Sixty-one years after he moved to the United States from Kingston, Jamaica, his hometown, Grammy-nominated pianist Monty Alexander is an American classic, touring the world relentlessly with various projects, delighting a global audience drawn to his vibrant personality and soulful message.

A perennial favorite at jazz festivals and venues worldwide and at the Montreux Jazz Festival where he has appeared 23 times since 1976, his spirited conception is one informed by the timeless verities: endless melody-making, effervescent grooves, sophisticated voicings, a romantic spirit, and a consistent predisposition, as Alexander accurately states, “to build up the heat and kick up a storm.”

In the course of any given performance, Alexander applies these aesthetics to a repertoire spanning a broad range of classic jazz and Jamaican musical expressions.

Documented on more than 75 recordings, the Jamaican government conferred on him the national honor of the Order of Jamaica in 2022 for "Sterling Contributions to the Promotions of Jamaican Music and the Jazz Genre Interpretations Globally." He was designated Commander in the Order of Distinction in 2000 and in 2018 the University of The West Indies bestowed him with an honorary doctorate (DLitt) in recognition of his accomplishments.

Monty's latest album (November 2022) is titled The Montreux Years and was recorded during four of Monty Alexander's iconic performances at the Montreux Jazz Festival between 1993 and 2016. The Montreux Years was hailed as best jazz album of 2022. His latest studio album (August 2022) is titled Love Notes and is his first recording featuring his vocals.

The Monty Alexander Movie, a documentary on Monty’s life and music directed by Academy Award-winning cinematographer Jefferson Miller, and veteran filmmaker Arthur Gorson, is currently in production in Jamaica, the U.S. and Europe.

In 2024, Monty is poised to release a new recording and embark on a very special tour of France and Europe in celebration of his 80th birthday: June 6, 1944 a.k.a. D-Day, a day he proudly shares with world history.

“Even now, it’s one world of music for me,” Alexander says. “I try to remove all the lines. Even though I do this thing and that thing and the other thing, at the end of the day it’s Monty Alexander.

"I love Jamaica. I love America. I love them both together more than each one separately. I inhabit the rhythmic aspect of both things. I can’t explain why. I do it naturally and joyfully. I am confident and proud and privileged to say that I come from a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic thing. The slogan of Jamaica is like America’s ‘E Pluribus Unum,’ ‘out of many, one people.’”