Mack Avenue Releases Joey Alexander Album

Pianist Joey Alexander on the cover of his Origin album (courtesy of DL Media)

About half a month ago, Mack Avenue Records released Origin, its first album led by pianist Joey Alexander. I have been aware of Alexander for several years but have had very few opportunities to listen to him. I know he was born in 2003 in Denpasar, which is the capital of Bali in Indonesia. That knowledge was sufficient to trigger my awareness, since, when I was living in Singapore during the first half of the Nineties, it was almost impossible to find places were jazz was performed for serious listeners.

As his Wikipedia page observes, Alexander began to teach himself to play jazz at the age of six, having been inspired by his father’s collection of jazz albums. He won his first competition at the age of nine. By 2014 he was invited by Wynton Marsalis to perform at Jazz at Lincoln Center. This was followed by the release of his first album on Motéma, My Favorite Things, in 2015, by which time he was eleven. Origin is his sixth album as leader and the first consisting entirely of his own compositions. One week from this coming Saturday will be his nineteenth birthday.

When I am listening to jazz, one of my primary concerns is the plays-well-with-others factor. Origin is basically a trio++ album. Alexander’s trio partners are Larry Grenadier on bass and Kendrick Scott on drums. There are also “guest appearances” by Gilad Hekselman playing electric guitar on three tracks and Chris Potter alternating between soprano saxophone one one track and tenor saxophone on two others. I have been following Potter primarily through his ECM releases, at least one of which includes Grenadier in his rhythm section.

I have now listened to Origin a few times. I was glad to encounter “Summer Rising” for showing that he is not afraid of five-beat measures. I have also been pleased with the innovative chord progressions that he seeks and then takes as a foundation for embellishment. These days I get much of my jazz from Music Choice, which is part of my xfinity service. I hope it will not take them too long to add Alexander’s tracks to their repertoire.