SALT LAKE CITY — Monty Alexander returns to Salt Lake City with his Grammy Award-winning trio on Jan. 4 at the Capitol Theatre, as part of the longrunning JazzSLC series.
According to Gordon Hanks, the series’ founder and director, it’s none too soon.
“We’ve been waiting all year for the trio to revisit us,” Hanks said. “Having the trio here is like inviting a cyclone into the living room. You’ve just got to grab hold of something and hang on because it’s going to be a whirlwind of jazz delights.”
Considered one of the most versatile pianists in the industry, Alexander shows no signs of slowing down in the slightest. With a professional career that spans over half a century, Alexander still looks forward to a heavy international touring schedule.
“I guess I never really think about the load,” Alexander said. “I look forward to every concert and take great pleasure in taking the audience with me on a journey through my musical roots. I never really talk about it too much.”
Deeply ingrained in his work is what he calls “the mystical bus tour,” and Alexander is quick to point out that his work doesn’t seem like work at all.
“I love what I do,” he said. “Not only do I like it, but I love making the room for personal change. It’s a privilege when people walk into a concert and I get to play for them. My fare is that I feel like I don’t have to work for a living. I make a living creating an experience that hopefully makes people feel better than when they walk into a concert.”
Over the years, Alexander’s musical bones have been deeply formed by his upbringing as a child growing up in Jamaica. He infuses all of his music with a deep sense of freewheeling Jamaican rhythm that easily transitions into the classic American jazz songbook without a bump. Trying to pigeonhole or define Alexander’s genre or particular style simply isn’t possible.
“He is a jazz ambassador to the world and I’m convinced you could drop Monty anywhere on the planet and whomever the audience happened to be would want to lay claim to him,” Hanks noted. “His music is spirited, vibrant and colorful and it matches his personality perfectly.”
Alexander will be adding extra percussion for this concert and he promises to make some big noise for the Salt Lake audience including some new cuts from his most recent album, “Rastamonk.”
Being called a jazz ambassador carries special significance for Alexander.
“That’s really high praise,” he said. “When I was a young boy in Jamaica I remember seeing Satchmo, Louis Armstrong and that album cover ‘Ambassador to the World.’ There was Armstrong in a tux and tails with that great big smile flashing across the cover, and thinking I’d like to be somebody like that.”
Alexander was recently awarded the Order of Distinction, the the highest honor the Jamaican government gives artists and athletes — “It’s like what the Queen of England gives when she knights somebody,” he said.
At age 14, Alexander began playing at local venues and clubs in Kingston, and immediately showed promise as a charismatic band leader. Under Alexander’s leadership, his first band, Monty & The Cyclones, made its first recordings. His exploration of multiple musical forms ranging from jazz, bebop, blues and gospel has made him unique in the jazz world.
This deep curiosity and willingness to experiment also makes him a major draw for the world’s biggest jazz festivals. It’s no surprise that the Montreux Jazz Festival has tapped him to headline the festival 23 times in as many years.
Set aside the numerous Grammy nominations, the honorary doctorates, his own jazz festival, the innumerable awards and honorariums, one of Alexander’s proudest accomplishments is being ranked fifth in author Gene Rizo’s book, “The Fifty Greatest Jazz Piano Players of All Time.”
Alexander is uncomfortable with such an accolade.
“I don’t know if I can accept that,” he said. “I mean, I feel like all piano players are the best in their own way. It’s a generous compliment and I appreciate it very much.”
As an afterthought he added, “Let me put it another way: When the spirit is moving me and I’m in my magical place, I think I play as well as anybody.”
If you go ...
What: Monty Alexander Trio, JazzSLC Series
When: Jan. 4, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Capitol Theatre, 50 W. 200 South
How much: $29.50