Joey Alexander

Acclaimed as a child prodigy, Indonesian jazz pianist Joey Alexander amazed the audience at the Lincoln Center when he performed there in 2014 after he had won praise in Asia and Europe and the Grand Prix at the open Master-Jam Fest in Ukraine when he was just nine years-old. He now tours the world's great concert venues and has released three albums and earned three Grammy Award nominations.

Born on the island of Bali in Indonesia, his musical parents moved the family to Jakarta so that he could pursue his ambitions. He had been inspired, he says, by listening to his father's albums by artists such as Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, John Coltrane and Herbie Hancock, who heard him play at a UNESCO event in his homeland and encouraged him to continue.

His family moved to New York in 2014 and after his breakthrough at the Lincoln Center he performed at top international festivals including the Newport Jazz Festival and major venues around the world. Press coverage and appearances on American television shows fuelled his popularity and his debut album 'My Favourite Things' topped Billboard's Jazz Albums Chart in 2016 as did his second release, 'Countdown', the same year. 'My Favourite Things' was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album and a track from the album, John Coltrane's 'Giant Steps', was nominated for Best Improvised Jazz Solo. He earned another nomination in the same category for his version of Coltrane's 'Countdown' on the album with the same title.

The New York Times called Alexander "a thoughtful musician as well as a natural one, with a sophisticated harmonic palette and a dynamic sensitivity". The young pianist's latest album 'Joey. Monk. Live' came out in 2017 and went to number 20 on the Billboard Jazz Chart. In 2018 he released his fourth album 'Eclipse'.