Myra Melford, Life Carries Me This Way (Firehouse 12 Records)
Pianist Myra Melford came through town
recently, appearing at the Outpost as a
member of drummer Allison Miller’s group Boom Tic Boom. When she sat down at the piano, I wondered if all the piano teachers in the room were cringing, because her seat was set so low that she had to reach up to get her hands on the keyboard. Glenn Gould is the only other pianist I’ve seen who sits so low, but neither his nor Melford’s expressive abilities seem to be compromised by the
unorthodox elevation.
I spoke briefly with her after the show, and shaking her hand, I was reminded just how diminutive she is. Her hands are quite small by
pianist standards, but that doesn’t seem to get in her way, either. She brings a ton of
inspiration and information to the piano, and she has enough of a reach to get to some very interesting and unexpected places in your ear.
She confessed to being nervous about her new album, Life Carries Me This Way, because first, the subject matter is close to her heart, and second, it’s her first solo recording. It’s remarkable that so mature, inquisitive, thoughtful, and well-established an artist as Melford—a 2013 Guggenheim Fellow and Doris Duke Performing Artist Award winner—has never ventured into the studio alone. I’m glad she did, and she’s got nothing to be nervous about.