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Origin

Joey Alexander

Origin

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Mack Avenue
UPC: 0673203119826
Catnr: MAC 1198
Release date: 20 May 2022
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€ 19.95
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Label
Mack Avenue
UPC
0673203119826
Catalogue number
MAC 1198
Release date
20 May 2022

"An album to enjoy, a special talent this Joey Alexander who, despite his young age, is already acting at a top level!"

Rootstime, 14-7-2022
Album
Artist(s)
Composer(s)
Press
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About the album

It’s no coincidence two of the titles on pianist, bandleader and composer Joey Alexander’s inspirational debut on Mack Avenue Records, Origin, contain the words “rise” and “rising.”

“The Latin root of the word ‘origin’ is orire, which means to rise,” explains the restlessly searching musician, who has performed everywhere from the Obama White House to the Grand Ole Opry and has been nominated for three GRAMMY® awards. “During this pandemic, I think the first thing we should do is to start with being hopeful, which is the main theme of Origin. Instead of making it a source of frustration, I made it the source of inspiration to express myself in music.”

Good plan. On his sixth album as a leader, his first featuring all his own material, Alexander has stretched his imagination into new territory, challenging himself to write rich melodic and harmonic interplay without ever abandoning the emotional candor and transparency that have captivated crowds and catapulted his albums to the top of the jazz charts.

Returning to the studio with the rhythm section from his last album – longtime collaborators Larry Grenadier (bass) and Kendrick Scott (drums) – plus stellar guests Gilad Hekselman on guitar and Chris Potter on saxophones, Alexander also adds new instrumental colors of his own, playing Fender Rhodes for just the second time on record (the first being last year’s single, “Salt”). The pianist favors the Rhodes for its soft side, contrasting its creamy sound with the hard-hitting lines of Potter and Hekselman.

The three team up on the tricky asymmetrical track, “Winter Blues,” which struts into the room with a slinky, funky 6/8 attitude. “To be clear, I didn’t actually write ‘Winter Blues’ during the winter,” confesses Alexander. “It was actually in the summertime, in New York City, but I was remembering how gloomy it was in the winter during the pandemic and I thought, ‘How can I make the situation upbeat and hopeful?’”

The other seasons also get their due. The warm and flowing “Summer Rising,” with Hekselman careening into another star turn above Alexander’s Rhodes, percolates in crisp 5/8. The tender, Latin-tinged “Dear Autumn,” explains Alexander, is meant to remind listeners that fall is not just the season when leaves begin to fall and die, but also harvest time. The serene tone poem, “Promise of Spring,” also conveys a feeling of hope.

“I’m not really into outdoor activities,” explains the pianist, “but I have come to understand how the seasons affect us. When I was writing ‘Autumn,’ like other musicians I was staying home a lot, but I thought this is also a time when we can be more productive as musicians, when we can harvest. When we get through the winter, spring gives people hope with the promise of warmer weather. Then with summer, things are always outside and, wherever you are, if you get more sun, you’re happier, so I think ‘Summer Rising’ is definitely one of my favorites on the album, and one of the more challenging pieces – it is about how summer brings a sense of joy.”

Another challenging, long-form tune on Origin, “On the Horizon,” was inspired by a question that Alexander is asked: What’s on the horizon for you? The answer is more complex than most, as he acknowledges the need to focus on conversation to influence the future ahead – whether it be the coming months or years. The song features an intense, rippling, gorgeously lyrical soprano saxophone solo by Potter, with Alexander again confidently creating contrast with his solo, by leaving plenty of space between the notes. That space echoes the dynamics of conversation – the push and pull of uncertainty and the need to listen before reacting – in order to carve his path forward.

Not content to merely find new forms, Alexander also ventures into two vastly free improvisations on the album. “Rise Up” is a wild and joyous romp in 9, with Hekselman and Potter back on the case, celebrating the ecstatic release that comes through spontaneous creation. The quietly contemplative “Angel Eyes,” which listeners will be surprised to hear was also composed on the fly, is a grateful nod to “all the people who have looked out for me, even in the smallest things,” says Alexander.

Gratefulness comes up a lot when the astonishingly gifted Alexander talks about his career. When he was writing the straightforward and beautiful song that opens the album, “Remembering,” he was able to reflect on the opportunities and blessings the past 8 years have brought. “A lot of amazing moments happened during that span,” reflects Alexander, “and this was the first time I had a break to pause and appreciate it all. That’s when I realized the pandemic had actually helped me to be more thankful,” he says.

Much of Origin was composed in New York, but the fluttery, hypnotic “Midnight Waves” comes from an extended return visit to Bali, where Alexander spent his early years. The place he stayed was near the beach, so at night, he could hear the waves. After his busy life in New York City, the stillness and calm there was a welcome change of pace that let him “pause and enjoy the moment.” He hopes the tune will encourage listeners to do the same.

Alexander closes Origin with the ballad “Hesitation,” another tune of unusual length that is also a bit of a formal pun, with its unresolved progression. “I did that on purpose, yes,” he confirms. “The tune is asking, ‘What’s next?’ and the answer is of course, ‘I don’t know.’ I just hope my music will bring some sort of comfort to these troubling times.”

Artist(s)

Joey Alexander (piano)

Born in Bali, Indonesia, Joey Alexander has been performing professionally since 2013 when he was invited by Wynton Marsalis to perform at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Gala. Alexander subsequently moved to New York City and released his debut album, My Favorite Things, in 2015 on Motéma Music, followed by three more on the label and a fifth on Verve. Alexander’s albums have netted three GRAMMY® Award nominations – one for Best Jazz Instrumental Album (My Favorite Things), and two for Best Improvised Jazz Solo (“Giant Steps,” from My Favorite Things, and “Countdown” from the album of the same name) – with My Favorite Things and Countdown securing the No. 1 spot on the Billboard jazz charts and Eclipse coming...
more

Born in Bali, Indonesia, Joey Alexander has been performing professionally since 2013 when he was invited by Wynton Marsalis to perform at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Gala. Alexander subsequently moved to New York City and released his debut album, My Favorite Things, in 2015 on Motéma Music, followed by three more on the label and a fifth on Verve. Alexander’s albums have netted three GRAMMY® Award nominations – one for Best Jazz Instrumental Album (My Favorite Things), and two for Best Improvised Jazz Solo (“Giant Steps,” from My Favorite Things, and “Countdown” from the album of the same name) – with My Favorite Things and Countdown securing the No. 1 spot on the Billboard jazz charts and Eclipse coming at No. 3.

Over the course of his astonishing career, Alexander has performed with Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding at the Obama White House, for President Bill Clinton at the Arthur Ashe Learning Center Gala, at the Grand Ole Opry, the Apollo Theater, Carnegie Hall and at major jazz festivals and night clubs around the world. He has also been the subject of profiles on 60 Minutes and The New York Times.

Origin is Alexander’s first album for Mack Avenue Records and will be released May 20 digitally and on CD, with a vinyl release scheduled for June 24.


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Chris Potter (saxophone)

Chris Potter was born in Chicago, Illinois, but his family soon moved to Columbia, South Carolina, where he spent his formative years. Potter showed an early interest in a wide variety of different music and easily learned several instruments including the guitar and piano. He quickly realized after hearing Paul Desmond that the saxophone would be the vehicle that would best allow him to express himself musically. He played his first professional jazz gig on alto sax at age thirteen after mastering the complex musical language of Charlie Parker. He developed a devoted local following while performing with the Columbia jazz musicians Johnny Helms and Terry Rosen, as well as with others in the jazz community. After leaving Columbia upon his graduation from Dreher High School, Potter attended college in New York City,...
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Chris Potter was born in Chicago, Illinois, but his family soon moved to Columbia, South Carolina, where he spent his formative years. Potter showed an early interest in a wide variety of different music and easily learned several instruments including the guitar and piano. He quickly realized after hearing Paul Desmond that the saxophone would be the vehicle that would best allow him to express himself musically.
He played his first professional jazz gig on alto sax at age thirteen after mastering the complex musical language of Charlie Parker. He developed a devoted local following while performing with the Columbia jazz musicians Johnny Helms and Terry Rosen, as well as with others in the jazz community.
After leaving Columbia upon his graduation from Dreher High School, Potter attended college in New York City, first at the New School, and later at the Manhattan School of Music. Upon his arrival in New York he began performing with Red Rodney and gained a reputation as a rising new star of the saxophone.

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Larry Grenadier (double bass)

As one of the most admired, accomplished bassists working in jazz today, Larry Grenadier has been praised as “a deeply intuitive” musician by The New York Times and as an instrumentalist with a “fluid sense of melody” by Bass Player magazine. Grenadier has created an expansive body of work in collaboration with many of the genre’s most inventive, influential musicians – from early days playing with sax icons Joe Henderson and Stan Getz to what has been decades performing alongside pianist Brad Mehldau, from extended experiences working with the likes of Paul Motian and Pat Metheny to co-leading the cooperative trio Fly (with Mark Turner and Jeff Ballard) and quartet Hudson (with John Scofield, John Medeski and Jack DeJohnette). Over...
more
As one of the most admired, accomplished bassists working in jazz today, Larry Grenadier has been praised as “a deeply intuitive” musician by The New York Times and as an instrumentalist with a “fluid sense of melody” by Bass Player magazine. Grenadier has created an expansive body of work in collaboration with many of the genre’s most inventive, influential musicians – from early days playing with sax icons Joe Henderson and Stan Getz to what has been decades performing alongside pianist Brad Mehldau, from extended experiences working with the likes of Paul Motian and Pat Metheny to co-leading the cooperative trio Fly (with Mark Turner and Jeff Ballard) and quartet Hudson (with John Scofield, John Medeski and Jack DeJohnette). Over a performing and recording career that spans now three decades, it has been not only Grenadier’s instrumental virtuosity and instantly recognizable tone that have made him such an in-demand collaborator but also his uncommon artistic sensitivity, imagination and curiosity. In February 2019, ECM Records will release Grenadier’s first album of solo bass. Titled The Gleaners, it presents a brace of originals by the bassist alongside pieces by George Gershwin, John Coltrane and Paul Motian, as well as a pair of works written especially for Grenadier by guitarist, longtime friend and fellow ECM artist Wolfgang Muthspiel. Grenadier also includes an instrumental interpretation of a song by his wife, and frequent collaborator, the singer-songwriter Rebecca Martin.

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Kendrick Scott (drums)

Drummer Kendrick Scott is a technically proficient and intuitive modern jazz drummer, composer, arranger, and bandleader with a bent toward expansive post-bop. Steeped in the lineage of Roy Haynes, Tony Williams, and Elvin Jones, he is best known as the leader of the Kendrick Scott Oracle, and has also toured and recorded with a host of jazz all-stars including Terence Blanchard, Herbie Hancock, the Crusaders, Kenny Garrett, Gary Burton, Roy Hargrove, Pat Metheny, and many others. His playing style is at once imaginative, lyrical, and versatile. As a bandleader, he arrived in 2007 with the Oracle's The Source, issued by his own World Culture Music label, and he's garnered an abundance of attention for his canny senses of swing and groove. Since then, he has recorded under his own name with his longstanding Oracle band that includes...
more
Drummer Kendrick Scott is a technically proficient and intuitive modern jazz drummer, composer, arranger, and bandleader with a bent toward expansive post-bop. Steeped in the lineage of Roy Haynes, Tony Williams, and Elvin Jones, he is best known as the leader of the Kendrick Scott Oracle, and has also toured and recorded with a host of jazz all-stars including Terence Blanchard, Herbie Hancock, the Crusaders, Kenny Garrett, Gary Burton, Roy Hargrove, Pat Metheny, and many others. His playing style is at once imaginative, lyrical, and versatile. As a bandleader, he arrived in 2007 with the Oracle's The Source, issued by his own World Culture Music label, and he's garnered an abundance of attention for his canny senses of swing and groove. Since then, he has recorded under his own name with his longstanding Oracle band that includes pianist Taylor Eigsti, reed and woodwind ace John Ellis, guitarist Mike Moreno, and bassist Joe Sanders. Scott's Blue Note debut, 2015's We Are the Drum, was produced by the Robert Glasper Experiment's Derrick Hodge; it made most jazz critics' best-of lists for the year
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Composer(s)

Joey Alexander (piano)

Born in Bali, Indonesia, Joey Alexander has been performing professionally since 2013 when he was invited by Wynton Marsalis to perform at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Gala. Alexander subsequently moved to New York City and released his debut album, My Favorite Things, in 2015 on Motéma Music, followed by three more on the label and a fifth on Verve. Alexander’s albums have netted three GRAMMY® Award nominations – one for Best Jazz Instrumental Album (My Favorite Things), and two for Best Improvised Jazz Solo (“Giant Steps,” from My Favorite Things, and “Countdown” from the album of the same name) – with My Favorite Things and Countdown securing the No. 1 spot on the Billboard jazz charts and Eclipse coming...
more

Born in Bali, Indonesia, Joey Alexander has been performing professionally since 2013 when he was invited by Wynton Marsalis to perform at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Gala. Alexander subsequently moved to New York City and released his debut album, My Favorite Things, in 2015 on Motéma Music, followed by three more on the label and a fifth on Verve. Alexander’s albums have netted three GRAMMY® Award nominations – one for Best Jazz Instrumental Album (My Favorite Things), and two for Best Improvised Jazz Solo (“Giant Steps,” from My Favorite Things, and “Countdown” from the album of the same name) – with My Favorite Things and Countdown securing the No. 1 spot on the Billboard jazz charts and Eclipse coming at No. 3.

Over the course of his astonishing career, Alexander has performed with Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding at the Obama White House, for President Bill Clinton at the Arthur Ashe Learning Center Gala, at the Grand Ole Opry, the Apollo Theater, Carnegie Hall and at major jazz festivals and night clubs around the world. He has also been the subject of profiles on 60 Minutes and The New York Times.

Origin is Alexander’s first album for Mack Avenue Records and will be released May 20 digitally and on CD, with a vinyl release scheduled for June 24.


less

Press

An album to enjoy, a special talent this Joey Alexander who, despite his young age, is already acting at a top level!
Rootstime, 14-7-2022

....so much natural class, at such a young age. With Origin, Alexander has definitively outgrown the status of a child prodigy. From now on he is a fine jazz musician, and that's it.
De Standaard, 13-7-2022

Joey Alexander is an inventive pianist and mosaic composer. His music is alternately simple, immediate, tender or hypnotic.
Le Soir, 15-6-2022

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