idlero
You couldn't find a better title for an album, absolutely uplifting! That is what jazz should be about(especially live performances)-music that swings, music that makes you smile , music that makes you tap your feet. Self-taught and unable to read traditional music notation,, with a career spanning over 50 years, Monty Alexande might be one of the most underrated piano players alive , but for sure he is one of the most enjoyable ones. The album is a collection of 10 tunes recorded in live performances from 2007 to 2010 in which Monty Alexander Alexander is backed by a trio featuring bassist Hassan Shakur and drummer Herlin Riley, who is replaced on three tracks by Frits Landesbergen and contains pop and jazz standards along with three Alexander originals-Renewal, Hope and Home. Inventive, provocative, continually surprising, quoting from Bizet's Carmen to Monk, Mary had a Little Lamb, etc...etc.., Monty Alexander gives his public exactly what he asks for-fun, and entertainment of the highest quality. One of the most enjoyable albums of 2011.