Pianist Monty Alexander‘s discography is plethoric and of excellent quality. So it’s hard to single out just one album, even if it’s true that the public probably discovered him with Stir It Up, a 1999 cover of Bob Marley’s greatest hits. But the Jamaican pianist has long exploited the island heritage in which he is immersed. On 1978’s Cobilimbo, he is accompanied, as he often is, by Ernest Ranglin on guitar, joined here by Vincent Taylor on steel drums, giving the album a deeply Caribbean flavour. We move from the reggae of Out Of Many People, One to the joyous calypso of Ripe Banana, not forgetting the Caribbean-style funk of Muko, and even the samba of Caribea, which closes the program. Ernest Ranglin’s choruses are luminous, and Alexander responds as always with brilliance, a testament to their longstanding complicity. Cobilimbo features a majority of the pianist’s compositions, as well as two covers, Jammin’ – a straight jazz version with breathtaking swinging dexterity – and a poignant Many Rivers To Cross. And as a bonus, the copy pictured here is signed by the master himself!
Cobilimbo – Monty Alexander, 1978
