| Yard Movement | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Monty Alexander |
| Cover: | Yard Movement.jpg |
| Released: | 1996 |
| Recorded: | 1995 |
| Genre: | Jazz, reggae |
| Label: | Island Jamaica Jazz |
| Prev Title: | Many Rivers to Cross |
| Prev Year: | 1995 |
| Next Title: | Echoes of Jilly's |
| Next Year: | 1996 |
Yard Movement is an album by the Jamaican American musician Monty Alexander, released in 1996.[1] [2] Alexander supported the album with a UK tour that included Ernest Ranglin; Alexander also undertook a North American tour.[3] [4] With Ranglin's Below the Baseline, Yard Movement was the first album from Island Records' Island Jamaica Jazz label.[5] The album peaked at No. 25 on the Official Jazz & Blues Albums Chart.[6] Alexander subsequently formed a band he named Yard Movement.[7]
Three songs were recorded at the 1995 Montreux Jazz Festival. "Exodus" is a combination of the "Theme of Exodus" with Bob Marley's "Exodus". Lennox "Boogsie" Sharpe played steelpan on "Crying".[8] "Regulator" was inspired by Nat Adderley's "Work Song".[8] Ernest Ranglin played lead guitar on Yard Movement.[9]
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote that "a technical bravado and engaging emotionalism mark the eight compositions of Yard Movement, Alexander favoring ripening glissandos to achieve his notable effects."[10] The Guardian determined that Yard Movement "does capture much of the infectious appeal of his live shows, shows how effectively his improvising can avoid repetition when he's hot, and presents a crisp and energetic band."[11] The South Wales Evening Post noted that the album "demonstrates his early musical influences and social experiences."[12] The Houston Chronicle opined that Alexander "sounds like an herbally fortified cocktail pianist gone mad," and listed the album among the best of 1996.[13]
AllMusic wrote: "Essentially smooth bop laid in over heavy reggae basslines, the tracks on Yard Movement ... work surprisingly well, grooving and shifting directions with a deceptive ease, and Ranglin's bright, bubbly guitar is a continual delight throughout."