Monty Alexander
Live at the Iridium
Telarc

Mention certain pianists, and an immediate feeling comes to mind: Tyner, intense and dramatic; Peterson, hard swinging; Evans, delicate and sensitive. Monty Alexander is working on his own image; FUN. There hasn't been a release from the Jamaican patriarch of reggae that hasn't reflected the joy of life . Just as Hines was to Armstrong, Powell was to Parker, and Tyner was to Coltrane, "Live at the Iridium"displays my theory that Monty Alexander is the piano counterpart to Cannonball Adderley. Not simply because he plays "Work Song" with aplomb and authority, but because every song on this joyful cd reflects all of the elements of Cannonball: accessible yet swinging solos; songs with the blues and gospel as the foundation, and finger-snapping rhythm that keeps the head and heart in sync.

Augmenting the standard trio with percussionist Robert Thomas Jr., Alexander is able to extend the boundaries of gospel/jazz by adding a Caribbean element to the rhythm. On "Happylypso", steel drums are added as delightful accents. A pulsating reggae beat is behind "Runnin' Away" that is infectious, and "Mt. Zanda" exchanges the standard latin beat for the sizziling salsa feel. The "Jamaican Tinge"is an unexplored possibility of the future of jazz, and Mr. Alexander is pursuing it in a positive.

Combining Blues and Gospel on a deceptively simple version of "Lil' Darlin"(Misspelled on the label as "Little Darlin', but this is NOT the Diamond's hit), and self-penned "The River", Alexander has brought jazz back to it's basics-faith and field workers. As the Bible says, faith without works is dead, and this cd is a good combination of them.


--George W. Harris