I also love composing and I hope to compose more music in the future. Is that more satisfying than playing music from others?Īlexander: I love playing music from the greats. Performing is the chance to share your music and that is really fun.ĪF: You have written a lot of your own music. You have to work on the music, prepare the music. It’s God’s gift, a calling for me to share. The pressure, I believe, is the responsibility to work on your gift. You’re always evolving.ĪF: As a serious professional, does this feel like a lot of pressure for you? Do you ever get to be just a teenager playing video games?Īlexander: I do play video games. I always evolve, especially on stage with my bandmates. To me, these are musical conversations about all the beautiful things I love when playing on stage.ĪF: Do you find yourself still evolving musically at age 15?Īlexander: My music has been evolving with every project that I do. There were a few collections that helped me get started. Piano players, horn players, gospel singers like Aretha Franklin, all inspired me. I also felt the spiritual side of the music and that pushed me to get better.ĪF: Were there specific artists you admired?Īlexander: All of them. They were having a conversation and it was so much fun.
I loved the dialogue between the musicians. I felt the freedom and the joy of this music. Joey Alexander: My father listened to lots of music and I happened to listen to the jazz. The pianist spoke to The Arts Fuse about his short but immense musical journey so far.Īrts Fuse: Who or what motivated you to play jazz?
On November 11 Alexander is scheduled for a Boston-area performance at The Cabot Theater in Beverly. This year also marked Alexander’s participation in the Legion of Peace, a jazz-based children’s music album featuring musical profiles of eight Nobel Peace Prize laureates, such as Desmond Tutu, Malala Yousafzai, and Jimmy Carter. The album features Larry Grenadier and Eric Harland and includes Alexander’s memorable rendition of the Louis Armstrong classic “What a Wonderful World.” His latest recording, A Joey Alexander Christmas, is a four-song EP from Motema Music that reflects his deep faith. He released Eclipse in 2017, recorded over a three-day period beginning on the day of the solar eclipse that summer. And, if it’s possible, he’s become better and more versatile as one of the finest jazz pianists at work today. This native of Bali, Indonesia has spent the past three years performing around the world, recording three albums. Now, Alexander is a wizened veteran of 15. He was on NPR, the Today Show, and 60 Minutes and it was clear he was far more comfortable at the keyboard than in front of a microphone. His prowess has spawned three Grammy nominations and a raft of media attention. This young jazz performer, entirely self-taught, played like a combination of Bill Evans and Thelonius Monk, a rare mix of creative genius and keyboard dexterity that seemed impossible emanating from one so young. I try not to repeat myself in print, but that review of his performance began this way: “You run out of adjectives long before your mind can wrap itself around what you are witnessing.”
He had already begun to gain international acclaim as a wunderkind jazz prodigy and this elfin performer - with his shock of black hair and dark glasses - was wowing audiences from Lincoln Center to Paris. When I first saw Joey Alexander perform in 2015, he was all of 12 years old. It’s God’s gift, a calling for me to share.” Pianist Joey Alexander. “The pressure, I believe, is the responsibility to work on your gift.
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