Steaming Hot serves as an appropriate title for the repackaging of two of pianist
Monty Alexander's albums from 1985 and 1995, Full Steam Ahead and Steamin'. Both are trio sets, the first with bassist
Ray Brown and drummer
Frank Gant, the latter with bassist
Ira Coleman and drummer
Dion Parson, and serve as a complementary pair. These nice, spare settings give
Alexander plenty of room to showcase his melodic style of straightforward jazz. He's aided by a set list that draws from familiar jazz standards like
Miles Davis' "Freddie Freeloader" and Hammerstein & Kern's "Make Believe," but just as often draws from material outside the canon. Imagine, for example, a mainstream jazz band holding forth on
Mick Jagger and
Keith Richards' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" or
Bob Marley's "Lively Up Yourself." While these tracks may seem a bit out of left field, they sound -- in the hands of these trios -- like good jazz. These tracks also keep the listener's attention. On Steamin',
Alexander also includes two of his own compositions, "Dear Diz" and "Tucker Avenue Stomp."
Steaming Hot offers a fine introduction to
Alexander's work for Concord during the '80s and '90s, and serves as a fine testament to the durable form of the piano trio. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford Jr.