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Alex Koo

Despite his young age, Belgian-Japanese pianist & composer Alex Koo has already been hailed as a daring innovator and a rising star in the world of jazz & piano. His album Appleblueseagreen, with American icons Ralph Alessi and Mark Turner, was praised by Downbeat Jazz Magazine and included in their list of ‘Best Albums of 2019‘, with the mention “Stunningly original”. Domestically too, one blazing review upon another: “Belgium is too small for pianist Alex Koo” or “We are stunned”, published in De Tijd and Le Soir.

As a child he seemed destined for a career as a classical pianist. As a teenager however, he fell in love with jazz. In his newest album Etudes for Piano (W.E.R.F. records), commissioned by Bozar (Brussels), he merges his fondness for both worlds. Boldness and virtuosity go hand in hand with melancholy and… the surprising use of his elbows. His music is a marriage between the worlds of Debussy, Chopin, Reich, Rachmaninov on the one hand and the contemporary sounds of Keith Jarrett, Craig Taborn, Brian Eno and Philip Glass on the other. A mesmerizing storyteller on the piano.

Awards

First prize Prinses Christina Competition 2011 (NL) SABAM B-Jazz Composition Award 2015 (BE) Fulbright Award-Music Fellowship 2014 (USA-BE) Prins Bernhard Culture Prize 2014 (NL) First prize Dordtse Jazz Award 2014 (NL) Belgian American Educational Foundation Music Fellowship 2015 (USA-BE) Robus Foundation Music Fellowship 2014 (BE

Alex Koo / Attila Gyárfas / Ralph Alessi: Identified Flying Object

Read "Identified Flying Object" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
March 25, 2021

Belgian-Japanese pianist Alex Koo and Hungarian drummer Attila Gyárfás formed the duo Identified Flying Object to explore fully improvised music that has one foot in jazz, one in chamber music, another in minimalism, and a fourth in electronic manipulations. Their initial release Galactic Liturgy (2017) is followed up here with the addition of Ralph Alessi's trumpet and piccolo trumpet. Alessi, along with Mark Turner, was heard on the stunningly beautiful Appleblueseagreen (Clever Tree Records, 2019). Where Galactic Liturgy ...

Album Review

Alex Koo: Appleblueseagreen

Read "Appleblueseagreen" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
June 15, 2019

The Belgian/Japanese pianist/composer Alex Koo enlisted a pair of first call allstars, saxophonist Mark Turner and trumpeter Ralph Alessi, forming an acoustic chamber trio that brings his vision to life on Appleblueseagreen. The title is taken from the literal translation of the Flemish word “appelblauwzeegroen," to describe a color of ambiguous personality. The music is cinematic, with the first three tunes, “enuD," “Dune" and “Funeral March," giving off a vibe of deep, ruminative sadness, like a soundtrack to the aftermath ...

★ ★ ★ ★ “Stunningly original” – Downbeat Jazz Magazine “Belgium is too small for pianist Alex Koo” – De Tijd ★ ★ ★ ★ “West Flemish world citizen (and jazz pianist)” – De Standaard ★ ★ ★ ★ “Koo’s piano notes and Gyárfás’ brush-work falling as raindrops with Alessi’s furtive trumpet whispering into the eventual nebulizing electronic haze” – All About Jazz ★ ★ ★ ★ “Koo is the type of piano player that appears to be painting with luscious pastel strokes. Melodies that, like a goldfinch, elegantly lift off and settle down again.” – Trouw