Monty Alexander, CD, receiving the Hon. Doctorate of Letters degree from UWI Mona Campus Chancellor Robert Bermudez at the 2018 graduation ceremonies on Nov. 3, 2018.
CaribPR Wire, NEW YORK, NY, Sat. Nov. 17, 2018: Days after receiving an honorary Doctorate of Letters degree from the University of the West Indies Mona Campus, Jamaican-born, international jazz maestro, Monty Alexander, is still beaming with joy as he heads out on a European tour.
“I am so proud to have received another great honor from my beloved native Jamaica,” Alexander, who in 2000 received the Jamaican National Award of Commander of Distinction, (CD) commented. “It fills me with joy but I’m also very humbled.”
Alexander, born Montgomery Bernard Alexander on D-Day in Kingston, Jamaica, was presented with the DLitt distinction on November 3rd, 2018 at the Kingston Jamaica, UWI Mona Campus by Chancellor Robert Bermudez at the 2018 graduation ceremonies. Also honored with the Jamaican musician extraordinaire was actress, singer, model and producer, Grace Jones.
The performer, who has five decades of performances and more than 70 CDs under his belt, began his musical career at age four by playing Christmas carols by ear. He is now most widely known as an upper echelon master of the swinging piano trio function as he has demonstrated with several top-shelf groups, including iconic units with bassist John Clayton and drummer Jeff Hamilton, and with the legendary bassist Ray Brown and guitarist Herb Ellis.
He also performs frequently with Harlem-Kingston Express, a double trio in which he coalesces his love for hard-swinging jazz with musical flavors that reflect his Jamaican heritage, shifting between an acoustic trio and master Jamaican practitioners of electric bass and drums. He debuted the project at Jazz at Lincoln Center in 2009 and documented it both on the Grammy-nominated 2011 CD, Harlem-Kingston Express: LIVE, and its 2014 Soultrain Award nominated follow-up, Harlem Kingston Express 2: The River Rolls On (Motéma).
Alexander headed out on a European tour this month, beginning today Saturday, November 17th in Backnang, Germany. He will then move on to Vienna, Austria on November 19th and Dresden, Germany on November 21st before playing Prague, Czech Republic on November 22nd and the Auditorium de la Seine Musicale in Paris, France on November 23rd. Alexander wraps up the tour on November 25th at the London Jazz Festival in London, UK.
For more on the Monty Alexander and his amazing brand of jazz, visit him on YouTube or at montyalexander.com. You can also like him on Facebook at facebook.com/officialmontyalexander or keep up to date on his performance on Twitter at @montyHKE.
UWI
Established in 1948, UWI is the largest and longest standing higher education provider in the English-speaking Caribbean. In its more than 60 years of existence, UWI has evolved from a fledgling college in the Caribbean island of Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged University with over 45,000 students, approximately 9,000 graduates annually and more than 120,000 alumni. The impressive network of UWI alumni includes one Nobel Laureate, dozens of Rhodes Scholars and more than 18 current and former Caribbean prime ministers and heads of state.
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