Jazz Police - Monty Alexander Brings His “Concrete Jungle” to the Dakota, February 4-5

Two names have come to symbolize the modern music of Jamaica—iconic singer/songwriter Bob Marley, and the Island’s gift to modern jazz, pianist Monty Alexander. Born about six months and half an island apart, Alexander and Marley never appeared together, Alexander having emigrated to the United States in his teens where he quickly became an in-demand player in Las Vegas and New York, while Marley developed mythical status in leading the ska, rocksteady, and modern reggae movements, incorporating Rastaferian ethic with politics of social justice. More than two decades since Marley’s untimely death, his legacy was given new interpretation in Monty Alexander’s 2006 Telarc release, Concrete Jungle, a follow-up to the popular 1999 tribute to Marley, Stirring It Up. Alexander returns to the Dakota in downtown Minneapolis on February 4-5, no doubt this tropical heat wave scheduled as a midwinter antidote.

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Monty Alexander began his piano studies at age six, and as a youngster was often invited to sit in with the musicians working in the island’s clubs and hotels. The gospel tinges of his early idols (Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole) are still apparent in Alexander’s music. In the late 50s, he played around Jamaica with “Monty and the Cyclones.” Frank Sinatra, who first heard Monty play with a Jamaican Big Band in Las Vegas, helped the young pianist move to New York, where he was “discovered” by Milt Jackson. In addition to working with Jackson, Alexander went on to play with Ray Brown, Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, and Sonny Rollins. Over the next two decades, Monty Alexander recorded as a sideman and increasingly as a leader (over 60 recordings!), and enjoyed diverse projects ranging from frequent appearances at the Montreux Festival, a tribute to Errol Garner at Carnegie Hall, a Duke Ellington program with opera star Barbara Hendricks, to a symphony orchestra presentation of Rhapsody in Blue under the direction of Bobby McFerrin and performances in various formats from American trio to Jamaican Reggae bands.

A prolific performer and recording artist, Monty Alexander’s infectious style fuses his Caribbean roots with the sounds of gospel, swing, blues, and post bop; he’s as comfortable with Gershwin and Ellington as he is with funk and reggae. For his second salute to Bob Marley, Alexander returned to his native Kingston to record in Marley’s Tuff Gong Studio, pulling in US-based collaborators (drummer Herlin Riley, guitarist Wendell Ferraro—aka Junior Jazz—and bassist Hassan Shakur), guest trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis, and native musicians including vocalist Luciano, the Mento Men, and many other session artists on vocals, guitars, and percussion.

On February 4-5, Monty Alexander brings his trio to the Dakota stage, and a touch of Marley and Jamaican spice will warm the Minnesota night.

The Dakota is located at 1010 Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis; www.dakotacooks.com. Two sets each night at 7 and 9:30 pm. Click here for a Jazz Police review of Concrete Jungle!