Track Listing
DISC 1: IVORY & STEEL:
1. Happy Lypso
2. Cavatina
3. Montevideo
4. SKJ
5. That's the Way It Is
6. Work Song
7. Medley: Impressions/So What: Impressions / So What
8. Stella by Starlight
9. Street Life
DISC 2: JAMBOREE:
1. Sly Mongoose
2. Think Twice
3. No Woman, No Cry
4. Look Up
5. Accompong
6. You Can See
7. Big Yellow Taxi
8. Reggae-Later
9. Crying
10. Linstead Market
| Details | | Contributing Artists: | Othello Molineaux | | Producer: | Carl E. Jefferson, Carl Jefferson | | Distributor: | Universal Distribution | | Recording Type: | Studio | | Recording Mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
Album Notes
's Ivory & Steel.
ISLAND GROOVES contains the two previously released albums IVORY & STEEL (1980) and JAMBOREE (1988) in one 2-disc package.
Includes liner notes by Jerry Dean and Monty Alexander.
IVORY & STEEL:
Monty Alexander Quintet: Monty Alexander (piano); Gerald Wiggins (bass); Frank Gant (drums); Othello Molineaux (steel drum); Robert Thomas Jr. (percussion).
Engineer: Phil Edwards.
Recorded at Soundmixers, New York, New York in March 1980. Originally released on Concord (4124).
JAMBOREE:
Monty Alexander's Ivory & Steel: Monty Alexander (piano); Bernard Montgomery (electric bass); Marshall Wood (bass); Marvin "Smitty" Smith (drums); Othello Molineaux, Len "Boogsie" Sharpe (steel drums); Robert Thomas Jr. (hand drums).
Engineer: Ed Trabanco.
Recorded at Penny Lane Studios, New York, New York in February & March 1988. Originally released on Concord (4359).
Personnel: Monty Alexander (piano); Frank Gant (drums); Len "Boogsie" Sharpe, Othello Molineaux (steel drum); Robert Thomas, Jr. (percussion).
Liner Note Authors: Jerry Dean; Monty Alexander.
Recording information: Penny Lane Studios, New York City NY (03/1980-03/1988); Soundmixers, New York City NY (03/1980-03/1988).
Director: Alexis Davis.
Monty Alexander's Ivory and Steel combines soulful, hard-bopping jazz with Jamaican calypsos and West Indian grooves to forge a highly original two-CD set titled Island Grooves. Disc one, originally released as Ivory & Steel in 1980, contains nine songs including two written by the pianist. The classic Nat Adderley standard "Work Song" gets the full benefit of the ivories and the steel with Alexander improvising the melody in sync with the steel pans of Othello Molineaux as Gerald Wiggins, Robert Thomas Jr., and Frank Gant provide excellent rhythmic timing on bass, percussion, and drums. John Coltrane's "Impressions" and Miles Davis' "So What" each receive excellent reinterpretations through Alexander's skillful synchronicity of ivory and steel. Disc two, titled Jamboree, contains ten songs. Monty Alexander achieves his objective by creating a mood that is basically West Indian and by providing a musical context that leaves lots of room for the musicians to solo. With Othello Molineaux and Len "Boogsie" Sharpe on steel drums, Marshall Wood on bass, Bernard Montgomery on electric bass, Robert Thomas Jr. on hand drums, and Marvin "Smitty" Smith on drums, Alexander surpasses his previous 1980 achievement by including five original compositions. "Think Twice," "Look Up," "Accompong," "You Can See," and "Reggae Later" all showcase the pianist igniting some great musical flames under the steel pans. This ensemble is especially pleasing because of the interpretations they have drawn together from socially significant events, Jamaican folklore, the music of Bob Marley, and the piano stylings and visions of Monty Alexander. ~ Paula Edelstein
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