CaribPR, NEW YORK, NY, Tues. April 2, 2013: Jamaican-born, Caribbean-raised jazz great and Grammy-nominated artist, Monty Alexander, is in high demand this year, with performances that has him globetrotting and city-hopping on the heels of his new album and his 51st year as a musician.
Alexander, whose 50th anniversary album, “Harlem-Kingston Express: Live!” was nominated for a Reggae Grammy and won rave reviews from The Wall Street Journal, The London Evening Standard and Jazz Times among dozens of other media houses, is set to take his brand of stirring jazz to the Bern Jazz Festival in Switzerland from Tuesday, April 16th to Saturday, April 20th.
The performance comes as Alexander’s new album release “Uplift 2” on the JLP label, sits at #2 on the Jazz charts.
The stellar musician will then return to the U.S. to share a similar kind of joy with his fans at Boston’s legendary Scullers Jazz Club on April 26th and New York City’s famous Birdland Club Jazz Club from May 7th to 11th.
Jamaica’s Commander of Distinction and ‘Luminary Award’ 2012 recipient, then returns to the U.S. for performances in Boston and New York City, before heading to the nature isle of Dominica for the first time, where he will headline the increasingly popular, Dominica Jazz ‘n Creole Festival on May 19th at the Cabrits National Park.
“For many years I have harbored the desire to be able to visit one of the beautiful island if the Caribbean – Dominica,” commented Alexander. “I have had friends of Dominica heritage, including Connie Kay, the great drummer from the great Modern Jazz Quartet. To be able to bring a musical offering to Dominica makes my visit extra special.”
Dominica’s jazz fans are sure to experience a different kind of jazz from Alexander – the kind that will have them putting on their dancing shoes on and keeping them on.
And his Grammy-nominated band, The Harlem Kingston Express, will add to the experience that combines traditional jazz with the rocking rhythms of Jamaica which results in a sound that is uniquely Alexander’s and The Harlem Kingston Express!
Tickets for his Boston and New York performances are $30 per person. For Scullers, get tickets at and for Birdland, log on to
Following his Dominica debut, Alexander, will again join his Harlem Kingston Express to bring his brand of jiving jazz to Washington, D.C.’s popular Blues Alley from June 20th to 23rd and Pittsburgh, PA on June 28th at the South Park Band Shell.
He and his band will wrap up the first half of 2013 in Rochester, NY with a scintillating performance at the Rochester International Jazz Festival on June 29th. For more see https://www.rochesterjazz.com/artist_lineup/?artist_id=934.
2013 Performance Dates:
Switzerland – Bern Jazz Festival – April 16-20th.
Boston, MA – Scullers Jazz Club – April 26th.
News York City – Birdland Club Jazz Club- May 7th to 11th.
Dominica, W.I. – Dominica Jazz ‘n Creole Festival – May 19th.
Washington, D.C. – Blues Alley – June 20th to 23rd.
Pittsburgh, PA – South Park Band Shell – June 28th.
Rochester, NY – Rochester International Jazz Festival – June 29th.
About Monty Alexander
Over his stellar career, Alexander, whose influence combines that of Oscar Peterson, Gene Harris and Nat “King” Cole, has performed with international stars including Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Ray Brown, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Clark Terry, Quincy Jones, Ernest Ranglin, Barbara Hendricks, Bill Cosby, Bobby McFerrin, Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare.
In fact, it was Sinatra and his best friend Jilly Rizzo who hired Alexander after he moved to the United States in 1961 at the age of 17. And it was at Jilly’s famed New York City nightclub that this Jamaican teen caught the ears of Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, and Milt “Bags” Jackson.
Bags introduced him to the great bassist Ray Brown, and the rest as they say, is history, including Alexander’s 1976 Montreux (Switzerland) Jazz Festival performance with drummer Jeff Hamilton and bassist John Clayton, which has become one of the most celebrated live recordings in contemporary jazz.
For more on the Caribbean’s greatest jazz pianist and his music visit www.montyalexander.com.
