Hailed by The New Yorker as “a stalwart of the new-jazz movement,” the gifted pianist, composer, bandleader, and educator Myra Melford comes to Roulette with her dynamic all-star Fire and Water Quintet to present a brand new book of music. The quintet brings together Melford (composer/piano) with Ingrid Laubrock (tenor and soprano saxophones), Mary Halvorson (electric guitar), Tomeka Reid (cello), and Lesley Mok (drums).
Their critically acclaimed debut, For the Love of Fire and Water, inspired by a set of drawings by the visual artist Cy Twombly, was released in April 2022 on the RogueArt label. DownBeat praised the album, noting that “the resulting music is expansive, containing both artfully arranged ensemble passages and freeform encounters between a couple players within an album-length suite.” A second album, Hear the Light Singing, adding “insertions” to the original suite and written with each player’s unique musical personality in mind, was released in October 2023 to immense critical acclaim. JazzTrail highlighted the album’s “strong and sinuous lead melody,” emphasizing the group’s open-mindedness and effusive solos. Over the past three years, the Fire & Water Quintet has toured from Pori to San Sebastián to Austin to Seattle, captivating audiences with innovative compositions and exceptional musicianship.
On June 25, Melford will premiere a brand-new book of music for a forthcoming album on RogueArt. This performance will offer audiences an exclusive first listen to the group’s next evolution, showcasing their ever-expanding sonic explorations and deep improvisational synergy.
Myra Melford piano, composition
Ingrid Laubrock saxophones
Mary Halvorson guitar
Tomeka Reid cello
Lesley Mok drums
The pianist, composer, bandleader and professor Myra Melford—whom the New Yorker called “a stalwart of the new-jazz movement”—has spent the last four decades making original music that is equally challenging and engaging. Culling inspiration from a wide range of sources including the blues of her native Chicago, the poetry of Fernando Pessoa, literature by Eduardo Galeano, visual art and architecture, innovative jazz artists such as Cecil Taylor and the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), yoga, and Eastern philosophy. She’s explored an array of formats, among them solo-piano recitals, deeply interactive combos and ambitious multidisciplinary programs.
Her all-star ensemble project, Fire and Water, debuted its critically acclaimed release, For the Love of Fire and Water, in April 2022 on RogueArt Records and a second release in November 2023, Hear the Light Singing. The Other Side of Air, the 2018 release by her quintet Snowy Egret, was named one of the best jazz recordings of 2018 by the New York Times and one of NPR Music’s 50 Best Albums of 2018. “This is music with an endless capacity for elasticity and surprise,” NPR wrote, “along with an affirming spirit of coherence.”
A recording by her new trio, Splash, with Michael Formanek and Ches Smith, will be released on Intakt Records in March 2025. Other current performing ensembles include Lux Quartet (co-led with Allison Miller, featuring Scott Colley and Dayna Stephens) and the collectively led Tiger Trio (with Joelle Leandre and Nicole Mitchell) and Trio M (with Mark Dresser and Matt Wilson).
She has received: a Fulbright Scholarship (2000), the Alpert Award in the Arts for Music (2012) a Guggenheim Fellowship (2013), the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award (2013-16) and the Doris Duke Residency to Build Demand for the Arts (2013). She’s appeared in the Down Beat Magazine and Jazz Journalists Association polls numerous times since 1990.
Since debuting on record as a bandleader in 1990, Melford has built a discography of more than 50 albums as a leader or co-leader, and side-person, and has collaborated with such luminary musicians as Nicole Mitchell, Joelle Leandre, Han Bennink, Miya Masaoka, Zeena Parkins, Lauren Newton, Stomu Takeishi, Rudy Royston, Fay Victor, Mary Halvorson, Tomeka Reid, Ingrid Laubrock, Susie Ibarra, Lesley Mok, Dave Douglas, Marty Ehrlich, Matana Roberts, Michael Formanek, Ches Smith, Liberty Ellman, Erik Friedlander, Fred Frith, Ben Goldberg, Joseph Jarman, Leroy Jenkins, Ron Miles, Tyshawn Sorey, Mary Oliver, Michael Sarin, Mark Dresser, Matt Wilson, Allison Miller, Scott Colley, Dayna Stephens, Jenny Scheinman, Chris Speed, Cuong Vu, Roscoe Mitchell, Francois Houle, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, and the Eco Ensemble. As a young musician in New York City, Melford worked with Lawrence D. ‘Butch’ Morris and Henry Threadgill.
