The Monty Alexander Trio – Montreux Alexander – Live! At The Montreux Festival
By George Moraitis
| Label: | MPS Records – MPS15493, Edel Records – 0210986MSW |
|---|---|
| Series: | Reforest The Legend – AAA Reissue Series |
| Format: | Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Remastered |
| Country: | Germany |
| Released: | 2016 |
| Genre: | Jazz |
| Style: | – |
Monty Alexander was relatively unknown when he played at the Montreux Jazz Festival’s Casino on June 10th, 1976 but it didn’t take long for the crowd to fall in love with Alexander and his colleagues John Clayton on bass and Jeff Hamilton on drums.
Alexander plays the piano in a high-energy, melodic style that has enthusiasts comparing him to Oscar Peterson, Ahmad Jamal and other greats. This is an exciting set, that’s been superbly captured to tape by the late, great British recording engineer John Timperley, who worked with many jazz greats when they recorded in England. He also recorded Cream’s debut album and albums by Yes and Paul McCartney. For this recording, he positioned the microphone as to capture the intimacy between the player and the instrument, producing lots of energy and propulsion, ideal for Alexander’s playing style, here on a Yamaha grand.
The music is fresh, melodic and swinging. It has a real electricity that makes me wonder what it would have been like to have been there in the audience that night.
One of my favourite albums (I say that a lot!)