Joey Alexander
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Joey Alexander , actually Josiah Alexander Sila (* 2003 in Denpasar , Bali ), is an Indonesian jazz pianist. He is considered a musical child prodigy.
Life
Alexander started playing the piano at the age of six. He immediately picked up the tune of Thelonious Monks Well, You Needn't and other jazz standards from his father's record collection by ear . The parents recognized the talent and moved with him to Jakarta to enable their son to come into contact with the musicians of the local jazz scene. When he was eight, Alexander played at a UNESCO event where Herbie Hancock heard him; Alexander said that his praise encouraged him to concentrate fully on jazz.
Alexander released his first album, My Favorite Things , at the age of eleven, on May 12, 2015, on Motéma Records. It reached number 2 in the US jazz charts and also placed in the official sales charts . He had important concert appearances at the Jakarta Jazz Festival 2014 and the Copenhagen Jazz Festival in the same year. In July 2015 he headlined the renowned Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, USA for the first time . Wynton Marsalis , artistic director of the institute and the Jazz at Lincoln Center concert series in New York, invited Joey Alexander to appear at the organization's 2014 gala. Impresario and jazz pianist George Wein said after hearing him play for the first time: “Hearing Joey play made an impression the likes of which I have never seen before on a musician his age. There is individuality in his style and a unique maturity in the structure of his harmonies, which goes far beyond what would be expected from a musician of his age. "
Alexander has been nominated three times for Grammy Awards . In 2015 he was the youngest nominee of all time with Countdown as the best improvised jazz solo. In 2016 he was nominated for best solo jazz improvisation with Giant Steps and for best jazz instrumental album with My Favorite Things .
Joey Alexander has lived in New York with his parents since 2014 . He was granted a visa "for individuals with extraordinary abilities" from the US immigration service.
Discography
- My Favorite Things (2015), with Alphonso Horne , Larry Grenadier and Russell Hall , Ulysses Owens , Sammy Miller
- Countdown (Motéma, 2016), with Chris Potter , Larry Grenadier, Dan Chmielinski , Ulysses Owens
- Joey. Monk. Live! (Motéma, 2017), with Scott Colley , Willie Jones III
- Eclipse (Motéma, 2018), with Joshua Redman , Reuben Rogers , Eric Harland
- Varna (Verve, 2020), with Larry Grenadier , Anne Drummond, Luisito Quintero , Kendrick Scott
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b US chart history
- ↑ a b Wunderkind des Jazz-Piano (BR-Klassik) ( Memento of the original from January 2, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Eleven-year-old jazz prodigy from Indonesia thrills audience , Ostthüringer Zeitung, June 20, 2015 (payment barrier).
- ↑ Joey Alexander. grammy.com, accessed May 2, 2018 .
- ↑ 13-year-old jazz panist enchants the music world. In: BR Classic. December 7, 2016, accessed May 2, 2018 .
- ↑ Reinhard Köchl: This child prodigy enchants the jazz world. In: Augsburger Allgemeine. June 8, 2017, accessed May 2, 2018 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Alexander, Joey |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Sila, Josiah Alexander (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Indonesian jazz pianist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 2003 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Denpasar , Bali |