#JOEY PIANO PRODIGY PLUS#

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. His 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. With more time to evolve and absorb his influences, his potential seems almost limitless.Īlexander was born Josiah Alexander Sila. 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.

Joey is a beast! He’s a great player and a really nice kid. “Then I saw him perform at the Java Jazz Festival. Joey opened for us, solo,” Charles recalled. “I was playing with (pianist) Marcus Roberts at JALC in 2015. The piano prodigy made an immediate impression on Charles, who is an assistant professor of jazz studies at Michigan State University. “It’s such a true honor for me.”Īlexander was 11 when Trinidadian trumpeter Etienne Charles first heard him perform at JALC. “Oh, I’m so honored to hear that, coming from Wynton Marsalis,” he said.

In a recent phone interview from New York, Alexander sounded both flattered and a bit embarrassed when Marsalis’ glowing praise was repeated for him. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Jazz At Lincoln Center ) 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 to be 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 14-year-olds, 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 PIANO PRODIGY PLUS#

Unlike any other 14-year-olds, he earned Grammy Award nominations in 20 in the Best Improvised Jazz Solo category, plus another in 2016 for Best Jazz Album. Like many 14-year-olds, Joey Alexander collects action figures, likes to swim and cites “Black Panther” as his favorite recent movie.

Joey piano prodigy