Alexander Adds Touch of the Caribbean

Pianist Monty Alexander’s musical lineage traces directly through the idiosyncratic styles of Erroll Garner and Ahmad Jamal. Like those highly entertaining artists, he approaches an improvisation with a flowing sense of structure, alternating melodic phrases with sudden bursts of rhythmic harmony.

But Alexander has another lineage as well, associated with the sounds and rhythms of his native Jamaica and the Caribbean. And both those qualities were essential elements in his program Sunday afternoon at Union Station, a presentation of the Da Camera Society’s Chamber Music in Historic Sites.

Working with longtime accompanists Hassan Shakur on bass and Troy Davis on drums, Alexander opened his set with a few originals. “Renewal” was tinged with calypso rhythms, “Got to Got” explored ballad territory and “Crying” was an anthemic tribute to “the people of the world who are not as well off as we are.”

He then recalled the years he spent in the ‘60s working at the New York club of Frank Sinatra’s close associate, Jilly Rizzo, with a medley ranging from “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” to “Young at Heart.”

His interpretations were crisp and articulate, clearly aimed at drawing the audience into his musical orbit. Although Alexander has an impressive capacity to play straight-ahead bop-oriented jazz, he seemed more concerned--for this program, at least--with providing an accessible afternoon of music.

And he largely succeeded in doing precisely that, especially in the second half of his set, which included a tribute to fellow islander Bob Marley, highlighted by a brisk romp through “I Shot the Sheriff.”

It wasn’t until Alexander’s opening solo chorus on “Smile,” however, that he allowed his rich harmonic sensibility to break through with a lush version of the Charlie Chaplin standard. And, during that brief but entrancing passage, one wished that Alexander--despite his unquestioned skills as a musical entertainer--had been more willing to plumb similar emotional depths in the balance of his program.