Pianist and composer Ramon Alexander is considered a leading exponent of Cape Jazz. He studied jazz piano under Merton Barrow at The Jazz Workshop in Cape Town after he finished high school. He however graduated with a B.Sc.Agric) from Stellenbosch University in 2004 in viticulture and oenology.
Since he was selected as pianist for the Standard Bank National Youth Big Band in 2004, Alexander worked with a variety of artists such as Robbie Jansen, Errol Dyers, McCoy Mrubata, Mark Hauser, Tuur Forizone , Frank Paco’s Art Ensemble, Japanese trumpet legend, Terumasa Hino and The Cape Jazz Band, led by veteran drummer Jack Momple.
His ensemble has performed at numerous local and international music festivals, notably the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, Borneo International Jazz Festival, The Darling Music Experience as well a residency at No Black Tie Jazz Clubin Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2019.
Alexander has two albums to his credit. (Picnic at Kontiki [2011] and Echoes from Louwskloof [2015] ). In 2018 Cape Jazz Pianowas released by Mountain Records. He’s also produced numerous recording projects across various genres, most notably Essence of Spring [2018] by Cape Town jazz icon Ibrahim Khalil Shihab.
He also regularly conducts jazz ensemble workshops youth bands in the Western Cape.