And the children shall lead...

One should be wary of child stars, because the track record of happy outcomes for them is so bad.  Youtube is swarming with so-called “prodigies” who have impressive skills, or preternaturally good voices, and sometimes even winning stage presence.  It’s easy to be charmed by them.  And most of them fade away or burn out within a few years, sometimes only months, after being "discovered".

 

For this post, I picked five solo artists and one band that have made it past the worst of the danger zone.  Some have gone on to have significant, and repeated, commercial success; others have achieved seriousness by being recognized, and even invited to collaborate, by the established stars in their field.  They have other things in common: 1) Early on, they were already noticeably better than the typical “prodigy”, whether because of their sound, or the sophistication of their material, or their understanding of the art;  and 2) They have strong support systems that have not pushed them beyond their limits.

 

 

Still cutting her teeth:  Angelina Jordan

Angelina auditioned for Norway’s Got Talent just shy of her eighth birthday.  Some of the judges were brought to tears.  Words don’t do this justice, so just click and play.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3gSho9yf88

 

 

How can you be a great jazz stylist at 10?

By age 10, Angelina had proven she could channel Billie Holiday, Amy Winehouse, Dinah Washington, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and Elvis, among others.  Here she is singing Cole Porter’s classic, “Every Time We Say Goodbye”, channeling Ella herself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD3hZOanKrc

 

 

Angelina: Stay

Angelina Jordan recently enjoyed a big run on America’s Got Talent.  Even on that show, her performances just hint at how extraordinary she is.  This intimate little clip comes closer.  Angelina, age 12:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GSVPvCy3Yg

The Warning

This trio of siblings from Mexico posted a Metallica cover six years ago that went viral.  Since then they have released two albums which charted on Amazon; opened for Aerosmith, Def Leppard and Alice Cooper, among others; and were about to tour the US when the virus came along.  The oldest one just turned 20.    Here is that first Metallica cover, shot in their parents’ basement:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1boUYB9LFJY

Yoyoka:  Let's start with Led Zeppelin

Ten-year old Yoyoka Soma began drumming at age 2, started posting videos of herself drumming at age 7, and regularly appears in international drum festivals. She has received kudos from the likes of Robert Plant, Dave Grohl, and other prominent musicians, and has appeared on TV shows in the U.S. 

 

Here she is at age 7, doing a drum cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Good Times, Bad Times”.  Bonzo would have been proud.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BslksgTF4X4

 

 

Yoyoka nails the shuffle roll

Here is Yoyoka doing a cover of Toto’s “Rosanna”. I wasn’t a big fan of Toto, but this drum line is a bit of genius. Even long time professional drummers have trouble with it.  I’ve gone from being amazed at Yoyoka to simply being baffled.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6P-tTLmuKo0

 

 

 

Genius finds Genius

What are your kids doing during the lockdown?  Here are Yoyoka and the rising young guitar phenom Lisa X (15), doing Joe Satriani’s Satch Boogie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryJr2-xENvA

Jackie Evancho:  Nessun Dorma

Nessun Dorma is one of the hardest things in the world to sing.  Compounding the challenge for a female, it was composed for tenor voice. Few women have even attempted it.  Here, Jackie Evancho, age 11, not only attempts it, she emphatically nails it.  As far as I know, the only person who ever held the third “Vincero!” longer was Pavarotti;  Evancho goes one better and adds an extra “Vincero!” at the end, for good measure.  She is 20 now, and has a successful career as a vocalist.  I’ve seen her live and she is remarkable.  But her performances as a child were beyond remarkable, they were surreal, and this may have been the most surreal moment of all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5F9VHJQ1AY#t=73.375056

 

 

“I don’t want to be called another Mozart.”--Alma Deutscher

I’ve been following Alma Deutscher for about four years. She is a composer and an accomplished violinist and pianist.  Her work has been performed all over the world, by major orchestras and opera companies.  Here is her performance, at age nine, of the third movement of her first Violin Concerto, backed by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zad7fkhGzzs

 

 

Alma does Carnegie Hall

This clip is from Alma’s Carnegie Hall debut in December 2019, just before her 15^th birthday. Here, she is off stage, listening as the orchestra performs her work. Her short speech just before the performance is part of her ongoing campaign to wrestle classical music away from what she calls “ugliness” and return it to its roots. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0xMpLXQNvM

Some things don’t have a credible explanation:  Joey Alexander

I’ve saved the most mysterious for last.  When Joey Alexander was five, and showing signs of developmental challenges, his father was advised to find activities for him that would allow him to focus on sensory integration. The father, himself an amateur musician and a jazz fan, bought him a small electric keyboard to play with.  A few days later, the father heard Joey playing a Thelonius Monk piece on his toy piano, from memory.   Here he is, at age 10, in a recording session for his first album, which was released a year later.  He is playing Coltrane’s “Giant Steps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4V_uaxBVOw