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Monty Alexander: Jazz Piano via Jamaican Pop
March 1, 2012
The sound of one of this year's Grammy-nominated reggae albums,
"Harlem-Kingston Express Live", may seem perplexing at first. But don't let the blend of swing and dub confuse you: That's just the unique sound
of pianist Monty Alexander.
Alexander's music has variously been described as bebop, calypso and reggae. But after 50 years in music and more than 70 albums, he's earned the right to call his music simply his own.
Alexander grew up in Jamaica playing the piano and the accordion, and he was versed in the up-and-coming popular music of the island.