ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Joey Alexander - Jazz pianist
Young piano player Joey Alexander has an old soul's gift for jazz.

Why you should listen

A native of Bali, Joey Alexander taught himself to play piano by listening to classic jazz albums his father shared with him. Alexander’s father recognized his son’s ear for jazz, and soon he was sitting in on jam sessions with senior musicians. And a (very) few years later, he's playing for worldwide audiences from Jakarta to Copenhagen to Washington, DC.

Influenced by Monk, Coltrane and his mutual fan, Herbie Hancock, Alexander's style is "technically fluent and harmonically astute," says the New York Times, and marked by large-canvas musical ideas -- as seen in a legendary rehearsal-room take on "Giant Steps" in which the shifting chords and dizzy runs fly out from his tiny fingers. His new record, My Favorite Things, was released in 2015.

More profile about the speaker
Joey Alexander | Speaker | TED.com
TED2015

Joey Alexander: An 11-year-old prodigy performs old-school jazz

Joey Alexander: Un prodige de onze ans joue un morceau de jazz façon vieille école

Filmed:
2,484,706 views

Élevé au son des vieux disques de son père, Joey Alexander joue du piano jazz dans un style soigné et moderne, un son auquel vous ne vous attendez sûrement pas en entendant jouer un pré-adolescent. Écoutez ce garçon de onze ans enchanter le public de TED avec une interprétation exceptionnelle d'un classique de Thelonious Monk.
- Jazz pianist
Young piano player Joey Alexander has an old soul's gift for jazz. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

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Translated by Manu Ashford
Reviewed by Bérengère Farras

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Joey Alexander - Jazz pianist
Young piano player Joey Alexander has an old soul's gift for jazz.

Why you should listen

A native of Bali, Joey Alexander taught himself to play piano by listening to classic jazz albums his father shared with him. Alexander’s father recognized his son’s ear for jazz, and soon he was sitting in on jam sessions with senior musicians. And a (very) few years later, he's playing for worldwide audiences from Jakarta to Copenhagen to Washington, DC.

Influenced by Monk, Coltrane and his mutual fan, Herbie Hancock, Alexander's style is "technically fluent and harmonically astute," says the New York Times, and marked by large-canvas musical ideas -- as seen in a legendary rehearsal-room take on "Giant Steps" in which the shifting chords and dizzy runs fly out from his tiny fingers. His new record, My Favorite Things, was released in 2015.

More profile about the speaker
Joey Alexander | Speaker | TED.com