MAY 2012

JULY-AUGUST, 2012

JAMAICAN LEGENDS-MONTY ALEXANDER, ERNEST RANGLIN, SLY & ROBBIE

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NEW NPR RADIO FEATURE

http://www.npr.org/2012/03/01/147722369/monty-alexander-jazz-piano-via-jamaican-pop

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BLUE NOTE-New York City, February 20 to March 4

50 Years in Music, 50 years of Jamaica!

--> preview here --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XWAnyX-PO4w

"HARLEM KINGSTON EXPRESS LIVE!" Receives Best Reggae Album Nomination

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LEGENDARY ICONS OF JAMAICAN MUSIC

MONTY ALEXANDER, ERNEST RANGLIN, SLY AND ROBBIE

SPECIAL ENGAGEMENT IN TOKYO, JAPAN-NOVEMBER 3 and 4 at the Cotton Club, and November 5-6-7 at the Blue Note Club

The "FANTASTIC FOURSOME"

www.bluenote.co.jp/jp/artist/ernest-ranglin/

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Monty Alexander HARLEM-KINGSTON EXPRESS: LIVE!

NEW CD RELEASE on MOTEMA Records 

http://motema.com/artist/monty-alexander

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NPR Feature on Harlem-Kingston Express.....

http://www.npr.org/2011/08/05/138995153/monty-alexander-jazz-flavored-reggae

Uplift (JLP records)-June 2011 release, was number 1 on Jazz radio charts for 3 consecutive weeks!!!

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"This engagement is the first in a series of concerts in celebration of my 50th year in music.  It gives me a special opportunity to look back musically to 1961 and my first jobs in Kingston, Jamaica, with my first group, Monty and the Cyclones and the recordings I did for Coxsone Dodd and Duke Reed. I also look forward to reflecting musically on adventures I had through the years with, among others, Frank Sinatra, Dizzy Gillespie, Milt Jackson, Quincy Jones, Ray Brown and other legends of Jazz"

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Listen to Monty speak about his 50 years of music here: http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/17421/20110402/piano-legend-monty-alexander-featured-on-the-bridge

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2011-BRAND NEW RELEASE on Jazz Legacy Productions

MONTY ALEXANDER TRIO

 jazzlegacyproductions.com/monty_pages/montyalexander.htm

"Simply put, this album is a joy" (Jazz Times)

"In an age of anarchic and pretentious music, it's a relief to turn to Monty Alexander, a masterly pianist who delights audiences everywhere" (London Evening Standard)

"That ability to be expressive in unusual stylistic combinations is evident throughout Uplift. Alexander is percussive. He is lyrical. And sometimes almost simultaneously" (The New York City Jazz Record)

"Uplift also features several island-flavored orginal, which are brilliant examples of how to swing, Jamaican style" (The Wall Street Journal)

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• Digital download on iTunes: Ruckus in San Antonio (2008), the only way you can purchase a hard copy of this music is to come to one of Monty's live shows! 

• Amazing reissue of MONTREUX ALEXANDER '76 WITH PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED TRACKS! This is Monty with John Clayton and Jeff Hamilton, a legendary recording of their first Montreux Jazz Festival concert in 1976. A BOX SET of 7, yes 7! of Monty's 1970's gems: the box set is titled ALEXANDER THE GREAT... of course! (A Universal records release)

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Pianist and band leader Monty Alexander followed, flitting through a genre-busting set of seamless complexity that left heads shaking in amazement. The highlight was Alexander's cover of Marley's "The Heathen" that shifted effortlessly between driving grooves, rock and jazz forms. (AP Reuters-2009-Montreux Jazz Festival)

Monty Alexander presented his refined concept of groove with the recent Harlem-Kingston Express project, blending a jazz trio and a steaming reggae unit, weaving back and forth between the idioms with orchestral finesse. (Downbeat Magazine-May 2010)                                                                                                                                                                                   

What were the highlights of the summer? Here's a broad look at my five favorite arts encounters of the season.

#1.Monty Alexander: Harlem-Kingston Express at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola-Jazz-Lincoln Center: Monty Alexander's blend of jazz and reggae made for an outrageously good time. When Mr. Alexander—the Jamaican-born pianist with a cheerful, chatty style—surrounded himself with a Caribbean quartet to the right and a jazz trio to the left, the result was fresh, lilting interpretations of Bob Marley's greatest hits, as well as Mr. Alexander's original compositions, like the unmatchable "Love Notes." (The Wall Street Journal-July 2010)

Alexander himself is in excellent form, carefully walking the tightrope that bridges jazz improvisation and the rhythmic riffs of reggae. (All about Jazz)