Joey Alexander comes with some pretty heavyweight endorsements – Wynton Marsalis and Herbie Hancock are among his ardent admirers. In that context, the age of this Bali-born pianist, here releasing his second recording as leader, should be neither here nor there.
And yet it's impossible not to notice that the leader of this crisp, hard-swinging piano trio date (with a bravura guest appearance on one track from saxophonist Chris Potter) is all of 13 years old.
Tunes by Monk, Coltrane and Strayhorn, as well as Charlie Chaplin's Smile and a couple of engaging originals, are turned this way and that in a bright, muscular style that recalls Hancock, Corea and Petruciani, who had to wait until they were out of short pants to sound like this.
