Monty Alexander at Kean Stage

by Andrew Schinder

originally published: 11/01/2026

Originally published in Jersey Jazz Magazine. Reprinted by permission of the New Jersey Jazz Society.

Monty Alexander grew to become one of the most legendary pianists in jazz, in part, by marrying the pleasure points of two musical worlds. A native of Kingston, Jamaica, Alexander grew up listening to the island's celebrated local music – reggae, calypso, folk. At the same time, he became a huge jazz fan at an early age, influenced by his music enthusiast parents, and was sure to catch heroes, Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole, whenever they crossed the Caribbean into Jamaica. By blending Jamaica's native sounds with traditional American swing, Alexander became an icon, creating a unique -- and irresistible -- take on jazz music.

Alexander turned 82 this past June (He was famously born on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and titled a 2024 album in the event’s honor). Into his eighth decade in the music industry, he has recorded well over 75 albums as a leader and countless others performing with some of the most legendary artists of any genre. And yet Alexander shows no signs of slowing down, brimming with the energy and creativity of an artist half his age. He will be performing at the Enlow Recital Hall at Kean University in Union, NJ, the afternoon of November 22. Not only will audience members be treated to jazz music of the highest caliber, but they will also inevitably experience the pure delight that has become Alexander’s signature.

“The main point of what I do, is to do what my heroes of music did,” Alexander said. “Bring people joy. Bring a sense of upliftment. Bring positive vibrations. So, when I play, I bring a level of sincerity and excellence with the performance. But at the same time, I try not to take myself too seriously. We're here to bring joy.”

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Last month, Alexander released his latest album, A Jamarican in Paris (Peewee, 2026). It is a characteristically strong release. Recorded in Paris (as the title implies), it furthers the construction of the bridge between the two sides of Alexander’s musical and cultural persona. For instance, the album opens with an explosive cover of reggae legend Burning Spear’s seminal song “Marcus Garvey.” But in the middle of the take, Alexander and his rhythm section segue into the iconic opening bars of Miles Davis’ “So What.” Alexander has made such fluctuations a hallmark of his output. At presstime, the album ranked Number 1 on the JazzWeek chart.

“I'm in my 80s, my Jamaican history means a lot to me, and that informs a lot of what I do,” he said. “So, it just came to me as I was in that recording studio in Paris that I want to play more music where I blend swinging jazz along with roots Jamaica stuff. I came up with this clever idea where I remembered that wonderful piece of music by the great George Gershwin, ‘An American in Paris.’ And I'm that guy, but with two residences.”

Regarding the fusing of Burning Spear and Miles Davis, “It’s a touch of madness!” Alexander explained. “Because I'm a little kooky, right? I could go on and on about my friendship with Miles. I knew the man really well. I never talked about it to people at the time, but I did. Burning Spear came after I left Jamaica. A true Rastafarian up in the country parts. Just like Bob, when Bob Marley started. I preceded those men, so I have a sense of personal connection. Marcus Garvey, who’s from the Parish of Saint Ann in Jamaica, was an emancipator. They put him in jail because he started the Back to Africa Movement. And if there were two Black men who were so angry and rebellious about the way they were being treated, that were at the top of the heap as far as who were complaining about being disrespected, it was Marcus Garvey and Miles Davis.

“I had a dream that Miles and Marcus Garvey were hanging out," he continued. "Near the end of his life, Miles started listening to reggae music, got taken into the whole thing. So, I had enough reasons for me to just instantly and spontaneously put that together. Sometimes I'm playing a gig live, and I feel that it’s Miles and Marcus Garvey hanging out together. To me, reggae rhythms and swinging pulsation in jazz -- it's just your heartbeat.”

Alexander took up piano at an early age in Jamaica, and by the time he was a young teenager had already developed a reputation as being prodigious. By age 14, he largely eschewed formal education to serve as a first-call pianist at the legendary Studio One in Jamaica, working with such luminaries as producer Sir Coxsone Dodd and saxophonist Roland Alphonso.

“I'm the kid sneaking out of school when nobody could see,” he said. “Where is Monty? Well, I'm at the studio hanging out with the brothers -- a lot of them were rasta, you know? It was all a beautiful blend. I call it an accident. It all came together where rhythm and blues met. Nobody's analyzing it. And next thing you know, this whole thing was born in Jamaica.”

The Alexanders moved to Miami, FL, in 1961. A young Alexander, still a teenager, began gigging in local nightclubs and began to establish a name for himself both within the local scene, and ultimately when he (inevitably) relocated to New York. Established jazz stars took notice of him whenever they caught a performance -- legends like Quincy Jones, Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, and Frank Sinatra.

“Sinatra saw me playing in a bar down in Miami Beach, and he was with his friend, a guy named Jillian Rizzo,” Alexander began. “Jillian had a club in New York up on 52nd Street called Jilly's. When they saw me playing, they both said, ‘Get this kid to New York,’ because they wanted somebody in that bar. The capacity was like 80 people, and it was packed! They wanted music that was uplifting and swinging, and I guess that's what I was doing. I'm not going to play a brooding song.

“You felt the effervescence of the music because that's what I did, and I had a trio. Bob Cranshaw was playing with me, and we were swinging. I met Miles there; he came and saw me play. Les McCann, Oscar, Miles, and Quincy, and all these great men of music. I had to make sure I didn't let it go to my head! It wasn't about studying their music, like copying what they played. I would hear it, and it would just inspire me. And there's this word -- ‘spirit.’ You can't explain it. Spirit, you can't touch it, you can't smell it, you can't explain it, but that's what I was playing. I was playing mostly something from the spirit, you know? And that's when I tell people, without getting too carried away, I say, ‘That's the spirit from the Creator.’ God gives us a spirit, you know? No matter what religion you are, it's a spirit, you know? The word is blessed all the way.”

Besides Sinatra bringing the teenage Alexander up to New York, the music veterans generously helped Alexander establish himself as a viable working musician. McCann referred Alexander to his record label, and at a mere 20 years old Alexander recorded his first leader album, Alexander the Great (Pacific Jazz, 1965). In addition to Davis, Alexander kindled a lifelong friendship with Brown; and Peterson and Jones opened more industry doors for him.

“I have no idea what they saw in me, you know?” Alexander said. “It never went to my head, but it had me wondering, ‘Man, what is it that I do that makes Quincy want me on his next record?’ I recorded a couple of albums with Q. My confidence was building all the time.

“Oscar was the descendant of Art Tatum,” Alexander continued. “Oscar had this magnificent combination of Franz Liszt classical style, as well as barrel house boogie-woogie. That was Oscar. And, Oscar saw me playing, and he hooked me up with his record label. And I made about 10 albums at a German label called MPS.”

During the 1960s and '70s, while Alexander was perfecting his craft of uplifting swinging jazz, a musical revolution brewed in his homeland. Reggae music was booming internationally, led by icon Bob Marley, and it was inevitable that the rising Jamaican pianist would incorporate his ancestry into his repertoire.

“I'm in Miami, playing in these bars -- this is 1961, 1962, and all of a sudden, I’ll hear Desmond Dekker singing ‘Israelites’! I had no idea that American people would pick up on this incredible piece of real, raw expression. Not complicated chords and all that, but people singing social statements.

“I saw this thing happening little by little, and people loving the rhythms. When Bob Marley talks about ‘One Love’ and ‘Three Little Birds’ and all these different songs, that was pure genius, you know? But let me tell you, this whole reggae thing, to me, if I try to analyze -- and I don't like to analyze -- it's just a feeling. It was a wonderful combination of where rhythm and blues meets calypso. It was all natural.”

Alexander continued to record straight-ahead jazz music during the 1970s, including with the longtime rhythm section of John Clayton (bass) and Jeff Hamilton (drums). Their recordings during this period included the classic live album Montreaux Alexander (MPS, 1977), recorded at the famous jazz festival. Also, during this period, Alexander recorded his first album with Jamaican guitar legend Ernest Ranglin (with whom he first played at Studio One as a child living in Jamaica), Rass! (MPS, 1977). Alexander and Ranglin would go on to record several more albums together.

By the late 1990s, Alexander’s output fully incorporated his Jamaican heritage. Stir It Up: The Music of Bob Marley(Telarc Jazz, 1990) featured his beautiful interpretations of the music of Jamaica’s most famous son. Alexander partnered with seminal Jamaican dub masters Sly & Robbie for a series of albums and live concerts. Finally, he formed the reggae-jazz fusion band The Harlem-Kingston Express, which combined Jamaican and American rhythm sections to create a dazzling mishmash of both traditions.

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“The grooving and the swinging, it's all the same to me, you know?” he said. “People think it's so different. It’s not. Everybody needs to put you in a box, what type of musician you are. I don't deal with the box. I just defy, you know? And if they don't know what box to put you in, then they don't know how to promote you. And that's a crime.

Alexander continues to tour and perform tirelessly and, after a long, distinguished career, collect accolades. In 2022, the Jamaican government awarded him the prestigious Order of Jamaica for a lifetime of promoting jazz and Jamaican music. Last month, during the A Jamarican in Paris release party in Paris, France conferred its Order of Arts and Letters (Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) on him.

“It's amazing how all these years go by," he said. "But I have so many things to do, I don't even have them mapped out exactly. But the new record seems to have been well-received, and I keep going. The idea is just to get on the bandstand with a great drummer and a great bass player, and, and when I play, take it wherever, you know? To feel the Jamaican spirit!”

Young guitarist Marel Hidalgo will open for Alexander’s trio at the Kean University performance. Alexander lauds Hidalgo as a young talent who is an heir apparent to the Jamaican guitar tradition established by figures like Ranglin. “I adore Marel,” Alexander said. “He's very special. He reminds me of me when I was 17, 18. He’s going to bring his music, and I'll be doing my part, and hopefully the people come!”

Kean University's Enlow Recital Hall is located at 1000 Morris Ave. in Union, NJ. The Monty Alexander concert begins at 3 p.m. on Sunday, November 22. For more information or to order tickets, log onto keanstage.com or call (908) 737-7469

The New Jersey Jazz Society is a non-profit organization of business and professional people, musicians, teachers, students and listeners working together for the purpose of advancing jazz music. Their mission is to promote and preserve America’s original art form – jazz. The Society seeks to ensure continuity of the jazz art form through its commitment to nurture and champion local talent, along with showcasing outstanding national and international artists providing for the younger generation via arts education programs.