Monte Croft

Monte Croft, a skilled vibraphonist whose singing leans toward R&B, issued a strong Columbia album in 1989 and a more pop-oriented sequel the next year, though he has kept a fairly quiet presence in music since that time. At age ten a drum kit arrived as a Christmas present, and he began practicing right away. By fourteen he had shifted to vibes; while his main listening centered on R&B and soul, jazz also caught his ear. He enrolled at the Berklee School of Music in 1979 and built experience through local club dates. After moving to New York in 1983, he performed with Branford Marsalis, the Terence Blanchard-Donald Harrison group, James Spaulding, and others, then assembled his own band and recorded the Columbia releases.