For the convenience of concertgoers

the Garden Cafe remains open until 6:oo pm.

The use of cameras or recording equipment during the

performance is not allowed. Please be sure that cell phones,

pagers, and other electronic devices are turned off

Please note that late entry or reentry after 6:30 pm

is not permitted.

Music Department

National Gallery of Art

Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue nw

Washington, dc

Mailing address

2000B South Club Drive

Landover, md 20785

www.nga.gov

The Sixty-third Season of

The William Nelson Cromwell and F. Lammot Belin

Concerts

National Gallery ofArt

2,537th Concert

Monty Alexander Trio

Monty Alexander, piano

Hassan Ash-Shakur, bass

George Fludas, drums

May 22, 2005

Sunday Evening, 6:30 pm

Hast Building Auditorium

Admissionfree
Program

Monty Alexander will announce the program from the stage.

The Musician

By grafting the traditions of American jazz to his Jamaican roots, pianist

Monty Alexander has spent a lifetime exploring the rich depths of musical

and cultural diversity. In a career that spans more than four decades, he has

performed and recorded with musicians from every corner ofthe musical

universe. The long list of his collaborators includes Frank Sinatra, Ray

Brown, and Dizzy Gillespie. Alexander notes: “All these people came from

struggling circumstances. They didn’t go to music school: they came

from the street.... It’s that story of people who... achieve something just

because they have this great attitude and.. .the talent to go with it.”

Born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, Alexander took his first piano

lessons at age six. During his teen years he enjoyed the performances of

Louis Armstrong and Nat “King” Cole at the Carib Theater in Jamaica.

The shades of joyful gospel music in those performances had a profound

and lasting effect on Alexander’s style. He eventually formed a band

called Monty and the Cyclones, which produced several songs that hit the

Jamaican music charts between 1958 and i960.

Alexander came to the United States in 1961. His first long-term engagement was in Jilly’s, the New York City club owned by Jilly Rizzo. There he

accompanied many well-known performers, including Rizzo’s friend Frank

Sinatra. Alexander's reputation grew and led to performances and recordings

with Milt Jackson, Ray Brown, and Dizzy Gillespie as well as Clark Terry,

Sonny Rollins, Quincy Jones, and Ernest Ranglin.

In 1995 Alexander made a Jamaican reggae recording, Yard Movement,

at the Montreux Jazz Festival, where he has been a regular performer since

1976. Among his many other recordings are Unforgettable, a tribute to Nat

“King” Cole that won seven Grammy awards; Stir It Up, an album combining

acoustic jazz and Jamaican reggae; Monty Meets Sly and Robbie, which features

reggae rhythm greats Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare; My America,

which includes guest appearances by John Pizzarelli, Freddy Cole, and Kevin

Mahogany; and Impressions in Blue, an exploration ofthe bluesier side ofjazz.

Summing up his career, Alexander says, “The piano, to me, is a vehicle 

for connecting to other human beings. I’m very open to all forms of music.

I’m not [just] a bebop, calypso, or reggae musician; I’m a musician who

loves it all.” Monty Alexander appears at the National Gallery by arrangement

with Thomas Cassidy, Inc., ofTucson, Arizona.