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The term ‘living legend’ is used too loosely nowadays to describe artistes who have made any sort of contribution to their genre. However, for world-renowned, Jamaica-born pianist Monty Alexander, it is not enough of an accolade to define one of the true pioneers of not only jazz, but also ska and reggae.
Indeed, with more than 80 albums in his discography and an impressive record of being part of Jamaica’s ska era, as well as America’s jazz movement, he has the distinction of straddling two well-defined musical genres and mastering both superbly.
As someone who does not lend his musical talent to many events, fans will be in for a treat on Saturday, February 21, as Alexander will headline an evening dubbed Monty Alexander: Jamaica to Jazz, at the Moss Centre in Miami. The concert will trace the journey of Jamaican music from early ska to international jazz standards and beyond.
The Sunday Gleaner spoke with Alexander about his role in shaping what has become Jamaica’s musical sound and his contribution to global music.
“My gift comes from the creator,” Alexander said. “So, I always stay humble, and when people start showering me with praise, I tell them that at 81, I’m just happy I can still get a gig ... and I’m not joking.
“I love Jamaica and what it gave me as my foundation. This upcoming concert has me very excited because the old school Jamaicans are so proud of the early Jamaican music, though some don’t realise the influence of masters like Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, and all these people who embraced me and who I got to know like the back of my hand.”
Patrons, he said, can expect upliftment, joy and an appreciation of the good things that music evokes in people. “Despite all the darkness in this world, we are blessed to have music that touches people. And when I play, I will have some wonderful Jamaican musicians who live in the USA, plus two American players, so it’s a mixture of jazz masters and rhythm kings. We will make a joyful noise, and it will be an evening of surprises, as that’s the great thing about jazz ... it promotes spontaneity,” Alexander said.
ADVENTURES
Sometimes, he added, he pinches himself when reflecting on how far he has come from the little boy who used to traverse Mountain View Avenue.
“I desire greatly to tell my story, especially the Jamaican side of it, in a way that is uplifting for other people. My book will be about my Jamaican adventures until now, which has been one miracle after another.”
Interestingly, Alexander shared that he had no formal musical training. “When people ask me how I play the piano as I do, I say, ‘I pray, then I play.’ I don’t read music and never went to music school ... and that is not a boast. It’s due to pure laziness in my youth. I took piano lessons, but the woman would slap me on my wrist, so I never continued. I would go see Aubrey Adams and follow his fingers and the keys. He never gave me a lesson, but I would watch him intently.”
His gift would serve him well throughout his life. Born and raised at Tucker Avenue, off Mountain View Road, he lived basically right across from the home of Sir Alexander Bustamante. As a teen, he would go watch people dance and enjoy the music played by the local sound system. “I was inspired by that earthiness of the music, and it became a big part of me when I began to play,” Alexander said.
As a child, his father took him to the Carib Theatre, where he met and shook hands with none other than foundational American jazz trumpeter and vocalist, Louis ‘Satchmo’ Armstrong. “I met Satchmo because my father knew the show’s promoter. That was the beginning of my understanding that jazz was another incredible gift to the world. So, I was there for the early ska and reggae evolution and then migrated and met some of the great jazz musicians, so it’s a heady trip for me recognising that I can put these two worlds together,” Alexander explained.
“I remember as a young teen, playing in the recording studio with Don Drummond and Ernie Ranglin, as I worked for both Duke Reid and Sir Coxsone Dodd, so I was a part of the pulse of what was going on in Kingston. With Drummond, I can understand when people say there’s a fine line between artistic genius and madness.
“Some people are very talented, but they are also sometimes so sensitive that things can push them to the edge. I have seen that with friends. Thankfully, I was always guided by my mother’s warning and was fortunate to avoid the drug era when it was viewed as recreation and saw some great men not live past age 40.”
At the cusp of adulthood, just before his 18th birthday, his family migrated to Miami, Florida, where he met some famous people who knew him both by his name and the notes he played.
“I played for Tony Bennett. I also played for Frank Sinatra because he saw me playing in Miami in 1962. He and his friend had a club in New York called Jilly’s, where all the big people in music went. I was 19 at the time, and Sinatra told his friend Jilly to get me to come play in New York. He must have recognised something unique about me. I’ve been around all these people, but I’ve stayed humble because that is my nature.”
With no plans for retirement, Alexander said he will continue to do what he loves, which is to play and make people feel happy.
“And you hope to get a decent fee at the end, but you know how that goes.”
Doing a local show again would require the sourcing of a good piano, which, sadly, he said, is next to impossible.
“Everybody now is into electronic keyboards, so pianos are not being used, and remember my whole music career is based on playing a Steinway or Yamaha grand nine-foot-long piano. When I last came to Jamaica, I was on a mission to find a piano. I went to Ward Theatre, and in the back was a Yamaha piano, and when I inspected it, chi-chi (termites) was eating out the wood. I wanted to cry.”
Though he remains passionate about his music, he admitted that few people really appreciate jazz for what it really is.
“Jazz has always been the least-recognised music. You have to acquire that feeling of deep love. It is like ketching the spirit in church: you either get zapped with the Holy Ghost, or it’s just a superficial, traditional kind of thing. It’s the same with music.
“The passionate fans are fewer than those who [go] out to see the stars like Beyoncé. At the Grammys, they have a small section on the side for jazz, as it has never been popular music. But there is a thing about the people who have a discerning love for the art form. When you enter into that realm, you already know you will never be a big star, but you have an integrity where you feel honoured just to be a part of it.”
nicola.cunningham@gleanerjm.com
English (US) ·