Alex Otey

Otey met his wife, singer-songwriter Miss Amy, and they began playing in jazz, folk and rock bands together.[9] After the birth of their son in the mid-1990s the family moved to New Jersey, and Miss Amy began focusing on children's music, specifically of the sort to help children move and exercise.[10]

Alex Otey produced, co-wrote, and helped arrange Miss Amy's first album, Swimming, and handles trumpet, keyboard, and backup vocals in Miss Amy & Her Big Kids Band, founded in 2004.[9] Along with the band he performed at the White House 2010 Egg Roll event,[11] where other performers included Justin Bieber,[12] J.K. Rowling, and the cast from Glee.[11] He and Miss Amy & Her Big Kids Band also headlined Kidstock 2010.[13]

He has produced five albums with Miss Amy since 2004,[9][14] handling, for example, collaborative arranging, engineering, production, keyboard, trumpet and back-up vocals on 2011's Miss Amy's Fitness Rock and Roll, which blended jazz, rock, pop, broadway, and lullabies.[15]

Fitness Rock & Roll was released on his label, Ionian Productions.[2] In November 2011 the album was nominated for a 54th Grammy Award in the category of "Best Children's Album." That year Otey also contributed the track "Keep Your Chin Up" to the Grammy-winning compilation[8] All About Bullies... Big And Small.[16]

Otey is the founder and president of the audio/video production company Ionian Productions. The company has produced LPs such as A Gift To Be Free, releases by Miss Amy, and The Chopin of Mexico Plays Chopin 1&2.[3] Other artists include pianist and composer Leonardo Le San, Sue Tally, Pedro Ledezma, and Leticia Gómez-Tagle.[17]

In August 2012 Ionian Productions released Tenochtitlan 1325, which includes piano pieces composed by his father, Orlando Otey.[18] The album was well-received; according to Robert Schulslaper, "Orlando Otey played the piano with panache and considerable skill, reveling in music’s capacity for passionate extroversion as well as lyrical reflection. His compositions reflect a genuine talent, curious about modern trends (but stopping short of atonality) and capable of fashioning diverse influences into a convincing artistic statement."[18]

Otey continues performs as a solo act[19] at venues in central New Jersey and Philadelphia.[1] He also performs with some West Trenton based bands, one of which is the Americana and rock group Off The Map, which Otey formed with the same lineup as Miss Amy The Big Kids Band.[3] Their first album, Angels Riding Shotgun, was produced by Otey and released on Ionian Productions.[4] Otey also plays standards, pop, and jazz with The Alex Otey Trio, and events with The Wild Rice Band.[3]

• WXPN Kids Corner 20th Anniversary Compilation (2008)
• Wildflower Compilation (2010)
• Healthy Food For Thought, Good Enough to Eat (2010)
• All About Bullies... Big And Small Compilation (2011)
• Move This World (2013)