Search - Monty Alexander :: Weve Only Just Begun

The hardest-swinging record of all time?

Samuel Chell | Kenosha,, WI United States | 06/22/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Thank you, record companies of America for letting another masterpiece get by you and under the radar (but probably not the pocketbooks) of discerning domestic listeners. I've heard an awful lot, including maybe 40-50 "full-strength" Oscar Peterson trio albums, but nothing to equal this Monty Alexander session.



A live date at some motel in Buffalo, New York, this was one of those "once only" occasions on which the chemistry could not have been more volatile, explosive or kinetic. Monty's work-out on "It Could Happen to You," a marathon 20+ minutes of heated swinging that just keeps building and building, then throwing the listener by hinting at a cadence only to repeat the process, is one not just for the record but the record books. It's a performance that only someone as talented, energetic, young and foolish as Monty was at the time could have pulled off. And whereas Oscar often overwhelms the listener, filling all of the space with his pianistics, Monty manages to include the listener every step of the way.



Eugene Wright was known as Dave Brubeck's bassist but not, especially, as a dominating walker. Bobby Durham was known as Oscar Peterson's drummer (i.e. percussion-athlete). These three guys on this night simply served up a non-repeatable musical event. This is the epitome of "swing"--the first recording I go to when demonstrating what Duke Ellington meant by his famous statement.



[Note: The transfer on this Universal Classics-Japan disc is adequate, but I'm not convinced it was made from the master tape. The piano lacks the warmth and naturalness of the LP version; at times Wright's bass is gratuitously (irritatingly) boosted in the mix; the percussion may be slightly brighter (that part's OK). Also, the booklet is in Japanese, and the reproduction of the orginal liner notes on the back of the MPS LP is without a doubt the most illegible such attempt I have ever seen--completely useless. All the same, until/if we see better, and if you're not willing to go bidding for a mint copy of the LP on eBay, the performance, the program, the chemistry make this one indispensable.]"