"What I typically find with kid prodigies is that they come from this clinical, Western European way of accumulating knowledge."

"What I found with Joey is that he�s coming from a more intuitive, communal way of playing music, which is so beautiful to see."

Joey [Alexander] began playing piano at 6, picking out a Thelonious Monk tune by ear, which led [his father], an amateur pianist, to teach him some fundamentals. Beyond that, Joey recalled, �I heard records, and also YouTube, of course.�

He played at jam sessions in Bali and then in Jakarta, when his family moved there. At 8, he played for the pianist Herbie Hancock, who was in Jakarta as a Unesco good-will ambassador. (�You told me that you believed in me,� Joey recalled last fall, addressing Mr. Hancock at a gala for the Jazz Foundation of America, �and that was the day I decided to dedicate my childhood to jazz.�)

ADDED: I'm impressed just at the idea of "dedicating my childhood" to something. I mean, you might look back and see that you dedicated your childhood to something. (Did you?) But to come up with the idea, while a child, of having "a childhood" that you could "dedicate" and actually to decide to dedicate your childhood to something is very impressive � even if you don't also follow through. In fact, I think it might be better if you let yourself out of the task to which you bound yourself.