artist info

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.

The youngest artist ever nominated for a GRAMMY in the jazz category.

As 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. Since his U.S. 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. 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. 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, Joey.Monk.Live!, have established the young pianist as a seasoned veteran and emerging composer whose musical life is just beginning.