Joey Alexander's 'My Favorite Things' Tops Billboard 200 Chart
19 January 2016 13:30 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - My Favorite Things, a jazz instrumental made by young Indonesian jazz pianist Joey Alexander successfully tops the Billboard 200 chart for jazz and traditional jazz category on Friday, January 15, 2016. Joey, who is currently 12 years-old, released the album when he was 11 years-old through Motema Music, a New York-based record label. The album was produced by Grammy-winner music producer Jason Olaine.
Prior to the 58th Grammy Award ceremony scheduled to be held on February 2016, Joey's album managed to sit on number 59 of the Billboard 200. Approximately 9,000 copies of the album have been sold. My Favorite Things has been nominated for the Best Instrumental Jazz Album while one of the singles in the album, Giant Steps, has been nominated for the Best Improvised Jazz Solo category.
Joey started playing jazz when he was just six years-old. Later when he was nine, Joey won the Grand Prix award in a jazz music competition in Odessa, Ukraine, beating 43 other musicians from 17 countries.
Joey's musical skills captured the attention of Wynton Marsali, a prominent jazz musician in the United States and the artistic director of the Jazz at Lincoln Center. Wynton invited Joey – who was 10 years-old at the time – to perform in a Jazz at Lincoln Center show on May 2014, where Joey started to gain public attention.
BILLBOARD | ANDRA