With his trio of Kris Fine on bass and Jonathan Barber on drums, Joey Alexander graced those in attendance at the Théâtre Duceppe last Friday night with a warm and intimate set of original material. By all accounts the evening was a success, but considering the bar Alexander has set for himself, he may have disappointed some. Namely those expecting to be dazzled by a now twenty-something year old prodigy taking jazz to a new level, because Joey is simply doing his own thing.
In fact one wouldn’t even assume from hearing him that at the age of seven he was already as accomplished as a pianist could be. There is real modesty, restraint, and maturity in Joey’s playing, and he seems to have found his niche in writing a sort of accessible, soulful, hymnal repertoire. Without being too reductive here, the best way to describe Alexander’s playing might be to say it’s like hearing Bill Evans playing the soundtracks of Studio Ghibli. The depth of technique and emotion is there, if subtle, you can hear it in the lushness of his voicings and his ornamentations, but gone are the dissonances replaced by more open intervals and harmonies à la Studio Ghibli or Keith Jarrett on ECM.
The most fascinating part of the evening was getting to hear Joey Alexander play his mellotron, which is featured heavily on his latest album Continuance (read our colleague Vitta’s review here). It certainly marks a compelling new direction for Joey, but like Bill Evans himself, who flirted briefly with Fender Rhodes, it seems it will always be an auxiliary to the piano, never a worthy replacement. That said, any chance to see this subtle master at work is a good chance.
Photo credit: Joey Alexander Facebook page with Jazz Forum
