Myra Melford's Snowy Egret - the other side of air

Bay Area pianist Myra Melford – whom the New Yorker called “a stalwart of the new-jazz movement” – has spent the last three decades making brilliant original music, in equal parts challenging and engaging. She has explored an array of formats, from dynamic solo-piano recitals to deeply interactive small groups and even the swinging grandeur of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra,

But it’s her quintet Snowy Egret that best defines her artistry in 2018: “I really feel like it’s the vehicle that expresses where I am as a composer, performer and bandleader right now,” she says. Firehouse 12 Records will release The Other Side of Air, this ensemble’s new album, on November 12.

Premiering live in 2012, with roots that reach back to the mid-’90s, Snowy Egret features Melford alongside four of the most compelling musicians currently working in jazz and the avant-garde: Ron Miles (cornet), Liberty Ellman (guitar), Stomu Takeishi (acoustic bass guitar) and Tyshawn Sorey (drums). The Other Side of Air follows on Snowy Egret’s self-titled Enja/Yellowbird debut, released three years ago to rave reviews.