At the age of six, Joey began teaching himself to play piano using a mini electronic keyboard given to him by his father. 深圳报业集团版权所有， 未经授权禁止复制 Copyright 2010-2020， All Rights Reserved.Donald Nixon Centre for the Arts 1523 Lower Fayetteville Road Newnan GA 30265īorn on Jon the island of Bali, pianist Joey Alexander originally learned about jazz from his dad, who exposed his son to a variety of classic albums from his extensive collection. When you listen to Monk, you can feel that sense of joy and rhythm. “People, when they listen to jazz, often say that it’s so hard to understand. I love to improvise, and jazz is all about improvisation,” Alexander replied. “Well, to me, jazz is all about freedom, the freedom to express myself. I also listened to opera, classical music, some pop music, all kinds of music.” “After Armstrong, I listened to Duke (Ellington), Monk, Miles Davis, John Coltrane. “Some of the first artists I heard were people like Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday,” Alexander recalled. Jazz videos on YouTube provided further guidance. His father then showed him a few keyboard basics. His mother’s side of the family is also musical - her sister is the Indonesian pop singer Nafa Urbach.Īt 6, Alexander began playing a Thelonious Monk song by ear. With more time to evolve and absorb his influences, his potential seems almost limitless.Īlexander’s introduction to jazz came in his native Bali when his father, an amateur pianist, brought jazz CDs home after a visit to the United States. In contrast with most other young jazz phenoms, Alexander refrains from showing off every time he solos, preferring to dig deeper into the music.
What Alexander does is more than simply play the piano with the assured skill and authority of a musician years his senior.īeyond his dazzling virtuosity, he demonstrates a command of harmony, rhythm and improvisation that exceeds his age by several decades. The piano prodigy made an immediate impression on Charles, who is an assistant professor of jazz studies at Michigan State University. When he was 11 his family relocated to New York, after he made his Big Apple debut in 2015 at the Marsalis-led Jazz at Lincoln Center.Īlexander was 11 when Trinidadian trumpeter Etienne Charles first heard him perform at JALC. He grew up there and in Jakarta, where his parents moved to provide him more opportunities to play jazz. I’m very grateful to the Grammys for recognizing my music,” said Alexander.Īlexander was born in Bali’s capital city of Denpasar. The piece he performed was an original composition, “City Lights,” which opens his Grammy-nominated 2016 album “Countdown.” Taylor Swift and Chris Stapleton were among the stars in the audience who rose to give Alexander a standing ovation. The youngest jazz artist showcased in Grammy history, Alexander was only 12 when he performed an unaccompanied solo as part of the 2016 awards telecast.
That was the same year he duetted with piano icon Chick Corea at the Rochester Jazz Festival and performed at the White House, at age 12, with saxophone legend Wayne Shorter and bassist Esperanza Spalding.Īnd unlike other teenagers, Alexander has a fan base that includes jazz greats Wynton Marsalis and Herbie Hancock, who began to champion the Indonesian-born pianist after hearing him play in Jakarta in 2011.
#Joey alexander piano prodigy plus
Unlike any other teenager, he earned Grammy Award nominations in 20 in the Best Improvised Jazz Solo category, plus another in 2016 for Best Jazz Album. Like many teenagers, Alexander collects action figures, likes to swim and cites “Black Panther” as one of his favorite movies. All before his 18th birthday, Alexander has accrued a lifetime of accolades and experiences a jazz pianist could only dream of being a reality. Three-time Grammy Award-nominated pianist Joey Alexander follows his major-label debut album, “WARNA,” with three new singles, “SALT” (March 19), “Under the Sun” (April 23), and “Summer Rising” (May 28) set for global release in spring 2021. Jazz genius and prodigy Joey Alexander to release new singles
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