Serving the San Francisco Bay Area New Music Community

Thu, Oct 5 2017 7:30 PM


Melford, Morris, Mezzacappa & Adams: Energetic Avant-Jazz

Pianist Myra Melford, bassist Lisa Mezzacappa, and saxophonists Angela Morris and Steve Adams perform original compositions and spontaneous improvisations. Ranging from melodic free jazz to energetic sonic explorations, they bring their unique chemistry to the West Coast for the first time this fall.

Featuring:
Myra Melford – piano
Angela Morris – tenor saxophone
Lisa Mezzacappa – bass
Steve Adams – saxophones

Pianist, composer, and Guggenheim fellow Myra Melford is a singular voice in piano improvisation. Known for her restless curiosity and diverse collaborations, Melford draws from such far-ranging interests as jazz, Chicago blues, experimental music, architecture, and Eastern philosophy. In 2013, Melford earned a Guggenheim Fellowship for Language of Dreams, a multisensory work featuring her Snowy Egret quintet. Melford also performs solo concerts; co-leads Trio M (with Mark Dresser and Matt Wilson) and Dialogue (with Ben Goldberg); and plays in trios with Miya Masaoka/Zeena Parkins and Nicole Mitchell/Joelle Leandre. Recent honors include a 2012 Alpert Award in the Arts for Music and a 2013 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award. Melford showcased her prolific artistry in a 12-show, 25-year career retrospective at the Stone (2015).

If Brooklyn’s music circles form a Venn diagram, saxophonist-composer Angela Morris thrives in the loop between improvised avant-jazz and adventurous pop. Originally from Toronto, Canada, and based in NYC, she has performed throughout North America and Europe. Her recent albums include “Turned, and Was” (Gold Bolus Recordings) by Morris’ vocal group Rallidae, “like you always do, I always did too” by Motel (Prom Night Records), and Star Ballad by TMT Trio. Morris composes and co-leads a 17-piece big band with Anna Webber, and performs with Helado Negro, Jason Ajemian’s Folk-Lords, Myra Melford, and Jessica Pavone.
Audio samples in which musicians at this event play:
Videos featuring musicians playing at this event
Myra Melford and Satoko Fujii
Ken Filiano/ Steve Adams Duo at the Stone
avantNOIR, a suite of compositions for jazz quartet plus guests, is a musical companion to the crime novels of Dashiell Hammett and Paul Auster. All music by Lisa Mezzacappa.