Amina Claudine Myers: Solace of the Mind

One of the under-heralded legends of the jazz avant-garde, keyboardist Amina Claudine Myers is finally getting her due. An early member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) in the mid-1960s, her efforts were sometimes overshadowed by outsized colleagues such as Muhal Richard Abrams, Lester Bowie, or Henry Threadgill. But recent years have provided an opportunity to reassess her standing in the jazz canon. In 2024, Myers was a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, and she followed it up in 2025 with a Mellon Jazz Legacies Fellowship. A return to active recording has also accompanied these well-deserved accolades. A particular highlight was her 2024 offering with trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, Central Park's Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens (Red Hook). And now we have Solace of the Mind, an enchanting solo release which gives Myers, and her listeners, an opportunity to look back on a storied, multi-decade recording career.

Even a cursory glance at Myers' discography reveals a restless spirit equally at home in a variety of idioms. Duet, her 1981 album on the Black Saint label with fellow pianist and AACM founder Abrams, made room not only for animated avant-garde excursions but also included stirring moments of gospel, ragtime and even boogie-woogie. Myers' indebtedness to the Black church tradition has always been evident, with spirituals liberally included on many of her recordings, particularly on Sama Rou, a self-released project from 2016. And there is no better example of the pianist's mastery of the blues than on her Salutes Bessie Smith, a superb album which helped launch Leo Records in 1979. Along the way, Myers' virtues as an organist and vocalist have also contributed to her legacy as a multitalented force both within and beyond jazz.

Although Myers' command of her instrument has its muscular side (anyone desiring proof need only listen to the thunderous "Journey Home as Seen Through the Fairness of Life" on Duet), the overall temperament on Solace is a pensive one, befitting a reflective meditation rather than a pianistic workout. Even the more abstract selections, such as "Twilight" or "Beneath the Sun," are ruminative rather than dazzling. But this allows for a fuller appreciation of Myers' intense lyricism, which is at its most effective when it is least adorned.

A number of the pieces here were featured on previous releases, allowing Myers an opportunity to distill the essence of each tune from its other iterations; the resulting simplicity of the tracks adds to the beauty of the music. The album's opener, "African Blues," was given a much longer treatment on Salutes Bessie Smith, but here it is condensed into a potent, stately treatment that highlights the affinity between African and gospel musical forms. In a similar vein is "Steal Away," the classic spiritual, rendered with deep sensitivity and subtle power. This version of "Song for Mother E," the title track from her 1980 album, has a more impressionistic feel, while still embodying the piece's gospel roots.

Myers turns to the organ only once here, but it represents a significant moment on the album. On "Ode to My Ancestors," Myers establishes an incantatory setting with the organ taking on a drone-like quality, as she recites a kind of litany to those who have come before, who have "shaped me into who I am," and who "speak to me still, as I continue my journey." It is the perfect sentiment for such an occasion, on which we can celebrate Myers' many past contributions to this music while still anticipating those to come.

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