisteens, among them several

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dateswithguitarist ErnestRanglin,and onewi thSly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare. Four otherrecordingsStir I t Up an d Concrete Jungle re-veal Alexander's take on BobMarley's music,whileCoin' Yard an d Yard Movementaddressabroader Jamaicanspectrumhearkentomento,Jamaica's indigenous calypso, descended fromthe French quadrille music to which English col-onists danced in the19th century.Mentoevolvedinto, as Alexander puts it, "a deep countryJamaican thing" that spread throughout the is-land, and, as the 20th centuryprogressed,cross-pollinated with r&b and jazz, evolving into ska.

As Alexander delved ever deeper into theserediscovered interests, he found itincreasinglydifficult toconvene a singleensemblei n whichhe could satisfactorily convey them. "I wouldhaveatrioofjazz masters,andwhenI'dwanttoplaysomething that reflected Jamaica, whethercalypso or Bob Marley, I couldn't get that thingbecause that's notwhatthey do," Alexander said."Conversely, theJamaican guys didn't relate tothejazz experience. Iwantedtogivem yserf anopportunity to share my two loves, which is onelove,tocoin Bob'sphrase."

Thisfeelinghad permeated the previous eve-ning'sconcert.Alexander came to the piano, po-sitioned stage center to the left of Shakur andFludas. He opened with Ellingtonian chords,an dlaunched a chugging train blues, transitionedto the changes of"BlueAndBoogie,"then re-

turned to an Ellington medley that resolved into"Caravan." After brief remarks, a brisk stompthrough "Sweet Georgia Brown" and somenachtmusikchords, Browne and Wright enteredstage right and laid down reggae riddims. Playingpercussively, Alexander soon seguedinto ErnestGold's "Exodus,"blewamelodica, quoted "letm ypeoplego"withinhissolo,returnedto the pi-an o bench an d ended with a flourish. With th etrio,heplayedashuffleblues,thena hard-swing-ing bluesmidwaythrough the latter, he stood,pointedto theJamaicansandorchestratedamet-ric modulation, quoting"Manteca"in his solo,beforeseguing into Marley's "No Woman, NoCry." The back-and-forth proceeded for anoth-er half-hour, before Alexander concluded witha romping"ComeFly With Me" and a melody-m ilk ingrendition of "All The Way."

"Recently I've been doing this with morecommitment than before," Alexander remarkedof the real-time genre-switching. "I'm fulfi lled,because it's my own life experience. It's likeBarackObamamusic. We are all cut from thesame cloth."

Perhaps 20 years ago, Alexander got angry atsomeone,intended to hit them,thought bet-ter of it, punched the wall instead and broke hishand."Eversince that day, I don't play asfastas Iused to," he said. "But instead of playing 20 notesthatmay not mean thatmuch, I started playing

six or seven that are soulfulor meaningful."The chops areabundanton Uplift (JLP),a

deeply swinging navigation of the AmericanSongbook with bassist Hassan Shakur anddrummerHerlin Rileythat followsthe2008triodate Th e Good Life: Monty Alexander P l ay sTh eSongsO f Tony Bennettan d2009's Ca l yp soBlue s :T he SongsO f Nat KingCole(Chesky) ascompanion pieces to his excellent 1997 SinatratributeEchoes OfJilly's (Concord). Rather thanabstract the tunes, Alexander hews to the iconicarrangements, illuminatingth emusic from with-in ,deploying effervescent grooves, lovely ruba-tos,ak i l l ing left hand,an innatefeel fo r statingmelody, well-calibrated touch, harmonic acumenand anabilitytoreferenceabroad t imel ineof pi-ano vocabulary stretching to pre-bop. Each in-terpretation embodies a point of view. Like his"eternal inspiration," Erroll Garner, Alexandergives the hardcore-jazz-obsessed much to diginto, while also communicating the message tothe squares "civilian."

"In our home, Nat Cole was the voice ofAmerica," said Alexander, who experienced atransformational moment in1956 whenhe sawCole play on a package concert in Kingstonwith Louis Armstrong. "My awareness of hispiano play ingcame later;it wasjustthatsmoothvoice.At first Iconfused hi m withGene Autry .I was always connecting one thing with an-other'Waita minute, that sounded like that.'

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That's why for me, even now, it's one world ofmusic. I try to remove all thelines."

By 1956, Alexanderhadalready spent halfhislifeentertainingpeoplewith music. "I'd em-ulatepeoplemy folks knew who played old-timestride,"he said. "I wasplayingboogie-woogiefrom theget-go,rockin'thejoint.Ijusthad funatthepiano."Later,hewould extrapolateacon-ceptual frameworkfrom Ahmad Jamal's 1958classic "Poinciana.""It was a mergingof twoworlds," he said."Sophistication on the pia-no, harmonic wonderment and the nastiest jun-glerhythm goingon in the background. That'sJamaica. It's about dancin', it's about groovin'it'sall onething."

Suchformativeexperiences gave Alexandera certainignorance-of-youth conf idencewhenhe started playing in "tough guy clubs" inMiami Beach. Withinayearhe wasworkingatLeBistro,atwo-room joint wherehesharedthe bil l wi th a Sinatra impersonator namedDuke Hazlitt. One nightafter a concert at theFontainebleau, Sinatra came through with anentourage, including Sinatra's consigliere,JillyRizzo,andRizzo'swife ,Honey.

"I'mplaying,minding my own business, try-ing to behave and not to be too noisy," Alexanderrecalled. "But I must have been kicking up astorm, because apparently Honey came in andtold Jilly to come hear this kid play.Inthosedays,I'd come in wi thall guns blazing. She told me,'We've got thisclub in NewYork, Jilly's,and itwouldbenicetohaveyouplayinthere,kid.'"

About a year later, mid wa y through 1963,Rizzo finallybrought Alexander to his epon-ymous West 54th Street tough guybar, whichdoubleda sSinatra'slate-nightoffice. Just 19 andresiding a few blocks away in the Hotel Edison,Alexander joined Local 802, situated directlyacross the street from the club, and assumed hisplace amongNewYork's jazz elite. Withina fewyears, he wasalsoworking uptown at Minton'sPlayhouse and at the Playboy Club.

"I remember sitting at Jilly's piano bar,afew feet awayfrom Miles Davis an d Frank indeep conversation," Alexander reminisced."Mycrowning point waswhen Miles came tomeandsaid,'Where did youlearn toplay thatshit?' Next thing, he writes his phone numberon a little matchbook,and we're hangingoutat his houseor goingto the fights.Miles toldme, 'You got ther ightcomplexion.'"Alexandernoted that his bloodline is an admixture ofLebanese, Spanish and African strains, andthattheambiguityas to hisracial identityhad agreat deal to do with his ability to comfortablynavigate various circles in Jim Crow-era Miamias well as New York City. "At Minton's they'dsay, 'What's thisPuerto Rican guy doing whocan playjazz l ikethat?'When I first saw RayBrown's picture on an Oscar Peterson recordcover, I saw the smile and the teeth and said,'Damn,UncleJim '"

More than the familial resemblance,Alexander was drawn to Brown's consistency,tone and thetruck-coming-down-the-road surge

of his beat, so he tried to be around him wheneverhe could."I got toknowRaybetter,"he recalled."I went to see him in L.A. at the Gaslight. WhenI gotthere, nobody's listening, nobody cares, it'sthe last set, and they had to playone obligatorytune.FrankieCapp walks to the drums, MundellLowe picks up the guitar, but the piano player isboozed-outat the bar. I asked Ray,'CanI play atune?'Withintwochoruses, he's screaming, he'sgroovin'and I'mgroovin',andwe'reashappyaskidsin thecandy jar.He said, 'Whereare yougoingto bethissummer?Iwantyou toplaywi thmeandMiltJackson.'

"When you're in company with peoplewho are at a certain level, it upgrades yourmusicianship. I'd been smitten with the MJQsinceI saw a record w i t h these four d ign i f iedblack men on the coverthey looked like fu-neral directors. I learned about the connec-t i ons John Lewis and Ray wi th Dizzy's bigband, Hank Jones telling Dizzy about Ray. Itook that personal thing on the bandstand. Ifelt likeIbelonged to tha t crowd."

In spontaneously orchestrating the Harlem-Kingston Express band in live performance,Alexander seemed to be paralleling the band-stand procedures by which both Ahmad JamalandDuke Ellington deployed their units to con-vey their intentions in real time. The pianistconcurred.

"It's akind ofjoyfu l ,loving dictatorship," hesaid.'That'swhy I usemusicianswho arewill-ing and easygoing, who give me their trust andconfidenceand won't question what I'm doing."

Moresothan instant composition a laJamaland Ellington as an m.o.for following the dic-tates of the moment, Alexander focuses on seri-ous play. "I don't read music, and Iplayby ear,"hesaid. "Youcanchalkit up to acertainamountof laziness,because if I really wanted to read,there's no reason I can't. But when I see paperinfrontof me, man, I start sweating. That part ofm ybrain doesn't functionwell. I don't know howtoplaymusic that's not comingfrommy instant,make-it-up stuff.

"I getbored withaplanned format.I can'trepeat the same thing twice. I'm always reachingfornow,livein thenow, present tense,and Ilookfor inspiration from wherever."

This blank-slate attitude inflects the afore-mentioned trio projects. "I just went in the stu-dio," Alexander said, referencingthe2009NatCole tribute.'"Haji Baba' is from amovie wi thNat, and IusedtosingitwalkingdownthestreetwhenI wasn i ne Ilistened to the bridge on thatand on 'Again' to make sure I had it right. Butfor themost part, whenI play music,I smell itandseecolors. Every songhas its own personal-ity, its own soul, and if I can't feel it, I can't playit wi thfeeling.

"Idon't understand whatit isthat makesmedifferent,but IfeelI have very little in commonwith anybody else. I seem to be my own strangecharacter.If I'm right in mymotivationsandatti-tude, amazing things happen." D B

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T HE W A L L S T R E E T OURNALAPRIL 5 ,2011

Jazz s Jamaican EnvoyFrom Ska to Sinatra, M onty Alexander Has Played It AllByWILLFRIEDWALDI t is small wonder thatjazz, an Am erican mu sic that draws on a w ide range of cul tural inf luences , should havechosen NewYork, the most polyglot city on the planet, as its home base for most of its history. And it 's equallyappropriate thatth eJam aican pianis t Monty Alexander ,w hobeginsaweeklong engagement atBirdlandonTuesday, h as made N ew Y ork his home for most of the last 50 years.

Get ty I m a g e sMr. Alexander performed on a Hammond 44 melodion last summer at the Jazz a Vienne Festival in Vienne,France.

"M ym us ic is the product ofhavin g experienced different cul turesan d different vibrations,"M r.Alexander saidMonday in a phone conversation from his Midtown apartment. Most of us first heard the 66-year-old pianist inth e early 1970s, whenherepresented the new generation ofbe-boppers and was thepianistof choice fo r suchmodern giantsas RayBrown an dMil tJackson.Some m ayremember his earlier career, whenhe wasbroughtto thecityby Frank Sinatra's r ight-hand man, JillyRizzo,to serve ashouse pianistat the f a mous Ji l ly 's;th e experience motivated M r.Alexander to become one ofth em ajor interpretersof thesongso f Sinatra aswel las theGreat Amer icanSongbook (he hasalso collaboratedmemorab ly wi thT ony B ennett) . Yet even before that , while growin g up in Kingston, the pianist had yet aprevious incarnation as asession pianist onem bryonic reggae and ska recordings.In recent years, Mr. Alexander has both returned to hisrootsand united several of these m usical facets, mostfamously on two breakthroughjazz album s of the m usic of Bob Marley, "S tir I t Up " (1999) and "ConcreteJungle"(2006).He m ay be the f irstand is certain ly the m ost successfu lmusician to combine Jamaicanmus icwi thNor th Americanjazz,but he downplays the achievement as "just being myself .""Growing up in Jamaica," Mr. Alexander said, "therewere two things that happened that I remem ber dist inctly:T he f irst was all thegroovy songsand sounds coming from theU S A ,an d theother were all the rhy thmsand thebeatsthat were happening locally with the folks in Jamaica."

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T heBirdland show is his "Harlem-Kingston Express" presentation, and features a full contingent ofm ul t ip lebassistsand percussion ists, a second keyboardist, and the Israeli guitarist Y otamSilberstein," to get everybodym o v i n gbelowth ewaist," as he put it in his unmistakable Kingston accent.Mr. Alexander's new album,"U p l i ft " (Jazz Legacy Productions), opens with "Come Fly With Me," on which heevokes Sinatra andOscarP eterson in the same breath, w hile "1 Just Can't See F or L ookin'" honors the pianoinnovations of Nat King C ole. The album includes his distinctive treatm ents of a parade of iconic standards,among the m "S weet Georgia Brown" (with echoes of both Bizet and M onk's "Bright Mississippi"). He ends bybringing i t alltogether w ith Blue Mitchell 's "F ungiiMama"amelody that combines hard bop and calypso,throwing outhum orous nodst o Monkand "The Fl intstones,"w ithout departingf rom an " I GotRhythm"founda t ion ."Upl i f t" also features several island-flavored originals, whicharebr i l l iant examples of how to swing, Jamaicanstyle. "No matter what I'm playing, I like to spice it up," Mr. Alexander said, "whether it 's Cole Porter or BobMarley."Corrections and AmplificationsMo nty Alexander 's new album ,"U pl i ft , " is on the Jazz L egacy P roduction s label. An earlier version of thisarticle incorrectly stated it was on Retrieval Records.Copyright 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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D em ocratChronicle:W h at ou r cri tics arelistening to7:21PM,Apr. 7,2011 ]JASON ISBELL AND THE 400 U NIT: HEREWE REST.Isbell parted amicably withtheliterate Southern rockers Drive-ByTruckers,whichwasoverloaded with finesongwriters anyw ay. But h is driving gu itars,fiddles and references to collard greensstillfeel S outhern. Thesentiments neednomap:"Ifthere'sone thing Ican't take, it'sthe sound that a woman makes 'bout fiveseconds after her heart begins to break,Isbell sings on C odeine. R esignation driftsthrou gh these songs. Allthew orkI did invain,now I'mnot thesameas Iw as, asoldier returning from some unnam edconflicttellsus. It's sad, so manysongwriters today findw ar areadilyavailable su bject.JEFF SPEVAKBOBBY V: FLY ON THE W ALL. The 2009releaseby BobbyV, TheRebirth didn'tbreathe mu ch life into wh at had b ecome anR &Bcareer w ith only a small pulse. Bu t F lyon the W all should have R &B fans bu zz ing.S ingle W ords is a breezylittlenumber thatreminds fans why we liked this crooner inthe first place: He issmooth. Bu t Wordspales in comparison to the verbal seductionin S w eetness and the body-sw ayingnumber "If IC an't Have You. W ith gu estslike Plies, 50 C ent and Tw ista, Bobby Vaddship-hop soul to his smooth croonervibe. BobbyV isback after being onmu sical life su pport. S HEILAR AYAM

MONTYALEXANDER : U PLIFT. W hat aperfect name for this swinging set fromJamaica's gift to piano jazz. Alexander iswonderfully versatile, equally at home withpotent, straight-ahead jazz and with theinfectious rhythms of the Caribbean. Thisset,culledfromthreeyearsof liveperformances, ismostlyin the mainstream,played w ithpolish, rhythmandinvention,starting with hisinvitation to ComeF lyWithMe. Heupdates S w eet G eorgia Brownwith atempo eventhe G lobetrotterscou ldn't match, and brings a dirge-likepoignancyto theclassic"Django."ThisC Dis thefullMonty . JAC K G ARNERVADIM GLUZMAN: BRUCH. Bruch seems tobemakingacomeb ack. F irst Joshua Bellplays the Violin Concerto No. 1w ith theRochester Philharmonic Orchestra in mid-March,and now Israeli violinist G luz manrecords it on his latest BISrelease.Gluzman,arisingstarviolinistwho hasalsoperformed live with the R PO , has a brightertone than Bell, but his interpretation alsodrips with expressiveness. He takes ampleopportunity forswells, rubatosan daccents

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G L O B E U N I T Y : C O L O M B I

Cartagena CurroPuentes The BigBand Cumbiaan d Descarga Sound of olombiaVariousArtists (Soundway)Manibo LocoAnibal VelasQuezy SuConjuncto (AnalogAfrica)Resistencias

RicardoGallo Cuarteto ( B l u e g a l l oMusic)

C-olombianmusic drawson arich Creoleheritageofindigenous folk musics combined with African,Spanish, Caribbean and North American influences;in the hands of creative musicians, it accrues adistinctive local'sabor' (f lavor) .C a r t a g e n a ,named for the Caribbean port city,isan anthology of rare recordings by"Curro"Fuentes,th eyoungest ofthree brotherst oproducefo rDiscosFuentes, the country'slargest,most influential labelfor almost40years. Recordedin the '60sandearly'70s,the tracks highlightFuentes'trade mark sound:booming bass, impressive horn arrangementsandho timprovisations replete with a mixture of localcumbia, porro and other styles with Cuban salsaand descarga (improvised) music. The beats areferociousand infectious,with impressive soloing on"Honolulu" (bass), "Salsa Sabrosa" (trumpet andtimbales), "Fiesta de Negritos" (clarinet andtrumpet) and "Cumbia del Monte" (clarinet).

Covering approximately the same time periodas C a r t a g e n a , M a m b o L oco documents th e style ofAnibal VelasQuez, an influential accordionist f r omBarranquilla, another Caribbean port with a strongmusical heritage. VelasQuez modernized guarachamusic byusingelectric bass, replacing bongos withan x-ray f i lm-covered caja (traditional drum) andturning up the tempo to hyperspeed, resulting in afrenet ic dance s tyle well suited to carruval-esque'ambiente' (mood) of hishometown. Most of thetracks featurelead and chorus vocals complementedby the leader's florid, horn-like style, especiallynotable on "Que Pasa", a track that, along with"Cecilia",features inspired piano solos.

Recorded in Bogota, Colombia's capital in thecentralAndean highlands, Re s i s t e nc ia s is a modernrelease by pianist/leader Ricardo Gallo, bassist JuanManuel Toro, drummer Jorge Sepulveda andpercussionist Juan David Castano, the third in theirf ive- year association. It is collaborative in everysense, including compositions from each memberand emphasizing group interplay over individualsolos. Gallo's writing - featured on five ofeightt racks - is distinctively modern, combining Sturmund Drang (storm and stress) romanticism withf r ac tu r ed rhythms and dense, polytonal harmoniestha t are rich and suggestive, floating over thepercussionists' in tricately layered sticking patternsand booming low drums while Toro ties it alltoge the r . "Ais", the epic centerpiece, epitomizestheir distinct ive approach, attaining a powerful yeteffor t less climax.Fo r more i n fo rma t i o n , visit s o un d wa yreco rd s . co m ,analogafr ica.com and ladis tri to fon ica .com. Gal lo is a tDro m Apr. 28th.Se eCa l en d a r .

TrustSeanSmith Quartet (Smithereert)

SeanSmithis afine mainstreambassist,with awarmsound and a springy bea t . Through the years he'sworked with musicians like Phil Woods, BillCharlapand MarkMurphy, all of whom have recorded Smith'stunes. All of those musicians have in common acommitment to lyricism and swing, qualities tha tSmith himself possesses inabundance.

This investment inmelody is the distinguishingmark of his compositions, which are featuredthroughout Trust,his third quarte t CD. And it' s alsothe defining qual ity of every musician in the group,saxophonist John Ellis, guitarist John Hart and evendrummer Russell Meissner. The q u a r t e t has an airycollective sound, a transparency with each voicepassing through the ensemble. Smith's compositionsrange easily from th eplayful swing of"Bush League"to a gorgeous ballad line like "Voices", with Ellissummoning up an almost Ge tz- l i ke sweetness whenappropriate.Theindividual soundsare most apparentin "Homemade Japanese Folk Song", a particularlyaffec t ingSmith original that's played here as a round,th emelodypassingf r om one voice to another.

Theinteractionisstrongaswell, as on the La t in -pulsed"Wayne's World", dedicatedto WayneShorter,with Smith and Meissner laying down a warm carpetofbubbling rhy thm for Ellis' floating tenor and Har t'srapidly expanding guitar lines.T h a tinteraction is evenmore apparent in "Margin of Error", with Ellis andHart improvising contrapuntal ly. It's a solidlymainstream group, with Smith's compositionsand thecollective commitment giving this qua rte t a distinctandengaging personality.F or morei n fo rma t i o n , visit se an sm i t hja zz .c om . This g ro upis a t Bird landApr. 4th.S e eCa l en d a r .

UpliftMontyAlexander(Jazz Legacy Prod.)

Ihe prolific Jamaican-born virtuoso pianist MontyAlexander continues to occupy a singular posit ion inj a z z . Steeped in swing, he readily acknowledges theinfluence of Nat Cole and Oscar Peterson in hisaesthetic. But his playing also of t en f ea tures aCaribbean-flavored rhythm that makesfo r a mixquiteunlike that of anyoneelse.

Uplift is acollectionoflive performances recordedat various concert halls between 2007-10. Theproceedings start of f with a rollicking version of aclassic Sina tra swinger, Sammy Cahn-Jimmy VanHeusen's "Come Fly With Me",recallingAlexander'searlyyearsin NewYor kwhenhe washouse pianist atJilly's,af avor i teSinatra hangout; tha tfamiliar f inger-snapping ease is evident in Alexander's rendition. Themood switches on John Lewis' "Django". Initially nigh

to mournful, mid-song Alexander shif ts expansivinto a swing interlude, interpolat ing phrases fr"Soft ly A s In AMorning Sunrise" beforerevertingbto ameditati ve closing.His takeon "Bodyand Somoves subtly in a waltz-like turn even as he miswingwith hints of boogiewoogie.Throughout he ahumorously tosses in snatches of other tunes includ"MaryHadAL i t t l eLamb" and "But tonsand Bows

His own melody "Hope" has hints of eleggospel in an Ellington-ian manner. T h a tability toexpressive in unusual stylistic combinations is evidthroughout Uplift . Alexander is percussive. Helyrical. And sometimes almost simultaneously. Humisagain evidenton"Sweet Georgia Brown" evenasstride playing istorrid. Together with HerlinRiledrum work they makejoyfu lnoise.Fo r m o r e in formation , visit j a zz l e gac yproduc t ion s . cA l exande r is a t Bird land Apr.5th-9th.See Ca l en d a r .

>- .. . :

anada Day IIHarris E i s e n s t a d t(Songlines)

Drummer/composer Harris Eisenstadt's Canada DH is a chilly, dry wash of melody and understarhythm. Aswiththegroup's debutonClean Feed, tis a little anticlimactic considering the personnwhich features Nate Wooley (trumpet) and MBauder (tenor sax). Their underlying virtue here mbe playing with restraint, but onewants alittle mpep andspice.Much of thework herehas a'60s Blue Notefeeit, with hard-edged rhythms and bluesy, modal foraBu titalsohas am uf f ledquality thatthe original BN o t ealbums transcend - the parts don't ring out wthe resonance they might. It is all as if kept under glaBu tit is incumbent on us to listen to it on its own termit appears tha t the music prefers to be takensomething of a distance and analyzed accordingwith some reserve.The group, which also includes Chris Dingm(vibraphone)and Eivind Opsvik (bass), veers in madirections ofmodern j a z z .This would be acriticiexceptone can'thelpbut speculat e that the musiciapan-fidelity to these musical forms, at the price of tl i t t leoriginalandearthy interaction,ispartof agreascheme intended to make us more careful listenrather than offeran exhilarating listen.Grea tcare has gone into the composing, withthe niceties of Monk and Mingus. Also the music kindof a pop feel and beatto it.Thesetwothingsgood. Also good are the woolly soloing of Wooley athe changes Bauder rings on saxophone. There indeed surprises on this record but they are rathacademic and a f te r - the - thought .W hy the artists would make such an album,every way 'cool',is open to asking. It may be a casetoo many great young cooks trying not to spoilbroth. However that may be, there is something tredeems this album's subdued pe r fec t i on apart f rits relative lackor otherwise of appeal to the ear. Apart of a process, or at least a look at a musiphilosophy in the process of evolving, this is boundremain a document of important artists at a crucstill-earlypoint in their careers.Fo r more in formation, visit s o n g l i n e s . co m . This group i sTtieS to n eApr.5 th andSA LT SPACEApr. 14th.S ee Cale

April2011 |THENEWY O R KCITYJAZ ZRECORD

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NICK BPvVSEYi:**=im>dtod;

an dwhile1understand amusician'sprerogativet ostretch out in new di rect ions I n-rehure t" us t he f u l f i l l i n g entreecompared to the i f f y -dessert thati sBo b \'a Head (13tracks;46:26 minutes)(5tracks:69:51minutes)>fc owjackets****TimelineMackAvenueAfter 30years the Yellow-

jacketsstiilhave plentytosay.Timeline r eun i t e s th eband'sl ong t im emembersthe def ac toleadera ndkeyboardist,Russell Fcr rantc.bassistJ i m m yHaslip.saxophonist BobMintzer and drummerWillKennedywho maintain boththe irchemistrya nd jovialj amapproach that smoothly inte-gratesh i f t ing time signaturesan d funk) ' revivaltent licks.There's evenacameoby afor-merband member,guitaristKobben Ford,on thesleek Fer-rante,Haslip tun e. "Magnolia."Ascontemporaryjazz,you'd behard-pressedtodiscount themodernboppleasuresof W h y IsIt "or the electro-acousticbuzzo f "Tenacity."T heband remainss tubbornlyhard tocategorizeandtheydon'tpanderto trendsTimelineisn'tascatchyas themorecommercialBlueHatsalbum(WB.1997) ortheir collaborations with BobbyM e-Ferrin.B utthat musical integrityis whatkeepstheYeliowjackets soulful an d real. A l-though personnel ha s shifted over t ime, this solid incarnation remains expansivei ntheir musicalvision and theywill definitelyleaveo ld and new listeners digging ontheir templateof jazzfusion and ioose-limhedgrooves. (11tracks;62:15 m inu t e s )

Yellowjacke

C O O K E R S

The Cookers****Cas t The Firs tStonePlus Loin Mus icTheCookers comeoutswinginghaalon"CastTheFirstStone," thefirsttrackontheira l bum of thesame name. It'sarobust, formi-

dableexpressionoftalentandpostbopfer-vortheband'snamecomesfromFreddieHubbard's1965 Blue Noteliverelease, t V i f tOf The Cookem.This band has a righteous S.rosterthe front lineiscomprisedo f BillyHarperontenorsax. Craig Handyonalto sax.and two trumpeters, Eddie Hendersonan d DavidWeiss.The rhy thmsectionis noless esteemedwithGeorgeCablesonpiano.Cecil McBeeo nbassa nd BillyHarto ndrums. Plus ,t heColtrane-mspired AzarLawrence,ashrewd saxophonistcapableofharmonicand tonalsomersaults,sitsin forfourof the seven tracks.As a.septet,a ll veterans of the 60ssave for Weiss and Handy, they move easilybe-tween thegrit tya nd lyrical.PianistCables binds"Peacemaker"an d especially. LookingFor The Light"withseductivecompingan d sensitivesolos.T he pickhit isdefinitely Croquet Ballet. whic hsoarson amemorable themeandprescientexchangesbe-tween theband. Hardlyathrowbackto thesoundsmade popularbyL eeMorgan.H ul vhardand Blakey.thiscollectivehas, as Weisspoints out,a 'playhardand mean it"ethictha idoesn'tdisappoint and youcan'tbegrudgethem forkeeping thishardcore jazzsound alive. ~ *tracks; 61:21 minutes)

T.K.Blue****Latin BirdMotemaHere'sa I.atin ja/yrecord w i th an abundanceo fsizzlea nd invention. Arrivingon

theheels ofJoe Lovano's tributeto Charlie Parker,BirdS o n g s(Blue Note,2011),saxo-phonist T.K-Bluealsotakes hisinspiration from theParkersongbooka ndbreathes ne wswing(alongwithsamba, waltzan dCaribbeanrhythms)intoa tamiliar playlist and apair ofengrossing originals.Blue's visionispleasingly eclectic on the very fine"Lat inBird, hi sninth album, thankst o a t ight bandpianistTheoHill,bassist Essiet OkonEssiet.and the nimblepercussionist Roland Guerrero whoalsoplayscongas, alongwith trapdrummers\\lllieMartinez and Lewis Nash.LikeParker.Bluei senamored wi th

harmonic progressionand these tunesflexibility proves how innovative they stillare.T he saxophonist yieldsamplesolospace to Hillo n a lushreadingof Monk's RoundMidnight" an d incorporatessparkl ing m ul t i - hued r hy t hm so n Donna Lee and "S iSi.thelatter featuringtheone-of-a-kind trombonist SteveTurre.(11tracks; 52:22 minutes)

M ont yAlexander****tptijiJIJRecordsJamaicanhornpianis t Mo n ty Alexanderi s wellknownfor his two-fisted lyricism andan arrestingtechnique that combines int ensity witheffusive swing.Aprodigious player

withover62 released CDs to hiscredit. Alexanderw as originally hired byFrankSinatraand n ightc lubowner J i l l y Kizzowhen hemoved tothestatesa tseventeen, nearly 50years ago. Irp l i f t is acollection ofpersonallyselectedconcert performances byAlexan-der from the lastthree years,most featur ingbassistHassan S hakuranddrummer Her-li n R i l e y .Nearlyevery tuneintersectsat the avenueso fswingan dsoul,h ighl ightedb\'Come F ly W i t hMe. "Django" and apairo foriginals,a nAhmadJamal-stylet Renewaland agospel-dusted "Hope."It's consistently compelling, and itmakesy ourealize thaiany t h ingAlexanderplaysisboundtocomeup aces. (10racks; 63:02 minutes)

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irishtimes.com-Monty Alexander-Fri,Apr 22, 2011 http://ww w.irishtim es.com /newspaper/theticket/201 1/0422/1

Monty lexanderRAY COMISKEYFri , Apr22,2011Upl i f tJazz Legacy ****Alexanderbelongsto theold, hard-swinging school ofpianists epitomisedbyOscar PetersonandGene Harris, so aformidable technique is agiven.T o i t headds aCaribbean accent, aplayfuldisposition and acapaciousbag ofmusical allusionsto fuel it .Having agood timeis thedominant mood ofthiscollection ofstandards andoriginals, recorded livebetween 2007 and 2010withh istrio. Good thoughhisgrooving unitis, thepiano isboss; thisis notrio democracy.Inreturnyou getdazzling good fun.It can beoverstated, as in the intro toDjango ,butmore often it'simpishlyclever, with multiple examples suchas theCarmen openingtoSweet Georgia Brown,thewittyquoteson thewaltz-timeBodyA n dSoul ,Django (again),anal lusion-drenchedRenewal and anirresistible/Just C a n 'tSee For Lookin'tosweep fansup in itswell-crafted geniality.seejazzlegacyproductions.com2011 TheIrish Times

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Jamaica GleanerNews-Monty celebrates50yearsofmusic-Sunday... ht tp: / /mobi le . jamaica-gleaner .com/gleaner/20110410/ent

Jamaica GleanerPublished: Sunday|April10,2011Home:Entertainment

Monty celebrates50yearsofmusic

Alexander

Gordon Williams ContributorOn the eve of thefirst showto launchhiscelebrationof 50 yearsas aprofessional musician, Monty Alexanderhad noright being nervous.TheJamaican jazzgreatknowshisaudience. He's treated themtothousandsoflive shows- incafes,clubsa ndconcert halls aroundtheworld- andmore than70albums.The man who hasplayed with music's biggest names-from Americans Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington andQuincyJonesto Jamaica'sErnestRanglin,RolandAlphonso,BobMarleyand Sly andRobbie -knowshisstuff too.Afterdoing it solong, maybe it's time, after all,toreflect."It's somethingtocelebrate,"hesaysof thehalf centuryon theblocks. "I'm amazed I've come this far."Everyone who haswatched Alexander work, startingas ateenagerin theKingston studios ofCoxson DoddandDukeReid,isclear whatthe man at thegrand pianocan do.It'sthereason they keep coming back.Yet Alexanderstillgetsthesamecompulsioneach timehegoesout onstage. Anxiety? Probably. Jitters? Probablynot.Areyoujoking?" heblurtsoutwithalaughin thebeginningfromhisbasein NewYork. "Howcan I benervous?Thefirsttime I sat at apiano I wasthree years old Sittingat apianoiswhereIlive. It's like goinghome."Except, "going home"-especiallyafter some time away-meansthere'sneedtoprovetothosewhoknowhimbestthathe is thesameorevenbetterthanthelast time theysaw him. Alexander never expectsthe bar to b elowered."Every time I go toperform there is asenseofexcitement," hefinally admitted. Iplay music tomake people happy.That'smy honour."Despitetheyears,theyoungman wholeft Jamaicato try hishandin aprofessionhestillembraces with unbridledpassion, isstilldefending that honour.Th eroadtocultivating it waspaved somewhere in themid-1950s,whenth e12-year-oldAlexander watched Louis Armstrongat theCarib Theatre inCross Roads. Like otherhigh-profileAmericanentertainersat thetimew hoperformed inJamaica, suchasJackie Wilson, S amCooke, Brook Bentonand NatKingCole,Alexander noted that Armstrong servedupjoy.Theaudience swallowed whole."Isawthatand Iwantedto dothat too," Alexanderrecalled."It was adefiningmomentfor me.

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Jamaica GleanerNews -Monty celebrates 50yearsofmusic -Sunday... http://mobile.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20110410/en

"The biggest thing IhaveisthatIhave been givenagiftand it is up to menevertoforget thatIhavetoshare that,tomake evenoneperson smile,"headded later. "It'sa bigresponsibility.Youhavetofeel that."It'swhathaspushed Alexander overtheyears.H eneverhadmore thanasliverofearly formal musical training -fouryearsofpiano lessons, starting aroundagenine- and hestill doesn't read music.Heabandonedtheclassical mouldwhenitthreatenedtofencein hisrebellious spirit,and set out on ajourney that, even today, seemsfarfrom over.At 66,Alexander soundsin thesame hurrytoexploretheworld thathasmadehimboth successfulandhappy,ararecombination in aprofession thatcandemand sacrificeof one or theother."It'sthequickest ride,"hesaidof thepast5 0years. "It'sablur.Th ewhole journey is astory.YetAlexander admittedhehardly stopstotake notes. Friends tellhim heshould writeabook.One way heputs datesto significant career eventsis bylookingat hispast album covers. Another islinking those eventstoothers, suchas aworldtitlefightwhich,as akeen boxing fan, Alexanderisableto do."Other than that,"hesaid, "it'slikeoneyearrolling into another."It's hardly monotonous. Alexander, listed amongthe topfivein HalLeonard's bookThe Fifty Greatest Jazz PianoPlayersof AllTime',saidhe isimmersedin thediscoveryof hisart.It isfilled with fledgling ideasandmultipleongoingprojects, some bubbling over into others.For thefirst time,heeven planstosing.The"50th year shows" kickedo fflast week (April5 ) at theBirdland in New York. Othersin thecitywillfollow.The"tour"willbranchoutelsewherein theUnited States.In themeantime, Alexanderispromoting acoupleofcompact discs (CDs), including UpliftandHarlem-KingstonExpress,amusical journey fromhishomelandto theAfrican-American cultural hub. They feature music from liveperformancesin theUnited StatesandEurope."It's likeatrain going through Kingston-'60sand 70s - up toHarlem (NewYork), heexplained. "Ibring thesetwotogether."Alexanderiscraftinga CDfeaturinghis owncompositions- asortof "Monty Plays Monty" arrangementofAlexander'ssongs withhimgoing soloonpiano- set tocomeoutlater this year.He isalso workingon a CD, for possible releasenext year, featuring names from varying genres-suchasreggae crooners TarrusRileyandMaxiPriestandjazzsingerGeorge Benson-plus several noted instrumentalists like jazz trumpetersArturoSandovaland RoyHargrove."I'm kinda bringing theJamaican vibestopopular music," Alexander said. "You feeltherhythm from home."Alexander says thateffort-withaloose-working title Love Songs FromTheIslands-willoffera"different approachentirely."Peoplewholike '50sand'60smusic should like it,"headded,nottrapped in acapsuleBu t"rubbingshoulders with" American greats like Miles Davis,W esMontgomeryandDuke Ellington over decadeshasnotblinkered Alexander fromth epresentandfuture.H esaidhe is nottrapped in acapsule that excludesappreciation ofmodern-day popular music. Someof thesounds that dominate today's airwaves,headmits,do notsatisfyhiscravingfor awell-written song with beautiful melodies.But heaccepts that music changes, oftenaproductofthe times."It iswhatitis," Alexander said."It ispeople expressing themselves with what they haveandwhat they know."It isvery, very creative,but it is 99 percent departurefromthecontinuumof howmusicwasbeing made through thedecades.Thecreativityis different."

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Back in theday, Alexander declared, "the musicw asmoreof ahopefulthing."Yetnotmuchhaschanged about Alexander.He wasbornonJune6 ,1944,knownas 'D-Day' during WorldWar II,when theAllied Forces launchedadecisive invasionofNormandy, France that eventually led to the end ofNaziGermanyandWWII."That'show w e won thewar," Alexander said withalaugh. It w as avery significant day inhistory."Musician loverswillarguefo rmore reasons than one. Alexanderw asnamed afterthefamous British WWII FieldMarshalBernard Montgomery. Overth eyears,theformer Jamaica College studenthas led his ow ncharge,commandingamini-armyofartistic ideasin aglobal marchtospreadjoythroughmusic.Herefusesto beboggeddownbyboundaries-musicallyandotherwise. Idon't really livein aplace,"hesaidof histravels."Ilivein aplaceofthinking. I try tolivein atown called healthyattitude."That's whatIdo,"headded. "I'matravelling minstrel."Yet Alexanderstilllongsfo rJamaica. NewYorkservesas a hub for histravels.H isbusy schedule keepshim awayfromth eisland.Thelast timehevisitedw as toplayat theJazzandBlues Festivalin2010.Thesedays Alexander fondly remembers "mango trees," lush,rollinghillsand"rocking chairs"oncountrysideverandahs. Bu twaxing nostalgic doesn't meanhe isreadytostop,oreven slow down- notevenafter 5 0years.H is"real best friendsa remusicians," heexplained,and the artremains intoxicating. Iwill play'tilthecurtain drops," said Alexander, pointingto thesuccessofveterans suchasRanglin,now in hislate70s, and90-year-old American jazz pianist Dave Brubeck."Idon'tthink about stopping."Theonly worry iskeeping hisaudience happy.H ewantstopamper them with every song."I try to dothat whenI play,"said Alexander."Dig deep down inyour soultomake every note touch people."Home |Lead Stories |News|Business |Sports |Commentary |Entertainment |Arts&Leisure|Outlook |InFocus|Auto|Copyright Jamaica Gleaner. This service is freea tthis time.

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CDsofthe week: FooFightersandMontyAlexander|Music http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/music/article-23939782-cds-of-the-

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Ourcriticsround-upthisweek'sbiggest music releases...FOOFIGHTERSWastingLight(Columbia)****DaveGrohl'sseventh album withhisFooFighters isbilledas areturntofirstprinciples,haying been recordedon analogue tape in his LA garage -albeitaroomthat'sagarageinthesamesense that anAston Martin isalittlerunaround.Italso reunites Grohl with producerButch Vig for thefirsttime since heworked onNirvana'sNevermind,andfeatures Nirvana bassist KristNovoselic on bass and accordion onthealbum's single slowie, thenakedly emotionalIShould HaveKnown.YetGrohlhasnever been lessin theshadow of hjsformer band,FooFighters having become big enoughto playWembley Stadium in 2008 - apeak Nirvana never reached. Ifthere's anoverall feeling here,ifsasenseof being relaxed with everypointof a long career, ready to havesome more fun.The band sounds heavier than everon screaming metal number WhiteLimo, and bows to a previouslyunsung influence byfeaturing BobMould ofHiisker Dusinging on DearRosemary. Elsewhere, the album ispacked with powerful anthems thatwillthrillthemultiplefestival crowdsthat willbetreatedto aheadline slotthissummer.The closer, Walk, stands out as thebiggesttune,starting withasimplechug beforeburstingto lifeasGrowlscreams"Inever wanna die "repeatedly. It's catchy,optimisticandthrilling,qualities thathave helpedtoensurethat FooFightershavenow been at the top for more than 16 years and will continue to be therefor years to come.DAVID SMYTHT V ON THERADIONineTypesofLight

Back to first principles:Dave Grohl

Nevershy of genre-hopping, BrooklynquintetTV on the Radio have analmostnaive fearlessness, even after four successful albums. Their fifth.NineTypesofLight,mergeslo-fipost-punk andethereal indie with subtlefunk andtopsit allwith art-school contrariness, singer Tunde Adebimpe'sgorgeous croon, an occasional surrender to rock and what sounds likeBoth orchestra andbanjoonKiller Crane.It could have been messybutit's not, even when Second Song adds Dexys-style brass. They travel at amore stately pacethanArcadeFireandTalkingHeads,with whom theyshareacertainjoyous musicality, butthey're undeniably theirownmen.JOHN AIZLEWO OD

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CDs of theweek:FooFightersandMontyAlexander Music http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/music/article-23939782-cds-of-the

ROBBIE ROBERTSON Savingsu p to90%.FreeHow toBecome Clairvoyant Signup(Fontana) .jQa*feoDm****If you'RElookingfor fireworks, look elsewhere. Here Robbie Robertson T V O T R at Radio Cityreflectson thebest partofhalf acentury inrock'n'roll, around halfof Getticketsnow to seethatas themain creative force behind me Band, original exponentsand TV On TheRadio&most successful proponentsofNorth American roots music, albeit hailing LightAsylum, April13thfrom Canada.Robbie is one of the great guitarists of his era, and a tctetmastg.toniAvontn.aniiosongwriter whose wordsareworthalisten.This isrock playedin agentleman's groove.It swingsbut itwon't knockyoudownin thestreet.Sterling accompanimentisprovidedbyRobbie'soldmate EricClapton,whoco-wrote a few songs, sings onthem,and proves onceagainthatslow hands are the best.Checkout HeDon't Live Here,onwhich Robbie's acousticsandEric's electricity will arouse yourshort hairs.PETE CLARKMETRONOMYTheBritishRiviera(Because Music)****LikeHot Chip,Metronomy have always operated in dance music's more melodic reaches. Butevenbytheirstandards, this album is a revelation: a slick, stylish pop record more reminiscentof Steely Dan thanFatboy Slim.Recorded in afully functioningstudio - rather than in frontmanJosephMountsbedroom, as per its two predecessors - the album boasts a more poised andpolished sound. Synths make way for saxophones on Everything GoesMy Way, while thepresenceofreal drums givesits11tracks a fabulous,full-bandfeel.If there'sa dip inqualitytowardstheend, it'saminor one: Metronomy have found their sound- and thesummerjustfounditssoundtrack.RICK PEARSONMONTY A L E X A N D E RUpliftt fJazz Legacy)In an age ofanarchicandpretentious music, it'sarelief toturntoMonty Alexander,amasterlypianistwhodelightsaudiences everywhere. Recorded"atvarious concert halls aroundtheglobebetween 2007-10" as his latest label blithelyputsit, he's as inventive and unfailingly swinginghere on his 62ndtrioalbum as when he leftJamaicaand caughtFrank Sinatra'sear inMiamilong ago. The revelationthathe plays by ear recalls the great Erroll Garner, whose rhythmicpower, harmonic ingenuity and orchestral approach to piano improvisation were similarlydistinctive. Whenever askedif hecould read music, Garner would reply: "Not enoughtohurtmyplaying."JACK MASSARIKSeunKuti &Egypt80FromAfricawithFury: Rise(KnittingFactory Records)Nigeria's FelaKuti,thecreatorofAfrobeat,has two sons continuing hismusical legacyand botharecurrentlyinfineform.Femi Kutihas preferred to forgehis ownpath,butSeunhas largelycontinued in his father's mould with political lyrics and a powerful band of pumping horns andpercussive polyrhythms.Although the music doesn't sound as radical now, it is actually morefinely-honed and stronger. SongslikeAfricanSoldier, Mr BigThief,and Slave Masters wouldmake Felaproud. This isa powerful punchy album, co-produced byBrianEnobut, as with Fela,the live shows are evenbetter.He plays the RFH on April 13.SIMON BROUGHTON

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Looking Back, Falling Ahead-WSJ.com#printMode Page 1 of3

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REUTERSPrint|Closethis windowIsland Records stars pay tribute atMontreu xJazz FestivalS a tJ u l 1 1 ,2 0 09 1 1 : 5 4 am E D TByJason RhodesMONTREUX (Reuters) - Baaba Maai and Angelique Kidjo were among the headliners in atribute to Island Records founder Chris Blackweli that rocked into the early hours at theMontreux Festival on Saturday.'WithoutMrChris Blackweliyouwouldn't havemebeforeyoutonight.That'sall Ihavetosay," Angelique Kidjo, the Grammy Award-winning Beninese singer-songwriter discovered byBlackweli in1991,said.Kidjo,Maaland the other gathered musicians, who all recorded for Blackwell's boundary-crossinglabel during theircareers, knocked dead the packed StravinskiAuditoriumon theshores of Lake Geneva with a mold-breaking evening of musical acrobatics marking thelabel's 50th anniversary.Blackweli,whostarted Island Recordsin1959 with1,000pounds($1,600),worked with localska and reggae singers in Jamaica, where he grew up, before moving to London.TherehescoredhisfirstbigtransatlantichitwithMillieSmall's coverof "My BoyLollipop"settoa romping ska beat.Island broke downmusical,geographical andrace barriers, helping turn reggae intoaglobalmusical form bybringinglegendary Jamaican singer Bob Marley to aninternationalaudience,and unearthing talents like Kidjo and Irish band U2.Congolese pianist and songwriter RayLemakicked off with a blend of Congolese rumbas,townshipjiveandreggae."I know you are a man of passion. In other people this passion dies away," Lema told avisibly moved Blackweli, sitting in theaudience."So Iust wanttothankyou foryour passion,Chris Blackweli."Jamaican pianistandband leader Monty Alexander followed,flittingthroughagenre-bustingset ofseamless complexity that leftheads shakinginamazement.Thehighlightwas Alexander's cover of Marley's "The Heathen" that shifted effortlesslybetweendrivinggrooves, rockandjazz forms beforehisdouble bassist provided whatmustbe the cleverest Michael Jackson tribute to date.

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In ashort improvisationhemoved smoothly fromQu een's"AnotherOneBitestheDust" intotheKingofPop's "Billy Jean"and'Thriller"before Alexander's piano launched back intoafull-outreggaefinishto theMarley track.Kidjo,whorecorded four albumsforIsland beforeBlackwellstepped back fromthelabelin1997,joinedabeaming Alexander onstage, bowling overthecrowd withavoiceaspowerfulandclearas anychurch bellinrollicking renditions of"Tumba"and "Afrika."Thelastwasdedicatedtolegendary South African singerMiriamMakeba,w ho was a keyinfluence onKidjo'smuscular singing styleandsassy stage persona.Senegalese superstar BaabaMaal,anoutspoken campaigneronpovertyandAIDSinAfrica,startedhis setwiththeacoustic'TindoQuando"before rousing thecrowd withthe hypnoticelectro-beatof"Television" and therapid-fire West African rhythmsof"International" poundedout bypercussionists.OnSaturday,thefestival paystributetojazz singer Nina Simone with performancesbyKidjoandWyclef Jean before further celebrationsofBlackwellandIsland RecordsincludingSlyandRobbieonSundayandMarianneFaithfulonMonday.(Reportingb yJason Rhodes;editingbyMichael Roddy)

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PianistMontyAlexander takes jazzto aspecial place-TwinCities.com Page1o f 2

TwinCitiestcomPianistMontyAlexandertakes jazz to a s pecialplaceBy DanEm ersonSpecialto thePioneerPressU pdated:06/13/2009 11:27:34PMCD TThe ornate State TheatreinMinneapolisis one ofMinnesota'sclassic, restoredbuildings.But itfunctionedas acozy,attimes raucous, jazzdubFriday night for a dynamic performance by JamaicanjazzpianistMonty Alexanderand histrio.Along withthe fleet-fingeredtechnicalability thathas invited comparisons to the late piano deity ArtTatum,the 65-year-old Alexander is one of the mosteclectic pianists you'llever hear.He has anirrepressible knackforsnatching CaribbeanandLatin,Europeanclassical,bebopandblues elementsand weaving them seamlessly intoatune.Quoting melodiclinesfrom various tunesin themiddleof asolois astandard jazz technique,butthe wildly inventive Alexander takesit to a newlevel.Hisversion of DukeEllington's"Caravan" must haveincluded playful melodic snippetsof adozen othersongs,ahigh-velocity medley ranging from'Takethe A Train" and the samba"Brazil,"to the 1930s pophit"Jeepers Creepers"andevenalittle"Chopsticks."Because Alexander takessomanyspur-of-the-momentdetours,hisbacking musicians really haveto be ontheir toes.Hissidemen Friday nightbassist Hassan Shakur and New Orleans drum-wizardHeriinRiley proved up to the task.Alexander would sometimescuethem verballyinmidsong,atask madeeasierby acozy stagesetup.

Alexanderintroduced the melodic pattern of oneoriginalpiecebyreachinginto the top of thegrandpiano and plucking athree-notephrase on thestrings, then using his other hand to echo it on thekeyboard.Healso showed his affinity for the blues with a slowbutuplifting instrumental that sounded likeRayCharlesat hisbestandincludedaquote fromanIrishjig.Alexander, who worked as a teenagestudiomusician in his native Jamaica before coming to theU.S., also played instrumental reworkingsofsongsbytheislandnation'smost honored musical son,the late BobMarley.TheyincludedMarley's"Running Away," "No Woman No Cry" and "Heathen."Thelatterpiece endeddramatically withsomeultra-low phrases Shakur bowed onhisacoustic bass.RichardEvans'"Montevideo" began with somefaux-dassicalarpeggios before breaking intoadrivingsambabeat.Alexander's ruminative, minorkeyoriginal "Hope"showedhisclassical influenceswithsome ornatearpeggios. Anotheroriginal,thegracefully swinging"You CanSee,"had anoptimistic,upliftingvibe thatembodiedtheJamaicanspirit.Duringthesecondset,Alexander tooktheenergeticjazz-dubeffect up a few notches,incitingsomedandngfrom the audience. For his encore, hepicked up hissecondinstrument,themelodica,tocoverHarry Belafonte's1950shit,"TheBanana BoatSong."The show was the third and final concert of theHennepinTheatre Trust's Generations of Jazz series,which earlier featured Russian-bornpianistEldarDjangirovandpianist AhmadJamal.

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TIMESONLINEFrom The TimesAugust31,2009MontyAlexanderTrio atRonnieScott's,WiMonty AlexanderJamaica'sclassiestexportafterBobM arleywinsgold for thefirst jazztributetoUsainBohCliveDavisThereggae singers anddancehallidolshave already been busy producing homages to Usain Bolt, butt'sprobably safe to say that Monty Alexander Jamaica's classiest exportafterBob Marley wins the gold medalforthe firstjazztribute.Thepianist's breezy sprint instrumental,flippingbetween sleek funkriffs andexuberantswing, captured somethingof thesprint champion's insouciant charm.It is aquality thatisneverinshortsupply inAlexander's residencies. Whilehe maynever attractthekindofhysteria that follows KeithJarrettand Brad Mehldau around, Alexander silver-haired butstillmorethansprightly in his mid-sixties is the compleat pianist, an extrovert whose technique spans myriad traditions, frombebop to stride, swing to R&B, Beatles pop toboogie-woogieand dub reggae. Yet at the same time his signatureremains instantly recognisable. Little wonder thatthe "housefull"signwasoutsidetheentrancefor hisopeningnight.His current band,withHassanShakur(aliasJ. J.Wiggins)onbassand theformerWyntonMarsalissidemanMerlinRileyon drums, is a wonderfully percussive unit that seems todefygravity. With Alexander sometimesrestricting himself to the lightest of touches, it was almost possible to spend an entire number savouring ShakurandRiley's flawless interplay. This was close to a masterclass in rhythm.Alexander's latest release,C alypso Blues is agenialcollection of songs associated with Nat "King" Cole, one ofhisearliest influences.His openingset,however, roamed far and wide, teasing the audience with a steady flow offleeting quotations from Monk, Ellington and Co.True, Alexander sometimesflirtswithsentimentality.Hiscomposition TheRiverevoked Abdullah Ibrahim's hymn-likemeditations,butnevertheless containedtoomuch sugarfor its owngood.Ihavetoadmit thatIcould also livewithout hearing any more cover versions of that lachrymoseCharlieChaplin ballad,Smile.To Alexander's credit,though, the rhapsodic arrangement generated more than enough momentum tomaskthe taste ofvanilla.Inanother number, which scampered throughalush island landscape, Alexander producedamelodicaandgaveanaffectionatenod in thedirectionofHarry Belafonte. In thewrong hands,itcould have beenslightlyembarrassing;Alexander carried it off triumphantly.

ContactouradvertisingteamforadvertisingandsponsorshipinTimesOnline,TheTimesand TheSu ndayTimes,orplaceyouradvertisement.TimesOnline Services:Dating|Jobs|PropertySearch|UsedC ars|Holidays|Births, Marriages,Deaths|Subscriptions|E-paperNews Internationalassociated websites:G lobrixPropertySearch|MilkroundCopyright2009Times NewspapersLtd.This service isprovidedonTimesNewspapers' standardTerms andConditions.Pleaseread ourPrivacyPolicy.Toinquireaboutalicencetoreproduce materialfromTimesOnline,TheTimesor TheSu ndayTimes, clickhere.This websiteispublishedby amemberoftheNewsInternationalGroup.NewsInternationalLimited,1VirginiaSt,LondonE981XY,is theholdingcompanyfor theNewsInternationalgroupand isregisteredinEnglandNo61701.VATnumberG B 243 8054 69.

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Review: Jazz pianist thrills http://cjonline.com/pr

H H t T O t t KA G U ir A l | O U H V A lcjoniine.comPublished onCJOnline com(http://cjonline.com)Home> News> Locai>Review: Jazzpianist thrilte

Review: Jazz pianist thrillsBy Chuck BergCreated Sep 13 2009 - 8:31pmMonty Alexander- one of thelionsofkeyboard jazz whose resumeincludesgigs with Frank Sinatra,TonyBennettandSonny Rollins-packsawallop.On onehand,he'sapianist's pianist whose impeccable technique, stylistic breadthandspontaneous, sound-of-surpriseinventiveness is the envyof hispeers.O n theother hand,he'sacrowd pleaser,aprestidigitator w homight slyly dropareference to anovelty tune like "Music, Music, Music" intoasolo.OnSunday afternoonat theRegency Ballroomof theRamada HotelandConvention Center, AlexanderthrilledafullhouseofTopeka Jazz Workshop patrons withanebullient performance that dazzleda nd delighted.O ne keynotew assoundedat theonset withthecalypso-flavored "Fungi Mama." Intandem with bassist Hassan Shakuranddrummer George Fludas, Alexander letlooseasolo whose mild tropic breezes gaveway tostormy burstso fbluesythunderandboltsofboppish lightning.In NatAdderley's WorkSong,"anedgyjazz-funkstrollwith gospel overtones,thediminutiveAlexander, perched atopacouple ofphone books, leanedintothekeys withagusto thathad thehouserockin'.Floating likeabutterfly, then stinginglikeabee,Alexander gaveus wowafterw ow after wow.Although now eligibleforSocial Security, Alexanderis a m anstill clearly enrapturedb y hismuse.H issenseofjoy,beaming smile, andattentive appreciationof hiscolleagues' solos were naturalan dpalpable. That Louis ArmstrongandNat"King" Coleareprofound influences is not surprising.W emight also recall that jazz cognoscenti place Alexander, deservedly,in thepiano pantheon that includes icons FatsWaller,ArtTatumandOscar Peterson. Recallingthe latter, Alexander'sindeliblelimning of"Smile," pennedbyCharlieChaplinfor his"Modern Times"(1936) ,w as aheart-on-sleeverhapsody that brought downthehouse.Alexander's Jamaican roots were givenfullplayin anexuberant reframing of Bob Marley's R unnin1Away," whose lopingundertowbuiltto achurning climax. Then, withoutaword, Alexander paid tributeto old palFrank Sinatra withasmart,swinging romp through "ComeFlywith Me."At afternoon's end, Alexanderand thesuperb ShakurandFludas received another standing ovation, which theyacknowledged withahappy encore,including"Wagon Wheels"and ajolly jaunt throughourstatesong,"Homeon theRange"Chuck Berg is aprofessor at TheUniversity ofKansas. He can bereached atcberg@iku.edu.

SourceURL:http://cjonline.com/news/local/2009-09-13/reviewJazz_pianlst thrills

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Deseret News|Jazztrio gives Sheraton crowd epic show Page1 of 1

DeseretNews.Jazztrio gives Sheraton crowd epic showBy LarryD.CurtisDeseret NewsPublished: Tuesday April 7 20095:22 p.m.M DTMONTYALEXANDER, JOHN CLAYTON and JEFF HAMILTON, SheratonC ityCentre, April 6Thereis nodoubt thatin ayearofremarkable jazz performers, there hasn't beenashow greetedasenthusiastically asMondaynight'strio. Eachof theperformers wouldbe aworthyheadlinerandJohnClaytonandJeff Hamilton have both visited Salt Lake this season with theirowngroups,but thereunionofthose two with pianistMontyAlexander was an event of musical magnificence.Alexander directs the traffic, but thetrio,who first met, played and recorded in the early 1970s, have anobvious rapport on stage. They perform cohesively, they communicate well with a glance or a nod, andtheysurecanplay.Theballroomwas anabsolutelysold-outaffair, including extra chairson thesidesof theraised platform-stage, with a few standing in the back. And from the moment the three men walked on stage, theaudience was in a rapture. They zipped through the first45-minuteset without a break and without sayinganything into a microphone. Dressed in formal suits and ties in theroasting-hotballroom, and asphysically as Alexander and especially Hamilton attack their music, they wouldn't have looked out of placein track suits.Despite playing together only on rare occasions, the trio has a palpable trust that reminds the listener offree-spirited trapeze artists performing without a net. Alexander would even risefromhis piano benchaftergivinga cue forClaytonorHamiltontosoloand all butdanceas hewatched them improvisefor afew measures before gettinghislightning-quickfingers backtowork. They tookthefamiliar ifmundane"Candy Man," (featured in"WillyWonka and the Chocolate Factory," performed by Sammy Davis Jr.) andturnedit into an exercise inbrilliance.Theapplause for the duration of the show was beyond enthusiastic, with fans not clapping but beatingtheir hands togetherandraisingtheirvoices with hootsandwhistles. They endedthe first setwiththeuniversally familiar "Sweet Georgia Brown,"butwithatake that belongs distinctlyto thetrio.Theyreturned in the second set with more of the familiar but hit a high point with John Clayton'scomposition, "3000 Miles Ago." Clayton pulled out his bow and broke off distinctly from the feel of the restofthe night with a melancholy introduction and ending and a blues-based bass middle. Alexander did thesongwriterproud,pullingout the finest touches on hiskeyboard,wringingthe emotionfromthechange-of-pace song.Muchof the rest of the night Clayton stood calmly with his bass and smiles like a favorite uncle mightenjoy a cold drink on a hot day and in the meantime his hands walk the fret while he plays like a manpossessed.The trio ended their set with an epic rendition of"BattleHymn of the Republic." It was a musicalperformancethat any musician or groupwillbe hard pressed to equal in this or any jazz series.

2009Deseret News Publ ishing Compan y|Allrights reserved

httD://www.deseretnews.com/article/Drint/705295729/Jazz-trio-eives-Sheraton-crowd-et)ic... 5/27/2009

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AlexanderPlaysHisSongsof FreedomJazzBy W ILL FRIEDWALDMarch10,2008HarryBelafontetypically gets the credit for introducing A m ericans to calypso, theWest In dian styleofm usicthatsweptthecon tinentin thelate19503 andlatermorphed into reggae.But the firstNorth Americantocham pionthe irresistiblerhythmsofJamaicaandT rinidadw as therhythmandbluesstarL ouis Jordaninsuch numbersas"RunJoe"and"StoneColdDeadin theM arket." Jordan tookthe sound a step further in his 1949 "P ush-Ka-Pee She P ie (The Saga of SagaBoy),"inwhichheproclaim edto thewo rldthathe hadinventedam usichecalled"thenewcalypso beb op."Not to beoutdone,the TrinidadianstarL ord Kitchener,then living in E ngland, quickly recorded an hom age toDizzyGillespie an d C harlieP arker called " Kitch's Bebop Calypso."If anyo ne is equipped toperfectthe New Calypso Bebop, it is the pianist Mon tyAlexander, who im m igrated to A m ericafrom his native Kingston as aly-year-oldveteran of the Jam aican m usic scene in1960.He was already equally versed inisland m usic and North Am erican jazz, and during the next few decades hebecameone of themost sought-afterpianistson thecontem porary jazz scene,working as the keyboardist of choice for such bop pioneers as M ilt Jackson andRayB rown. He was also a protege ofsortsof Fran k Sinatra: He served as thehouse pianistatJuly's,theC hairman's favorite hangout.ButMr.Alexander,now 63, hasalways rem ained trueto hisWest Indian roots.Inthelastdecadeor so,nearlyall of hisalbum s have focusedonc om bining variouselementsofjazzwith W est Ind ian m usic, most im pressively on two entire album sinterpreting the Bob M arley songbook.T his weekend at the A llen Roo m , Mr. Alexander playedfoursetsof his am bitiousprogram "Lords of the West Indies," em ploying a wide cast of Jam aican,Trinidadian,andNo rth Am erican m usicians. D uringavery tight 9O -m inuteset,Mr.A lexander spannedtheislandsand thedifferentapproacheshe'susedtoexperim ent with West Indian jazz fusions throughout hiscareer,from a boppiano trio (with Hassan Shakuronbassan dH erlinRileyondrums) with nodstoCaribbean rhy thm s, to full-scalecalypsosm ixed withjazzharmony andimprovisation.

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Withaminimumofpatter,Mr.Alexanderpresentedaprogram equallyenlightening and entertaining. He showed us, rather than merely told us, howmento (the original Jamaicanfolkmusicform),calypso, ska,andreggaeare asdifferent fromone another as bossa nova,salsa,and tango are in otherpartsofthe Pan-American world. He useddifferentensembles to illustrate the variousforms.The calypso segment presented the contemporary vocalist DesignerevokingLord Kitchenerand theMightySparrowon"CalypsoofBebop"and"Lovein the Cemetery," whilebassistHappy Williams sang a topical calypso thatwas seemingly inspiredby the2008primariesand theIraq war.M r.Alexander then broughtoutthree veteran mento instrumentalist-singersAlbert Morgan (rhumba box), Carlton"B lackie"James(banjo), and"Powda"Bennett(shakers). Theensemble'sbig number was"Nobody'sBusiness," themento incarnationo f afolktune thatis alloverthe m ap ofearlyjazzandblues,showingup,fascinatingly,indifferentinterpretationsbyMississippi John HurtandBessie Smith,not tomention JordanandElla Fitzgerald.Particularly impressive were two Jamaican saxophonists, DeanFraser (alto) andCedric "Im" Brooks (tenor), thelatterof whom played with a big, compellingsound drawnfromthesame wellspringofinspiration that launched SonnyRollins's ongoing calypso. The show hit its peak with a surprisingly intimatemoment,whenMr.Alexanderand thesaxophones playedareverential, prayer-liketreatmentof twocanonicalB obM arleyballads, "Redemption Song"and "N oWoman,NoCry." Evenat aslow tempo,Mr.Alexander extractedtheessentialkernel of island rhythm, showing that this music has its own equivalent of theCubanclave. It was then time to close with a carnival climax, and the leaderincluded suchfamiliartunesas"Sly Mongoose"(acalypsofavoredbyCharlieParker) and the Belafonte hit "BananaBoatSong." The crowd roared as "Powda"Bennettspontaneously launched intoaneccentric rubber-legged dance.

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THEN WYORK MSTERD MN WS October 8-October14,2009 2 aribbeanLingoMontyAlexander makesLincolnCenterstop

By MISANISpecial to theAmNews

Thetakeoffwas sweet,man.Realsweet. Looking dapper inblack slacks, awhite shirt,avest with distinctive black andwhitegeometric designs, and an

Monty Alexander playingm elodicaat thelateplaywrightTrevor Rhone'sNineNinth cer-emony InBrooklyn(Hakim Mutlaq photo)ecru-colored jacket setoffby aredsilkhandkerchief, thedis-tinguished looking, silver-hairedpianistMontyAlexanderimmediately took commandoftheAllenRoomatLincoln Cen-ter'sFrederick P. Rose HalllastFriday evening. With a soundakin tothatof atrainwhistleemanating from his melodica,signaling allaboard," Alexan-der's "Harlem-KingstonExpress" smoothly tookof fon amarvelouslyentertainingandenlightening, cross-culturalmusical excursion, focusingonwhat he refers to as"Jamaica'scalypso,our folk music, whichwe callMento."

Skillfully soaringand tran-scending beyond the AllenRoom'ssignaturewallofglassand outintothe neon-lit nightsky, Alexander's exhilaratingfusion ofmusic transformed theManhattan skyline into adreamy landscape. Here,jazzandreggae played,folklore andtraditions danced, and NewOrleans and Jamaica made love.

Soloing exquisitely on pianoat the top of the set, Alexanderwas dazzling on a medleyofJamaican and American clas-sics that included "JamaicaFarewell,""Islandin theSun,"Youngat Heart"and "SweetGeorgia Brown. The pianist, todate,has recordedclose to 70albumsduring his illustriouscareer, which began as ateenager inJamaica whenheformed his first band,MontyandtheCyclones. Amongsthisearliestinfluences were LouisArmstrongand NatKing Cole,whotheyoungmusician firstsaw when they visitedJamaica,prior to immigratingtotheUnited Statesin1961at

the age of 17.During the Friday evening

concert,Alexander tooktheaudi-enceback toJamaicain manyways. One wasthroughhisstim-ulatingguest,the Jamaican sto-ryteller and poetMs.Mattie Lou,whogave delightful renditionsofthe traditional folk songs, "LongTime Gal Me No SeeYou,""Hilland GullyRider,""WhataSatur-dayNight"and"LantonMarket."Dressed in a long, traditional,red and black calicoskirt andwhite bodice, with a matchingheadtie(head wrap),Ms.MattieLou enlightened the capacity-filled venue about the songs, aswellassomeof thefolklore andtraditionsofher country.Accom-panied by the first-rate banjoplayerCarlton"Blackie"James,whoalso sang along with Ms.Lou, anexcellent youngdjembedrummer(apologies, as his namewasnot listed) and Alexanderjoiningin on themelodica,thissegment gaveavividandenrich-ingdepictionofJamaica's time-honoredfolkloric expressions.

Switching between Jamaicandialect (broken "French, Englishand Portuguese") and "stan-dard" English, Alexander closedthissegmentbyacknowledgingwriter/poet/comedienne TheHon. Louise Simone Bennett-Coverley (Ms. Lou),the greatJamaican culturalfolklorist whochampionedthe useofJamaicandialect (patois) ineverydaylife,making it acceptable inJamaica, the Caribbean andthroughout the Caribbean Dias-pora.A cultural diplomat in hisownright,in 2000, Alexanderwasawarded thetitleofcom-mander ofdistinction by thegovernment of Jamaica foroutstanding service to hiscountry in his capacity asworldwidemusic ambassador."This was reflected throughoutthe evening's performancewith the Monty AlexanderTrio, featuring the exceptionalAlexanderonpiano,thesuperbHassanJ.J.WigginsShakuronacoustic bass and NewOrleans' electrifying HerlinRiley ondrums.Afterseveral fantastic num-bers, thetriowasjoinedby thehorn section, with the Juil-liard-trained Trinidadiantrumpet dynamo EtienneCharles,the talentedHarlem-horn CliftonAnderson (trom-bone) and the gifted CharlesDougherty (tenor saxophone).Adding to the mixwere thesuper talented,cool Jamaicanmusicians WayneArmond(gui-tar and vocals), Glen Browne(bass) and the white-glovedKarl Wright (drums). Thishybrid combinationwas out of

this world as the musiciansworkedtheirmagic.

In between numbers,Alexander's spontaneous con-versation further addedto themusical experience. Focusingon Harlem, he recalled: "Iplayed at Minton's in1957when I firstcameto NewYorkCity."Honoringthatmoment,he swung into Duke Elling-ton's"ThingsAin't What TheyUsed ToBe. Another cher-ished memory induced him toplay"Takethe 'A'Train."

Ona newcomposition dedi-cated to the Jamaican trackphenomUsain Bolt, the upbeatska number featured Alexanderonpiano and Wiggins Shakuron bass boldly racing againsteach other, following whichRiley,with his inimitable style,

rushes in and everythingexplodes rhythmically as theytry tocatchup to the world'sfastest human being.Thisnum-ber wastotallysolid,as was theclosing One Love," fromAlexander's 2005 masterpiecealbum, "Concrete Jungle," areinterpreted, jazz piano-ori-entedarrangement of BobMar-leytunes.

Trust me, like the standingovationbestowed uponthegreatpianist last Friday evening,somewherein theheavens,theHonorableRobert NestaMarleyandHonorable MarcusMosiahGarvey were likewise smilingdownandapplaudingtheirfel-low countryman, the highlyesteemed Mr.Monty Alexander.

To contact the"Caribbean

Ms. Mattie Lou, folklorispoet (HakimMutlaqphoto)Lingo "s e r i e s ,whichserves topay tributetoCaribbeanartistsand art forms ofthe highest c a l -i b e r ,please e-mailourteamat:Caribbeanlingo@gmail.com.

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M o n t y

Harlem Kingston ExpressArtistic Statement

For along t ime I've been playing live with (jazz] trios that 's th e most economical way to do yourmusic. I've never encouraged horn players to joinm e, because I 'm com pletely at home in the set tingwherethere'sa nacoustic bassan d drums, an d they're supplyingt hebasic sound an dtextures.Iused toplay songs tha t reflectedm yJam aican heritage, with th eother [jazz] musicians.B utwhen Iwou ld play with the Jam aica n players, and w e would play things in that direction, that's when it reallytook o n the au thenticity that I 'm going for every time.It was awhile befo reI said [ tomyself], if Iwant to do this musican dpick from thewhole p alettewhich is everything from D uke E llington, Nat C ole, Bob Marley, Burning Spear, and m y own pieces,etc.,I 'mgoingto dowhat Iwantto do and bring tw o rhythm sections together. That way,it a ll canbe available to m e, whatever I feel, the whole time. Because I feelAm erican [and] I feelJamaican,and the rhythm s that come from the street and the country in America arejustas meaningful to m eas th e vibrations that come from Jamaica. It's like, [my]left hand an d [my] right hand.And according to m y whims, as I start playing the music, and the spirit moves m e, I say,'I think Iwantto goU p townright now. We're goingto go to 125thStreet.'Bap ,and Igiveit to theTrio.Then I say,'alright,we're goingright down toTrenchtown,'andthenat the right moment, I inviteeverybody to share in this world experience.It's justa wonderful coming together ofheartsan dm inds an dbrotherhood between musicians. I 'mat the piano, and [the piano] becom e the meeting place. And when I play this m usic this way, it'scathartic. These daysIcallitHar l emKingstonExpress , so that namem aystick. In anycase, it's thegreat players of Jaz z and the great players of Jam aican m usic, and it has always been a positiveexperience.

M onty Alexander