Gig review/ NCPA International Jazz Festival Day 2

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR

NCPA International Jazz Festival/ Day 2

Artiste: Monty Alexander and Band

Details: Tata Theatre, Mumbai, November 26

Rating: ****

At one point, the Tata Theatre audience just decided to let loose, and sing along with Jamaican piano great Monty Alexander. After all, who didn't know the words of Harry Belafonte's 'Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)'? "Daylight come and we want go home".

Very few actually wanted to go home till daylight came. If the opening day of the NCPA International Jazz Festival featured the marvellous Mingus Big Band in their horn and piano glory, Monty and his band offered a completely different palette, blending popular jazz tunes with traditional Jamaican mento and reggae on Day 2. Appropriately, the show was themed 'Jamaica To Jazz'.

Monty was a delight on the grand piano, with immaculate phrasing and constant surprises. To add to the musical virtuosity, he had a fabulous sense of humour, and even regaled the audience with stories about his encounters with the legendary Frank Sinatra and sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, or his experience of watching West Indian cricketers Gary Sobers, Vivian Richards, Brian Lara and Michael Holding.

Playing piano from the age of four, Monty learnt entirely by ear. "I never went to any academies or conservatories, and I never learnt to read music. Even today, if someone gives me music on a sheet, I feel nervous," he said.

Monty didn't sing as much as one expected, considering that he recently released the album Love Notes as a vocalist and pianist. From that record, he just sang an excerpt from Belafonte's 'Island In The Sun'.

In the first half, after the introductions by host Brian Tellis, Monty was accompanied by acoustic bassist Luke Sellick and drummer Jason Brown. His interpretation of the Carpenters song 'We've Only Just Begun', an excerpt from the soundtrack of the 1962 James Bond film Dr No, and his own composition 'You Can See' were played with charm. Monty also paid tribute to Sinatra with 'Come Fly With Me' and 'I've Got You Under My Skin'.

The second half featured a fabulous version of Bob Marley's 'No Woman No Cry', with electric bassist Joshua Thomas chipping in on vocals. Trombonist Dennis Rollins had come in by then, and did some superlative work on 'Hurricane', a song Monty had written about the calamity in Jamaica in the 1950s.

Alexander's other composition, the serene 'The River', was one of the evening's highlights, given its simple piano melody. It provided a nice detour from the more popular pieces. Come to think of it, the show was special because of the variety, both in the genres played and the type of repertoire.

Each of the accompanists merged beautifully into the group. It's rare to see an acoustic upright bass play alongside an electric bass, and here we had a bass duet in the encore. Needless to say, Monty held the show together, both with his music and showmanship. His occasional use of the melodica added a twist.

A sample of his humour was evident just before the break. "We have Jason Brown on drums. We have Luke Sellick on acoustic bass," he announced to much applause. Then, he elicited laughter when he said, very poker-faced, playing a few notes, "It's me on piano".

Two days of great music have raised the bar. Tonight, German pianist Thilo Wolf's Jazz Quartett and vocalist Johanna Iser will conclude the festival. A whole group of avid jazz fans is anxiously waiting. The concert has been titled 'A Swinging Affair'. Swing along.