At times he seems to be in awe of his own ability. He and his family are Christian, and Alexander repeatedly refers to his talent as a “gift”. “That’s how I really started my career as a musician, I think. At nine he won the inaugural “Master-Jam” jazz festival, and when he was 10 one of his YouTube videos was spotted by Wynton Marsalis, the nine-time Grammy winner and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, who invited him to play in New York. The family realised Alexander’s talent, and by the time he was eight they had uprooted to Jakarta so he could accelerate his learning closer to Indonesia’s jazz scene. His dad, Denny, was an amateur musician, and soon started taking his young son to jam sessions in Bali. Soul Dreamer, the last track on Countdown, was the first song he wrote, when he was 10 years old.Īlexander had taught himself to play the piano – using a mini electric keyboard – four years earlier. “And my dad will record it so I can remember it.”Īfter his dad records his explorations Alexander listens back and refines his work, spending about a month on each song.
“I just explore chords and melodies and then suddenly these ideas come out to me,” Alexander says.
He declines coffee or tea, although his agent promises him a post-interview tiramisu, and starts to tell me about his songwriting process. He looks like he could be in a very young boyband. He’s wearing a navy blue peacoat, skinny jeans and black sneakers, and has a Beatles-style haircut looming above thick framed glasses. The three of them moved here from their home country of Indonesia two years ago, and have settled in SoHo, a trendy Manhattan neighbourhood.Īlexander looks the part. “Every moment is special to me every place and venue I go, I always have fun every time and every person I get to meet is interesting and I learn a lot about music.We’ve arranged to meet in a steak restaurant in New York City, where Alexander has been living with his parents for the past two years. That’s the most important thing to me as a musician, and to always have fun,” Alexander says. For me, I want people to feel the joy of this music and I want to be a good force for the people. “I was grateful to God that I had a positive response on my first album. I’m so thankful to them, and that’s a fun thing for me-just making the music- and every song is my favorite,” he says of the recording process. “The best part of it was making music with great musicians. I listen to all of that.”Īlexander and his parents now live in New York City but, he says, “I still feel that Indonesia is my home because I have family there, too.” When he’s not touring, he enjoys more traditional 13-year-old activities like watching movies, swimming, playing games, playing with action figures, and, of course, practicing piano.įor his latest release, the nine-track Countdown (Motema), Alexander offers impressive original compositions as well as fresh takes on several covers. “I love classical and gospel and a lot of musicians, not just jazz-Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Debussy. He also learned the fundamentals from his father, who “taught me some piano and basic chords and loves music,” Alexander says, adding that they listened to a lot of definitive jazz records together. “Sometimes, my family and I would tour around with playing, and that’s how I learned the music.” “There was one guy who would call me to play jam sessions with him,” Alexander says, mentioning that he grew up on the music of his home country of Bali as well as other forms of jazz. The Indonesian wunderkind started teaching himself to play piano at 6 with a mini electronic keyboard at home, learning Thelonious Monk songs by ear, and then began performing for audiences when he was 8 years old. As musicians, we do that to play for the people-it’s normal to us.” “I don’t think I’m that busy-as a musician, I’m having a normal life,” the pianist says from his hotel room before a gig at California’s Mondavi Center with the Joey Alexander Trio (while adding that he does his schoolwork online).
At 13 years old, Joey Alexander has already released two jazz albums, toured major festivals around the world, met his musical idols, played at the White House, joined Wynton Marsalis for a performance, hosted a residency at Jazz at Lincoln Center and received two Grammy nominations.
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