Over his career, pianist Monty Alexander has garnered acclaim for bridging American jazz and the music of his native Jamaica, and in June 2024 he returned to SFJAZZ with his trio in a celebration of his 80th birthday and the release of his new album D-Day.

Ranking in the top five in Gene Rizzo’s exhaustive book The Fifty Greatest Piano Players of All Time, Alexander began his piano journey at four and quickly absorbed the folk music of the Caribbean that surrounded him. Pivotal experiences at concerts by the likes of Eddie Heywood, Nat “King” Cole, and Louis Armstrong during their swings through Kingston and the supreme influences of Errol Garner and Oscar Peterson put Alexander on his path to jazz. By the early 60s he was firmly established in New York, working with artists ranging from Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett to Milt Jackson and Ray Brown. Since then, he has recorded over 40 albums as a leader, each bearing the marks of his Caribbean roots. In 2022, Alexander received the Order of Jamaica for "Sterling Contributions to the Promotions of Jamaican Music and the Jazz Genre Interpretations Globally" by the Jamaican government.

Alexander’s 80th birthday is June 6, 2024, which is also the 80th anniversary of D-Day — the pivotal Allied invasion of France in WWII — an event that inspired the name of his new album.

Setlist
Abide With Me Traditional
C Jam Blues Duke Ellington
Reggae Later Monty Alexander
We've Only Just Begun Paul Williams, Roger Nichols
I'll Never Smile Again Ruth Lowe
Restoration Monty Alexander
River of Peace Monty Alexander
Sly Mongoose/Calypso (Medley) Traditional
No Woman, No Cry Vincent Ford
Strangers In The Night/I Left My Heart in San Francisco (Medley) Bert Kaempfert, George Cory, Douglas Cross
King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown Augustus Pablo
Things Ain't What They Used to Be Duke Ellington
Glory Glory Hallelujah Traditional

Personnel
Monty Alexander piano
Luke Sellick bass
Jason Brown drums