Pianist, composer and band leader Myra Melford is a native of Evanston, Illinois. Melford received her B.A. from Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. She continued her studies with Art Lande and Gary Peacock at the Cornish Institute's Jazz Department in Seattle.
She moved to New York City in 1984 and studied privately with pianists Jaki Byard and Don Pullen, and composer/multi-instrumentalist Henry Threadgill.
Described as "very much the complete modern pianist", Myra has
performed as a soloist at the Bolzano Jazz Festival in Italy, ESC in Graz
and the Horfest in Stainach, Austria; the Women Piano
Meeting in Zurich; on a double bill with Kirk Lightsey on Composers'Forum's series
at Merkin Hall in NYC.
Other performances include the Kitchen in
NYC, the Celebrate Brooklyn series, New Langton Arts in
San Francisco, Yale University, the University of Massachussetts,
Southend Musicworks in Chicago and elsewhere.
She is also known for her innovative approach to playing the inside of the piano, applying malletts to strings and reinforcing bars bowing harmonics, and other percussive techniques
In 1990 she formed the Myra Melford Trio with bassist Lindsey Horner and drummer Rcggie Nicholson.
The Myra Melford Trio (with Lindsey Horner on bass and Reggie Nicholson on drums) can be heard on Alive In The House Of Saints (hat Art 1993), Now And Now (Enemy, 1992), and Jump (Enemy, 1991). Down Beat Magazine awarded Five Stars to Even The Sounds Shine and called Alive In The House Of Saints "a superb recording...alternating back and forth between elegant, romantic simplicity and unbridled, sharp-edged energy."
Melford has also made three Quintet recordings: the 1995 Even The Sounds Shine released on the Swiss label hat Art, The Same River, Twice on Gramavision, and 1999's Above Blue on Arabesque.
Both Melford's Quintet and Trio have performed extensively in the United States, Canada and Europe. International festival highlights include North Sea in Holland, Vittoria in Spain, Clusone, Verona, and Bolzano in Italy, and Vancouver in Canada.
Comments to: lankina@worldnet.att.net lastupdate: May 7, 1999