Alexander was born on 6 June 1944 in
Kingston, Jamaica. He discovered the piano when he was four years old and seemed to have a knack for picking melodies out by ear. His mother sent him to classical music lessons at the age of six and he became interested in
jazz piano at the age of 14. Monty boarded at DeCarteret College in Mandeville, then continued his education and musical prowess at Jamaica College. He began playing in clubs, and on recording sessions by
Clue J & His Blues Blasters, subbing for
Aubrey Adams, whom he describes as his hero, when he was unable to play. Two years later, Alexander directed a dance orchestra (Monty and the Cyclones) and played in the local clubs covering much of the 1960s early rock and pop dance hits. Performances at the
Carib Theatre in Jamaica by
Louis Armstrong and
Nat King Cole left a strong impression on the young pianist. Alexander and his family moved to
Miami, Florida, in 1961, where he played in various nightclubs. One night Monty was brought to the attention of
Frank Sinatra and Frank's friend
Jilly Rizzo. They were there to see the act in the next room, a Sinatra imitator. Somebody suggested they also check out the kid playing piano in the front room bar, "He's swinging the room pretty good" they said. Thus, Monty was invited to New York City in 1962 to become the house pianist for
Jilly Rizzo's night club and restaurant simply called "Jilly's." In addition to performing with Frank Sinatra there, Alexander also met and became friends with bassist
Ray Brown and vibist
Milt Jackson. He also became friendly with
Miles Davis, both men sharing a love of watching boxing matches. In Los Angeles, in 1964, Alexander recorded his first album,
Alexander the Great, for
Pacific Jazz, at the age of 20. The album was very energetic and upbeat, with the climax tune being "Blues for Jilly". He recorded with
Milt Jackson in 1969, with
Ernest Ranglin in 1974 and in Europe the same year with
Ed Thigpen. Alexander toured regularly in Europe and recorded there, mostly with his classic trio for MPS Records. He also toured around 1976 with the
steelpan player
Othello Molineaux. In the mid-1970s, he formed a group consisting of
John Clayton on bass and
Jeff Hamilton on drums, creating a stir on the jazz-scene in Europe. Their most famous collaboration is
Montreux Alexander, recorded during the
Montreux Jazz Festival in July 1976. A year later in 1977, Alexander recorded again with Milt Jackson on the LP
Soul Fusion. Jackson used Alexander's trio (with bassist John Clayton and drummer Jeff Hamilton, future big-band co-leaders) for the
Pablo recorded LP which was later issued on CD through Original Jazz Classics. Much of the material is obscure (including Jackson's three originals), with
Stevie Wonder's "
Isn't She Lovely" being the only jazz standard on the album. Alexander has also played with several singers, among them
Ernestine Anderson and
Mary Stallings, as well as with other important leaders (
Dizzy Gillespie,
Benny Golson,
Jimmy Griffin and
Frank Morgan). In his successive trios, Alexander has played frequently with musicians associated with
Oscar Peterson:
Herb Ellis,
Ray Brown,
Mads Vinding,
Ed Thigpen and
Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen. Alexander formed a reggae band in the 1990s, featuring all Jamaican musicians. He has released several reggae albums, including
Yard Movement (1996),
Stir It Up (1999, a collection of
Bob Marley songs),
Monty Meets Sly & Robbie (2000), and ''Goin' Yard
(2001). He collaborated again with Ranglin in 2004 on the album Rocksteady''. ==Personal life==