Myra Melford

An exploratory, virtuosic, rhythmic, and lyrical composer and improviser, pianist Myra Melford emerged in 1990 with her trio debut Jump. It reflected her primary musical mentors/influences: pianist Don Pullen, whose percussive mannerisms she successively adapted, and composer Henry Threadgill, with whom she studied in the mid-'80s. By the time the trio released 1996's The Same River, Twice, she had become an internationally acclaimed jazz pianist. The accolades afforded her wide-ranging body of work -- often carrying a strong spiritual focus -- have continued well into the 21s...