''Above Blue'' is an album by pianist

Myra Melford Myra Melford (born January 5, 1957) is an American avant-garde jazz pianist and composer. A 2013 Guggenheim Fellow, Melford was described by the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' as an "explosive player, a virtuoso who shocks and soothes, and who can m ...

's group The Same River, Twice which was recorded in 1999 and released on the

Gramavision Gramavision Records is an American record label founded in 1979. Since 1994 it has been a subsidiary of Rykodisc. The label's music is largely jazz, blues and folk oriented but has touched on many other styles and genres. In 1979, Jonathan F.P. ...

label.Myra Melford: Projects
accessed May 23, 2018

Reception

The

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review by Michael G. Nastos stated "Melford, an original voice on piano if there ever was one, keeps on stretching. With her potent quintet the Same River, Twice, she is the fuse for explosions of deep group interaction, offering visceral harmonic statements while injecting her busy, dancing, at times pensive, and occasionally cluster-laden outspoken style to the forefront, its territory mapped by very few. ... It's easy to find the joy and brilliance in the music of Melford, not to mention the clarity. As she further asserts her muse in a quest to continually be unique and different, everyone benefits, learning and growing as she does. This kind of music is indeed high art, rare, but unquestionably within reach". In

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade of growth ...

, Bill Shoemaker wrote "On ''Above Blue'' (Arabesque), two trend lines merge, and spike upwards as a result. One represents the maturation of her cohorts ... The other line charts the increasing natural flow and communicative immediacy with which Melford animates weighty compositional propositions. Throughout this wide-ranging program, Melford goes a step beyond a seamless mastery of the recombinant Downtown aesthetic of the ’80s and ’90s to achieve a rare paradox: by writing so precisely to the strengths of her collaborators, she has created highly personal work". On

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

, Glenn Astarita said "On ''Above Blue'', Ms. Melford’s impressive track record of performing with top-notch musicians and churning out enticingly complex compositions remain intact. ... ''Above Blue'' may in fact be Melford’s finest outing to date. The brilliant ensemble work coupled with Melford’s multifaceted upfront compositional style makes for compelling listening. Myra Melford is one of jazz’ treasures and has accomplished quite a bit during her 10 year tenure within the modern jazz scene. ''Above Blue'' along with Ms. Melford’s “Same River Twice” band is a bold yet deeply personalized statement from this brilliant pianist-composer",Astarita, G
All About Jazz Review 1
accessed May 23, 2018 while Robert Spencer observed "Myra Melford's piano is a welter of extraordinary activity, although unlike some other players with her power, even when her playing is at its most furious it always seems to be melodically, not percussively, rooted. She is once again surrounded on this disc by cutting-edge modern jazz players ... This group navigates Melford's rhythmically tenuous and complex ensemble passages with notable aplomb. The music is always excellent, albeit somewhat hard to classify: Melford draws from the spectrum of the jazz tradition to create something utterly new. Its emotional range is breathtaking and the virtuosity of the performers is tremendous ... What's most impressive is how finely crafted this music is, while at the same time leaving so much space for each instrumentalist to display his creativity to the utmost. Recommended".Spencer, R
All About Jazz Review 2
accessed May 23, 2018

Track listing

All compositions by Myra Melford # "Two But Live" – 4:52 # "A White Flower Grows in the Quietness" – 9:47 # "Yet Can Spring" – 8:17 # "Here Is Only Moment" – 5:31 # "Above Blue" – 11:58 # "Be Melting Snow" – 6:56 # "Through Storm's Embrace" – 12:08 # "Still in After's Shadow" – 6:13

Personnel

– piano * Dave Douglas – trumpet *

Chris Speed Chris Speed (born February 12, 1967) is an American saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. Early life and career Speed grew up outside of Seattle and studied classical piano and clarinet from an early age. He later began studying jazz, took up ...

– tenor saxophone, clarinet *

Erik Friedlander Erik Friedlander is an American cellist and composer based in New York City. A veteran of New York City's experimental downtown scene, Friedlander has worked in many contexts, but is perhaps best known for his frequent collaborations with sax ...

– cello *

Michael Sarin Michael Towne Sarin (born September 20, 1965, Stockton, California) is an American jazz drummer. Sarin moved to the Puget Sound area as a child, where he began studying percussion as a teenager. He studied music at the University of Washington an ...

– drums

References

{{Authority control Arabesque Records albums Myra Melford albums 1999 albums