SEMJA Met Monty

BY LARS BJORN

Monty Alexander held a Meet the Artist session for SEMJA on May 13, followed by two sets with his trio. It was a promising re-ignition of SEMJA's Meet the Artist sessions, which we have not held for some time. Monty was a delightful storyteller and attendance was respectable. Everyone at the session stayed on and was rewarded with priority seating for the trio, which was a great benefit as the show was sold out.

It is hard to find a better artist to meet than pianist Monty Alexander. He loves to talk, talks well, and with a great sense of humor. He spoke about several central figures in mainstream jazz since the 60s, such as Milt Jackson, Ray Brown, and Dizzy Gillespie. Some of the more colorful stories involved Frank Sinatra and gangsters, Ray Brown and his love of golf, and Monty and The Cyclones, his first band in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1958-60. There was also much praise for the strong sense of support, pride, and craftsmanship among jazz musicians when he arrived in New York in the early 60s.

Alexander's trio included his long-time bassist Hassan Shakur (on some of his latest CDs) and Chicago drummer George Fludas (who was in Ann Arbor last time with Lonnie Smith). The two followed the pianist nicely through a repertoire of jazz standards (e.g., "Love For Sale" and "Things Ain't What They Used to Be"), originals (e.g., "Trust"), and several Bob Marley songs (from two recent CDs). Alexander is a hard swinger who even on ballads and Latin numbers ends up grooving in medium or up-tempo 4/4. His slow version of Marley's "Redemption Song" was thoughtful and powerful, which is a remarkable accomplishment using only a standard piano trio instrumentation.

A real up-beat experience of music and talk, all-in-one!

photograph by Lars Bjorn

I N - T H I S - I S S U E :
1. SEMJA MET MONTY ALEXANDER ---2. RECENT RECORDINGS
3. MORE RECORDINGS ---4. JESSICA WILLIAMS
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