Talented Young Jazz Pianist to Perform at Colorado 'I Have A Dream' Foundation Gala

Twelve-year-old jazz pianist Joey Alexander will be the featured entertainer at the Colorado I Have A Dream Foundation 2015 Gala Thursday, November 5 in the Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center. Alexander, a native of Bali, taught himself to play piano by listening with his father to classic jazz albums. Lacking the opportunity for a formal jazz education where he lived, the youngster began attending jam sessions with senior musicians and his musical intuition flourished. Alexander's recently released debut album, "My Favorite Things," showcases the gifted artist's talents as an arranger, composer and bandleader.

Alexander's awards include winning the 2013 Master Jam Fest improvisation contest at the Jazz in Odessa Festival in Ukraine, where he triumphed over 43 adult jazz professionals from 17 countries. In 2014, Wynton Marsalis, after seeing the young pianist performing in Jakarta, flew Alexander to New York to participate in his all-star Jazz at Lincoln Center Gala. The preteen's many other notable performances include the Jakarta International Jazz Festival, a UNESCO jazz event organized by Herbie Hancock, the Arthur Ashe Foundation Gala and the 2015 Newport Jazz Festival. Alexander, who now resides in New York City, has been a guest on the "Today" show, featured in The New York Times and in March delighted the TED2015 crowd with his old-school jazz performance of a Thelonious Monk classic.

The 2015 Gala's "Dream Street" theme embodies CIHAD's mission in helping metro Denver's most underrepresented youth stay on the road to achieving their dreams. The event, which begins with a 5:30 p.m. reception followed by dinner at 7 p.m., will also include the presentation of the organization's annual awards. Among this year's honorees are former Colorado State Senator Chris Romer and Robert Hottman, EKS&H chief executive officer. Tickets for the Gala are available at https://www.blacktie-colorado.com/rsvp/rsvp.cfm?eventcode=%27%3EJ%5EW%2E0WZ%21%40%20%20.

CIHAD impacts the lives of Denver Metro youth from kindergarten through high school by providing access to resources that go beyond the classroom. The expectation is that all program participants, who are affectionately called Dreamers, will be prepared for college, obtain a degree, and will have a viable path for entry into the workforce. CIHAD empowers Dreamers to meet these expectations by providing them with an array of tools designed to address five key focus areas: academic enrichment, cultural enrichment and civic engagement, life skills development (soft skills development) and social-emotional supports, post-secondary educational pursuits, and career readiness. To learn more, visit http://www.cihadf.org/.