Alexander the Great:
An Interview with Monty Alexander

In the 1970s, reggae music exploded from the shores of Jamaica onto the international stage, fueled largely by the genius and world vision of Bob Marley. Many years earlier, a young pianist from Kingston had already established himself to citizens of the island nation as a powerful musical voice. Born in 1940, Monty Alexander was playing with some of his hometown's best-known musicians by the time he was a teenager, including his own popular group, Monty and the Cyclones. While absorbing Jamaica's musical traditions, he was also profoundly influenced by the sounds of American jazz drifting over the Caribbean. Alexander played for a time in Las Vegas and later at a New York City club owned by a friend of Frank Sinatra. He also toured and recorded extensively with Dizzy Gillespie, Milt Jackson, and Ray Brown, among many others. More than 50 albums later, Alexander's love for music continues. His most recent recording is Goin' Yard, featuring Alexander and six fellow Jamaican musicians.

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