Home » Jazz Articles » Radio & Podcasts » Joey Alexander: I Just Happened To Start Early

2

Joey Alexander: I Just Happened To Start Early

Click the play button to listen

When Joey Alexander made his first appearance in the States nearly a decade ago, it seemed to send a kind of shockwave through the jazz world. He was 10 years old when Wynton Marsalis invited him to travel from his native Indonesia (he was born in Bali but moved to Jakarta to pursue his music) to New York to perform at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Gala. He played a solo arrangement of "Round Midnight." It was incredible.

Alexander subsequently moved to the United States with his family and has been touring and recording ever since. Today he is 20 years old and releasing his seventh solo album Continuance (Mack Avenue). It features his working trio Kris Funn on bass and John Davis on drums along with trumpeter Theo Croker.

Here he talks about his journey out of Bali and onto the bandstand, what it was like for him to be thrust into the limelight at such a young age, what he hopes for the future, and his new record.

About Joey Alexander

Tags


PREVIOUS / NEXT



Joey Alexander Concerts

Oct 14 Wed
Oct 14 Wed
Oct 24 Sat
Oct 24 Sat
Oct 25 Sun
Oct 25 Sun

Become a Sustaining Member

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter

Since 1995, All About Jazz has championed jazz as an art form and supported the musicians who create it. Over three decades, it has grown into one of the world's leading jazz resources, serving hundreds of thousands of readers, musicians, presenters and industry professionals each month.

Help Build the Future of All About Jazz

Your support helps us continue building All About Jazz for the next generation—expanding our editorial coverage, preserving jazz history, developing new community features and creating better ways to discover the music and the people behind it.

Become a sustaining member for as little as $20 per year and you'll immediately enjoy an ad-free experience along with access to subscriber features and future articles for a full year.

Together, we're not simply sustaining All About Jazz—we're building its future. Thank you for being part of the journey.

Radio & Podcasts


Tune in daily to hear the internet's top jazz programs including Mondo Jazz, Jazz Bastard, The Tonearm, Liner Notes, World of Jazz, Allston Boylston, One Man's Jazz, The Outer View, Neon Jazz, A Broad Spectrum, Bitches Brew and more. View our program schedule and check this week's JazzWeek Radio Chart.

Popular

Read Charlie Haden: Anatomy of a Jazz Classic
Reanimating Conversations Past
Charlie Haden: Anatomy of a Jazz Classic
Read Mark Gross: Jazz for Teens

HIDDEN GEMS

Jazz article: Bebop, Beats, and the Drive of Beat Literature
Jazz article: Ruslan Sirota: A Journey Away
Jazz article: Celebrate songwriters Abbey Lincoln and Bernice Petkere

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletters highlight our top stories, top album reviews, website news, free songs, radio & podcast shows, news, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.