MCG Jazz 30th Anniversary Performance Series Continues
Since 1987, MCG Jazz has brought audiences together with jazz artists at its 350-seat music hall in Manchester. Their performance series, one of the oldest in the nation, is an anchor of Pittsburgh cultural and community life. All arts and music programs of Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild share a common vision born from founder Bill Strickland’s personal experience – that through direct involvement in the making of art and through exposure to the masters who teach and perform it, our lives will be enriched, even transformed. The 30th Anniversary Performances take place at MCG Jazz, located at 1815 Metropolitan Street in Manchester.
Joey Alexander Trio
Friday, March 17, at 7:00 and 9:30 pm
Born on the island of Bali in the city of Denpasar in 2003, Joey Alexander first encountered a piano at the age of six, and was immediately able to pick out the melody of Thelonious Monk’s “Well, You Needn’t” and other jazz standards from his father’s record collection by ear. His father, an amateur musician, nurtured Joey’s gift for swing and improvisation by introducing him to classic jazz recordings and taking him to jam sessions with seasoned musicians in Bali and Jakarta. From there, his musical intuition flourished, as did his love of playing jazz. Learning by listening, Joey’s early influences include Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans and John Coltrane, and he has a special affinity for trumpet players including Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan, Miles Davis and Wynton Marsalis. Despite his lack of formal jazz training, Joey developed an authoritative technique, and with his depth of musicality he quickly rose in the Indonesian jazz scene and beyond.
