Alex Jacobowitz was born in New York in 1960. He studied percussion at the Ithaca School of Music (New York) and xylophone (marimba) with Gordon Stout and Leigh Howard Stevens. In 1981 he won the DCI Individual Keyboard Competition in Montreal. After one year with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, he left the life of an orchestral percussionist behind, touring the world as a xylophone soloist.

Countless newspaper articles, radio portraits and TV appearances in German and European television document his efforts of bringing people, cultures and religions closer together. Alex Jacobowitz appeared in 10 films. In 2012 the British film director Alan Rosenthal released his film portrait “Married to the Marimba”, after having accompanied the artist over the course of 15 years. In July 2012, the SWR (Südwest Deutscher Rundfunk) produced the portrait “Held der Strasse” (Hero of the Street), directed by Dr. Sigrid Faltin. MDR regularly broadcasts a story about him on the "Glaubwürdig" program, and his concert in 2020 is often broadcast on The Hope Channel.