The Best of MPS Years

“Oscar Peterson must have said something very complimentary about me. From that point on they paid attention to me, thinking that Monty must be someone new on the scene that might end up recording for MPS. And that’s exactly what happened”, recalls Monty Alexander about his first encounter with MPS founder Hans Georg Brunner Schwer during an Oscar Peterson recording session he snuck in to. Monty Alexander has been one of the most popular pianists in jazz for over 50 years. Early on, his prodigious technique and wide-ranging style garnered comparisons with the great Oscar Peterson. But there has always been another side to Alexander’s playing. Usually, jazz grabs the upper hand, but on occasion he digs deep into his Jamaican roots. The 1974 We’ve Only Just Begun recording signals the beginning of Jamaican pianist Monty Alexander’s fruitful relationship with MPS, lasting over a decade and encompassing some dozen albums. On many he partners with no one else than fellow Jamaican and one of the fathers of ska, guitarist Ernest Ranglin. Among others, this Best Of includes tracks from Monty’s MPS classics like RASS!, Here Comes The Sun, Montreux Alexander – The Monty Alexander Trio Live At Montreux, We’ve Only just Begun, Monty Strikes Again, Cobilimbo, or the untitled Monty Alexander & Ernest Ranglin.