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Pianist Joey Alexander Brings His Trio, Plenty of Poise and Some New Tunes to Morning Jazz

If you’re like me, words like “poise,” “polish,” “assurance” and “maturity” were not legitimate self-descriptive terms when you were 16.

For pianist Joey Alexander, those descriptions reveal themselves in an exciting and bold array on his forthcoming album, Warna. Joey’s major label debut (on Verve) was the focus during his return to Morning Jazz.

Joey set our Steinway grand in motion, with bassist Kris Funn and drummer Kendrick Scott, using what he sees and hears to reconfigure Joe Henderson’s “Inner Urge” and Sting’s “Fragile.” He also shared a highly developed sense of composition on several originals, including “Lonely Streets,” “‘Tis Our Prayer” and the title track, “Warna” (meaning “Color” in bahasa baku, the standard dialect of his native Indonesia).

Watch a video for “Warna,” live in our performance studio. 

Warna will be released on Verve on Jan. 31. Preorder here.

Videography - Chris Tobin

Audio Mix and Video Edit - Corey Goldberg

In jazz radio, great announcers are distinguished by their ability to convey the spontaneity and passion of the music. Gary Walker is such an announcer, and his enthusiasm for this music greets WBGO listeners every morning. This winner of the 1996 Gavin Magazine Jazz Radio Personality of the Year award has hosted the morning show each weekday from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. And, by his own admission, he's truly having a great time.