Myra Melford is an American composer and pianist with a Guggenheim Fellowship, Alpert Award and Doris Duke Artist Award to her name. Her latest release is Hear The Light Singing (RogueArt), the follow-up to For The Love Of Fire And Water (2022). That album is considered a cornerstone of the new jazz movement; on it, Melford tries to express in music her impressions of the sunlight in Gaeta, Italy. Her new album entwines with the original suite yet still stands alone. During her tour with saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, cellist Tomeka Reid, guitarist Mary Halvorson and drummer Lesley Mok, this Fire & Water Quintet played fleshed-out versions of earlier compositions, plus some new pieces. According to Melford, she wrote the compositions specifically for these musicians, and it paid off: the group has loads of fun playing the pieces live and has discovered a new focus.
