Grammy-nominated musician Joey Alexander extends his prolific run with his latest album, Continuance.
It’s the seventh album in eight years for the 20-year-old pianist, composer and bandleader, who began his professional recording career when he was just 12 years old. Continuance is Alexander’s second release with Mack Avenue Records, following 2022’s Origin.
It’s the first album that the Indonesia-born musician has recorded with his regular touring trio of bassist Kris Funn and drummer John Davis, a group with whom he has played hundreds of gigs over the past four years. Four of the tracks also feature Grammy-nominated trumpeter Theo Croker.
Listen to the lead single “Blue”:
“The blues inspired the song…the composition and the solos both have blues elements,” Alexander explains of “Blue,” the album’s opener, and one of the five originals. “But I named it ‘Blue’ for another reason. Blue is a tranquil color — it’s calming. At the same time, I wanted this song to have high energy. So it has both qualities at the same time.”
For his compositions, Alexander says he’s drawn inspiration from outside the jazz world, including Ennio Morricone, John Mayer, Burt Bacharach and Bonnie Raitt; Continuance even features a rendition of Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me.”
Alexander has been performing professionally since 2013, when Wynton Marsalis invited him to perform at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Gala. Alexander subsequently moved to New York and released his debut album My Favorite Things in 2015 on Motéma Music, followed by three more on the label, 2020’s Warna on Verve, and now two on Mack Avenue. He has earned three Grammy nominations to date.
Here’s the track listing:
- Blue
- Why Don’t We
- Hear Me Now
- I Can’t Make You Love Me
- Zealousy
- Great Is Thy Faithfulness
- Aliceanna
Joey Alexander’s Continuance is out Nov. 3, 2023, via Mack Avenue Records.
