We’re Celebrating Pianists Today!

Thank you for participating in our Jazz Appreciation Month Listener Poll…today we celebrate pianists. Be sure to tune in to hear all of your favorite piano players, which, of course, includes Monty Alexander!

Monty Alexander is a bridge builder, a cultural ambassador, a citizen of the world, a musician who makes the piano come alive like none other. He is that singular pianist who can stroke from the keys melodies of mystery, tension, suspense, surprise and joy. And he has spent decades sharing those unique attributes with the world. The best news of all? He is bringing his talents, along with his Harlem Kingston Express, to KUVO’s annual summer celebration, Live at the Vineyards, on Aug. 13! (Tickets are available at kuvo.org starting on April 15)

It all started for Montgomery Bernard Alexander in Kingston, Jamaica in 1944. The precocious child started tinkering with the piano at four and began classical lessons at six, but by 14, it was all about jazz. He had been lucky enough to score a ticket to Kingston’s Carib Theatre, where Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole were performing, and he was spellbound. These two men, and other jazz greats like Oscar Peterson, Les McCann, Ahmad Jamal, and Wynton Kelly, have remained influential throughout his life. But their influences were intermixed with the sound of reggae that Alexander had grown up with, leading him to produce a unique and soulful sound all its own.

Within two years of his experience at the Carib, Alexander formed a dance orchestra of his own, Monty and the Cyclones. But he wanted to be at the heart of jazz, the heart of the creative process, so he moved first to Miami and then to New York City. By the tender age of 20, he had put out his first album,  “Alexander the Great.” He also landed a valuable gig at the popular Jillys nightclub in New York, where Frank Sinatra often played. Eventually, Alexander took off to see the world, touring Europe. He recorded what many consider to be his best album in 1976 at the Montreux Jazz Festival.

In the 1990s he returned to his musical roots, forming a reggae band and playing with Jamaican musicians. During this creative period, he released several albums, one in 1999 a collection of Bob Marley songs called “Stir It Up.” He also performed on the soundtrack of Clint Eastwood’s movie “Bird,” about jazz great Charlie Parker.

Alexander is known for his collaborations that span genres, styles and demographics. He has played with such greats as Tony Bennett, Dizzy Gillepsie, Quincy Jones, Bobby McFerran and, of course, Sinatra and Marley. Whether bop, hard bop, post-bop standards or reggae, Alexander continues to make magic. He has released more than 70 albums as leader, been Grammy-nominated and seen his music reach number one on radio charts. Today, approaching the age of 70, his performance calendar is remarkably full, and not just with any old gig. In the coming months, he will play at the New Port Jazz festival, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Tel Aviv Opera House and the Blue Note in Hawaii.

We at KUVO think his most important summer gig is Live at The Vineyards, KUVO’s annual wine tasting, fundraising and jazz extravaganza, and we are so excited he has agreed to this Colorado performance. Don’t miss out on one of this summer’s musical highlights. Buy your tickets now at KUVO.org and, Mr. Alexander, we can’t wait to see you here!