"I'm one of the most hardworking and laziest people I know. I can champion both."
Five decades on, Jeremy Monteiro shows no sign of flagging — be it enthusiasm, desire or recording.
The prolific jazz pianist, composer, author and Cultural Medallion winner continues his prodigious output with a number of recordings that straddle different genres.
Having found his singing voice, Jeremy has been experimenting over the years with the occasional vocal track. He’s bravely come out of the shower with Jeremy Monteiro Sings, an album of his vocal tracks.
Producing the album was not without its own challenges. After contracting covid, Jeremy found he couldn’t pitch.
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After a six-month delay, things returned to normal and the album was finalised in Germany.
Jeremy has also ventured into the classical genre with the Resound Collective.
The result of a wonderful collaboration onstage at the Singapore Conference Hall in January 2022, one track from that concert, Overture No. 2 In C Major Through The Golden Door, has been released under the classical category.
The full recording of that concert, Tapestry, will be reissued. And more jazz is forthcoming with saxophonist Sean Hong Wei — The New Jersey Sessions.
“It’s important to have more than one name representing Singapore jazz,” Jeremy insists, ready to pass on the mantle at some point.
By year’s end, Jeremy would have released 49 albums, and he plans to release his 50th when he turns 65, in 2025.
He plans to ease up for now, he says. But reckons even at 30% of his usual output, “it’s still going to be a lot”.
