In this case, the word prodigy doesn’t even suffice.
Before even hitting his 13th birthday, Joey Alexander got a standing ovation at the 2016 Grammy Awards after playing “City Lights,” an original composition. The Indonesian-born pianist has played for Herbie Hancock and Bill Clinton, and won the 2013 Master-Jam Fest in Odessa, Ukraine, where he competed against 43 adult pros. His debut album, My Favorite Things, was the first Indonesian act to show up on the Billboard charts — and he released it when he was 11. The Today Show says Alexander is “on his way to becoming one of the greatest jazz artists of our time.”
Alexander’s June 22 performance at Union Theater’s Shannon Hall is the only ticketed event, and it tops off a fantastic line-up of free events at Memorial Union Terrace and Fredric March Play Circle on Friday, June 17 and Saturday, June 18.
Other festival highlights include Ladies Must Swing (Friday at 6 p.m.), Chicago Yestet (Friday at 8 p.m.), the University of Wisconsin Jazz Orchestra with vocalist Sharon Clark (Saturday at 8 p.m.) and Afro-Cuban style jazz with Charanga Agoza (Saturday at 10 p.m.). In addition to all the Terrace acts, the Madison Music Collective will present the “Jazz with Class” educational series in the Fredric March Play Circle, with topics such as jazz in the movies and Gypsy jazz and a screening of the film The Lighthouse (Saturday at 5:45).
2016 Isthmus Jazz Festival Schedule
Friday, June 17
Memorial Union Terrace
4:30 p.m. — High School All-Stars
6:00 p.m. — Ladies Must Swing
8:00 p.m. — Chicago Yestet
10:00p.m. — Madison Jazz Orchestra
MMC / Jazz with Class (Fredric March Play Circle)
5:00 p.m. — Jazz in the Movies / Presented by Toni Jakovec
6:30 p.m. — Gypsy Jazz / featuring the Caravan Gypsy Swing Ensemble
8:15 — Latin Jazz/ Nick Moran Quartet
Saturday, June 18
Memorial Union Terrace
2:00 p.m. — Edgewood College Jazz Ensemble
3:15 p.m. — UW-Whitewater Jazz Ensemble One
4:30 p.m. — UW-Platteville Jazz One
6:00 p.m. — Gerri DiMaggio
8:00 p.m.— University of Wisconsin Jazz Orchestra with Sharon Clark
10:00 p.m.— Charanga Agoza
MMC / Jazz with Class (Fredric March Play Circle)
2:15 p.m. —Jazz Performance: Behind the Scene / Marilyn Fisher - Paul Hastil Trio
4:00 p.m. —Eric Koppa Triple Saxtet
5:45 p.m. — Movie: “The Lighthouse”
Wednesday, June 22
8 p.m. — Joey Alexander Trio (Shannon Hall, ticketed concert)
