9/18/2023 0 Comments Alexander piano prodigy![]() ![]() On the trio-only tracks, you can hear a masterful sense of touch, as Alexander uses dynamic and texture as well as chops. How is Alexander if we hear him not as a prodigy but as a serious improviser and composer who deserves to have the withering ear of a critic doubt him? Photo: Stevie Chris / Courtesy of Mack AvenueĪlexander in 2022 is the real deal-a superb modern mainstream player who writes compelling themes and improvises in a captivating, orchestral style. It is a program of all original music, with Larry Grenadier (bass) and Kendrick Scott (drums) in the rhythm section and guest appearances by other top talents in saxophonist Chris Potter and guitarist Gilad Hekselman. Origin, which came out this past spring as his debut on Mack Avenue, seems like an excellent place to start. Why not let him mature as an artist and a person and then listen to him seriously? But as someone who reviews jazz recordings professionally, I stayed away from Alexander, even as a listener. By all accounts (including Marsalis), he was dazzling and mature from the start. He released his first recording a year later.Īlexander taught himself the music by listening to his dad’s records, diving into Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane the way most early piano students take on “Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star”. Joey Alexander is only 19 years old, but he has been a jazz phenom for a decade, at least since he played for Herbie Hancock in his home country (Indonesia) and certainly since Wynton Marsalis invited him to play at Jazz at Lincoln Center in 2014, when he was just ten. ![]() ![]() This year has brought us two new albums for former prodigies ready to be heard for real: pianist Joey Alexander and vocalist Nikki Yanofsky. Rather than judge musicians too early, I have learned it’s better to wait a while and see what develops. Wow, you think, “those are chops!” On second listen, though, you might wonder if a mere kid has any heart or has anything interesting to say. Because the requirements of technical proficiency are so high-at least in jazz and classical music-there is some pure dazzle when a youngster can cut it. Purchase tickets HERE.Music is an art form prone to prodigies. Headlining performances at the most illustrious venues around the world, the 2016 release of his second GRAMMY-nominated album, Countdown, and his 2017 session dedicated to Thelonious Monk, !, have established the young pianist as a seasoned veteran and emerging composer whose musical life is just beginning. His 2015 debut release on the Motéma label, My Favorite Things, received two GRAMMY nominations for Best Instrumental Jazz Album and Best Improvised Jazz Solo, making Alexander the youngest artist ever nominated for a GRAMMY in the jazz category. debut three years ago at the Jazz at Lincoln Center gala, the Bali-born pianist has rocketed to stardom via a performance on the 2016 GRAMMY awards, a feature segment on 60 Minutes, an appearance on the Today show, a TED conference, and appearing in a trio with Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding at the White House in an nationally televised celebration of International Jazz Day. The youngest artist ever nominated for a GRAMMY in the jazz category.Īs opposed being a product of a rigorous training program, Alexander is an autodidact, picking up the keyboard at age six, being inspired by the music of Thelonious Monk, and progressing through intuition and deep musical feeling. Championed by Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, and Wynton Marsalis, 15-year-old Joey Alexander is the brightest young light in jazz piano – a young star whose emotional range and musical maturity confounds the stereotypical definition of a jazz prodigy. ![]()
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