Indonesian child prodigy Joey Alexander plays Giant Steps..
Josiah Alexander Sila (born 25 June 2003),better known as Joey Alexander, is an Indonesian jazz pianist. He became the first Indonesian musician to chart on Billboard 200 when his album, My Favorite Things, debuted at number 174.
A child prodigy, Joey Alexander taught himself to play jazz at age six, by listening to his father's classic jazz albums. He won the Grand Prix at the 2013 Master-Jam Fest when he was nine.
In 2014, Wynton Marsalis invited him to play at Jazz at Lincoln Center, which, according to The New York Times, made him an "overnight sensation". He released his first album, My Favorite Things, in 2015 at age 11. Joey Alexander played at the Montreal and Newport Jazz Festivals in 2015, and has performed for Herbie Hancock, Bill Clinton, Wendy Kiess, and Barack Obama. ( wiki)
Keyboard mag interview from Jan 2017:
“It’s not just technique or how fast you can play, because in order to play this music, you really have to have a kind of maturity and wisdom,” pianist and composer Joey Alexander says, seated beside a 9-foot Hamburg Steinway concert grand in New York City. It's good advice for sure, but even more impressive when you consider this: Joey Alexander is 13 years-old, with the musical and emotional gravitas of an old master. One listen and you believe the hype. This kid is for real.
Since arriving in the United States from Bali, Indonesia, Alexander has soared, with multiple Grammy nominations (including one just announced for his latest release Countdown), prime-time television appearances, and a touring schedule that would be challenging for veterans three times his age.
But what’s most important to the young musician isn’t the accolades or awards he continues to garner. “I understand that people still doubt me as a musician because I’m too young,” he says. “They can say whatever they think, and I respect that. But my hope is for people to focus more on my music.”
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