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About Myra Melford
Myra Melford, Threadgill/Iyer/Prieto & Jonathan Delazer
by Maurice Hogue
Two of the creative scene's most heralded artists are back with exciting new music: pianist Myra Melford's Fire & Water Quintet have released their third album Sure Grand Out with Mary Halvorson, Ingrid Laubrock, Tomeka Reid & Lesley Mok and the master, Henry Threadgill's parallel release to Cut Your Where You Was--Fifteen--which celebrates the fifteenth year of existence of the trio with Threadgill, Vijay Iyer & Dafnis Prieto. Swiss drummer Jonathan Delazer's Gottliche Skizzen, Argentinean guitarist Gon Muruaga and the ...
Continue Reading...Geof Bradfield / Myra Melford / Ben Goldberg / Dana Hall: Open Or Close
by Dan McClenaghan
Ornette Coleman may come to mind at the beginning of the spin of Open Or Close. This is understandable. The title song, which opens the set, is from Coleman's pen. Additionally, the jazz collective at work here--reedmen Geof Bradfield and Ben Goldberg, pianist Myra Melford and drummer Dana Hall play loose and free, à la Ornette, with a lot of seat-of-the-pants energy. The sound has a common thread strung out between Coleman's 1968 Blue Note Records album New York Is ...
Continue Reading...Satoko Fujii-Myra Melford: Katarahi
by Doug Collette
The connection(s) between pianist-composers Satoko Fujii and Myra Melford transcend the usual truisms. Not kindred spirits in creativity or even mirror images in technique, the pair are more like twin sisters of different artistic mothers, distinctly their own individuals in style yet complementary as such in almost ineffable ways. Hence this album title, a Japanese term referring to a heart-to-heart conversation between intimate friends, fittingly suggests a deep, meaningful dialogue. Katarahi is the duo's second collaboration, but as ...
Continue Reading...Myra Melford - Satoko Fujii: Katarahi
by Mark Corroto
When four hands meet across 176 keys, is it even possible for pianists to check their egos at the stage door? Piano duets, by their very nature, often invite comparison--even confrontation. Consider the 1977 encounter between Mary Lou Williams and Cecil Taylor, the high-profile 1978 concerts by Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, or Kris Davis and Craig Taborn's Octopus (Pyroclastic, 2018). Each of these pairings carried the tension of a musical grappling match. Even Bill Evans' overdubbed Conversations with Myself ...
Continue Reading...Satoko Fujii/Myra Melford Together Again + John Hollenbeck and Abate Beirhun
by Hobart Taylor
Satoko Fujii with Myra Melford, Tomeka Reid, Robert Glasper and Abbey Lincoln singing A Cappella.Playlist Host Speaks 00:00 Satoko Fujii /Myra Melford Signpost" from Katahari (Rouge Arts) 00:21 Brian Dickenson October Songs Pt. 1" from October Songs (Cellar) 6:45 Abbey Lincoln Tender as a Rose" from That's Him (Craft) 14:30 Host Speaks 17:29 Abate Beirhun Des Des" from Adis Ken (Origin) 18:54 Allison Au You Ordinary Stranger" from Forest Grove (AA 15) 22:30 Blue Moods Agitation" from Directions ...
Continue Reading...Music From Favourite Recordings of 2025
by Maurice Hogue
Aside from the two opening tracks from South African drummer Asher Gamedze's upcoming release, A Semblance Of Return, the rest of this show features a track from each of the 25 favourite recordings played on One Man's Jazz in 2025. These were chosen from recordings released by artists from almost 40 different countries. It was a very, very good year! Playlist Asher Gamedze Air (If Involvedness)" from A Semblance Of Return (Northern Spy) 00:00 Asher Gamedze Following Up" ...
Continue Reading...Album Review
Myra Melford: Splash
by Alberto Bazzurro
Affermatasi ormai oltre trent'anni fa come uno dei nomi nuovi, più creativi e identitari, della scena jazzistica internazionale, Myra Melford, pur assumendo una posizione a volte periferica (defilata?) rispetto all'agone specifico (ogni grande artista ha anche bisogno dei propri spazi di riflessione), ha confermato con regolarità quel primo input, come questo suo nuovo, bellissimo lavoro non fa che ribadire una volta di più. Sono del resto con lei due autentici giganti dei rispettivi strumenti, in un caso (Ches ...
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