Monty Alexander – Full Steam Ahead (180g 2LP)

Label: Pure Audiophile – PA010 / Concord Jazz CJ 287

Pure Analogue Audiophile Half Speed Mastering by Stan Ricker- Numbered Limited Edition – Pressed at RTI

Out Of Print! Only a few copies left!

Bonus Tracks Full Steam Ahead features Monty Alexander, one of the most distinctive and exhilarating pianists in jazz, Frank Gant on drums and the incomparable Ray Brown on bass. The record was originally released on Concord in 1984, but this version includes three bonus tracks – “Straighten Up An Fly Right,” “High Heeled Sneakers” and “Renewal.” Each of these two-LP sets is individually numbered and pressed on virgin 180-gram vinyl by Record Technology, Inc. Half-speed mastering by Stan Ricker from the original master tapes. The double LP “Full Steam Ahead” at The Monty Alexander Trio is the latest release of the label Pure Audiophile. The focus is Monty Alexander, one of the most refreshing pianists in jazz and completely unmistakable, accompanied by Frank Gant on drums and the incomparable Ray Brown on bass. In Kingston, Jamaica, where Alexander was born and grew up, he was six years old his first piano lessons . In 1961 he moved to the USA over and worked with many famous artists such as Frank Sinatra, Milt Jackson, Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins, etc. “Full Steam Ahead” was originally published in 1984 on the label Concord, among other things, with the following tracks: “Just Friends”, “I Can not Get No Satisfaction”, “estate”, “Ray’s Idea”, “Freddie Freeloader”. Retrieved from “Triple Treat 2 & 3” were three excellent bonus tracks, “Straighten Up And Fly Right”, “High Heeled Sneakers” and “Renewal” added. Distinguished New Yorker magazine jazz critic Whitney Balliett must have had someone like Monty Alexander in mind when he wrote that the fundamental intent of jazz “is to entertain and recharge the spirit with new beauties.” Indeed, the title of the book from which the above quotation is taken, The Sound of Surprise, serves as an apt description of what Jamaican-born pianist Alexander has been producing ever since he crashed the big-time jazz scene in the late 1960s. What sets him apart from most of his keyboard colleagues is the enormous range of his musical interests. He not only has paid his dues as a performer but, perhaps more importantly, as a listener as well. He brings the joy of celebration to his work: a celebration of his life in music and the music of his life. Delightful surprises abound in both the selection of his material and the execution of same. The seventh album for Monty on the Concord Jazz label has bassist Ray Brown and drummer Frank Gant lending sterling support. As is always the case with an Alexander album, the tunes reflect Monty’s broad musical interests and discriminating taste. The kickoff selection is Miles Davis’ blues a la mode, Freddie Freeloader, highlighted by Monty’s earthy improvisations over Ray’s driving bass line. Monty gets inside the piano for a bit of string strumming to embellish the trio’s poignantly beautiful Latin treatment of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s Once I Loved. Ray’s Idea is indeed a Brown conception, one brilliantly orchestrated by Gil Fuller for the Dizzy Gillespie big band of 1946, of which Ray was a precocious 18-year-old member. A landmark in big band bebop, the tune was included in the album at Monty’s suggestion. Ray, in fact, had to have his memory of his own brainstorm refreshed before the sparkling trio version heard here could be crystallized. Next up is a gorgeous solo piano treatment by Monty of Because You’re Mine, title song of a Mario Lanza movie and one of several beautiful early 1950s ballads written by Russian-born film composer Nikolaus Brodszky (“Be My Love” and “Wonder Why” are among his other notable creations). Mick Jagger’s and Keith Richard’s I Can’t Get No Satisfaction takes on a new dimension of “soul” in the trio’s high speed version of this Rolling Stones hit, Monty offering a touch of comic relief at the conclusion of the piece. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Happy Talk, a curiously neglected gem from South Pacific, emerges fresher than ever as the Side Two opener. From here the trio segues into Estate (pronounced es-tot-ay and meaning “summer” in Italian), a touching lament written by two Italian Brunos, namely Brighetti and Martino. Monty’s piano is at its lyrical best, and Brown provides a profound “amen” coda. Randy Weston’s march-like jazz classic, Hi-Fly gets a loving treatment from the trio, and a sneakily playful introduction by Monty leads into a rousing Just Friends that climaxes a regal, full-course musical feast. This album is going to be around as long as there are ears to appreciate the versatile genius of Monty Alexander. – Gordon Raddue Musicians: Monty Alexander, piano Ray Brown, bass Frank Gant, drums Selections: LP 1 1. Freddie Freeloader 2. Once I Loved 3. Ray’s Idea 4. Because You’re Mine 5. I Can’t Get No Satisfaction 6. Happy Talk 7. Estate LP 2 1. Hi-Fly 2. Just Friends Bonus Tracks: 3. Straighten Up and Fly Right 4. High Heeled Sneakers 5. Renewal