JAS Cafe Summer Series – Monty Alexander’s Harlem Kingston Express

Showtimes 6:30pm & 8:45pm @ Aspen Art Museum Rooftop

Nearly sixty five years after he moved to the United States from Kingston, Jamaica, his hometown, Grammy ® nominated pianist Monty Alexander is an American classic, touring the world relentlessly with various projects, delighting a global audience drawn to his vibrant personality and soulful message. His spirited conception is one informed by the timeless verities: endless melody-making, effervescent grooves, sophisticated voicings, a romantic spirit, and a consistent predisposition, as Alexander accurately states, “to build up the heat and kick up a storm.”

Documented on more than 75 recordings and cited as the fifth greatest jazz pianist ever in The Fifty Greatest Jazz Piano Players of All Time (Hal Leonard Publishing), the Jamaican government designated Alexander Commander in the Order of Distinction in 2000 and in 2022 conferred on him the national honor Order of Jamaica for “Sterling Contributions to the Promotions of Jamaican Music and the Jazz Genre Interpretations Globally”. In further recognition of his accomplishments, the University of The West Indies bestowed him with an honorary doctorate (DLitt).

June 6, 2024, marked the 80th anniversary of the Normandy Landings. It’s also the day Monty Alexander turned 80. A highly symbolic historical concordance which the great musician naturally embraces, since the name he was given pays homage to General Montgomery, the famous liberator. Recorded at Studio Sextan in Paris in October 2023, D-Day (PeeWee!) contains iconic compositions written in wartime as well as eight original tracks.

“I love Jamaica. I love America. I love them both together more than each one separately. I inhabit the rhythmic aspect of both things. I can’t explain why. I do it naturally and joyfully. I am confident and proud and privileged to say that I come from a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic thing. The slogan of Jamaica is like America’s ‘E Pluribus Unum,’ ‘out of many, one people.’”