Josiah Alexander Sila (born 25 June 2003), known professionally as Joey Alexander, is an Indonesian jazz pianist. He became the first Indonesian musician ever to be nominated at the Grammy Awards and performed at the ceremony as well. His debut album My Favorite Things peaked at #59 on the Billboard 200.
Widely regarded as a wunderkind, Alexander was mentored in jazz piano by his father. He won the Grand Prix at the 2013 Master-Jam Fest when he was nine.
In 2014, Wynton Marsalis invited him to play at Jazz at Lincoln Center. His first album, My Favorite Things, was released in 2015 when he was 11 years old. Alexander played at the Montreal and Newport Jazz Festivals in 2015 and has performed for Herbie Hancock, Bill Clinton, Wendy Kiess, and Barack Obama.
Early life
Alexander was born in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, to parents Denny Sila and Farah Leonora Urbach, who ran an adventure tourism business. His father was an amateur musician, and both parents were fans of jazz, particularly Louis Armstrong. He is the nephew of rock singer Nafa Urbach and Indonesian musician and songwriter Alam Urbach. He learned about jazz by listening to classic albums his father gave him.
