Continuance

Description

The 20-year-old piano prodigy makes a strong statement with Theo Croker on trumpet. On “Continuance,” his seventh album as a leader, the Bali, Indonesia-born pianist, composer, and bandleader Joey Alexander has far outgrown his initial incarnations: He is now settled into his new identity as a composer-pianist of fertile imagination and emotional depth. From a very young age, Joey has widely been regarded as one of jazz’s most skilled pianists and thoughtful improvisers. Continuance, however, presents him foremost as an enthralling chamber jazz composer leading an ensemble with his own point of view. Continuance shows his writing and playing have continued to deepen. Speaking about his evolution as a composer, Joey cites inspirations outside the jazz world including Ennio Morricone, John Mayer, Burt Bacharach, and, perhaps surprisingly, Bonnie Raitt. With “Continuance,” he again focuses on his own tunes. It is also the first album he recorded with his regular touring trio of Kris Funn on bass and John Davis on drums, a group with which he has played hundreds of gigs over the past four years. The Grammy-nominated trumpeter Theo Croker is featured on four tracks.