Myra Melford's Fire & Water Quintet at KMFA-Draylen Mason Studio

Celebrated composer and pianist, Myra Melford brings her all-women jazz supergroup to Austin for the first time!

The pianist and composer Myra Melford’s five-piece band of all-star creative improvisers is aptly named: There is something volatile and elemental about the music she makes with Ingrid Laubrock, the saxophonist; Mary Halvorson, the guitarist; Tomeka Reid, the cellist; and Lesley Mok, the percussionist. On “Hear the Light Singing,” the group’s second LP, Halvorson’s effects-laden guitar comes in splashes and jolts, and Reid’s cello moves in hurrying steps or generous waves. - New York Times...

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Celebrated composer and pianist, Myra Melford brings her all-women jazz supergroup to Austin for the first time!

The pianist and composer Myra Melford’s five-piece band of all-star creative improvisers is aptly named: There is something volatile and elemental about the music she makes with Ingrid Laubrock, the saxophonist; Mary Halvorson, the guitarist; Tomeka Reid, the cellist; and Lesley Mok, the percussionist. On “Hear the Light Singing,” the group’s second LP, Halvorson’s effects-laden guitar comes in splashes and jolts, and Reid’s cello moves in hurrying steps or generous waves. - New York Times

For the Love of Fire and Water
Assembled by acclaimed pianist and composer Myra Melford, each member of this supergroup has an impressive catalog as a bandleader and collaborator. The result is a gathering of some of the most compelling improvisers working today including Mary Halvorson on guitar, Ingrid Laubrock on saxophone, Tomeka Reid on cello, and Lesley Mok on percussion.For The Love of Fire and Water is inspired by the American painter Cy Twombly’s drawings, Gaeta Set (for the Love of Fire & Water). The dynamic music uses provocation and cacophony aside quieter sounds and blank space. The resulting music aligns with Twombly’s organic, elemental ideas that he sought to portray in his artwork. This is visionary bandleader Myra Melford's first appearance Austin.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/06/arts/music/myra-melford-fire-and-water-quintet.html

This project has been financed in part by the City of Austin's Elevate Grant Program and is supported through a Chamber Music America Presenter Consortium for Jazz grant in collaboration with New Quorum (New Orleans_and Nameless Sound (Houston). A component of the Doris Duke Jazz Ensembles Project, Presenter Consortium for Jazz is funded by the Doris Duke Foundation.

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