Myra Melford's "Fire and Water" Quintet

NEW Album „Hear the Light Singing“ coming out in early November 2023

Visionary pianist Myra Melford draws on the elemental nature of inspiration in her exciting new project Fire and Water.

The all-star ensemble brings together five of the leading voices in contemporary improvised music: Melford, guitarist Mary Halvorson, saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, cellist Tomeka Reid and percussionist Lesley Mok. All five women are not only innovative composers and bandleaders, but also gifted and daring improvisers who open up a multitude of possibilities for this ensemble. Melford takes full advantage of these unique possibilities, creating a suite of new music that fluidly crosses the boundaries between notated composition and guided improvisation.

Fire and Water is inspired by Melford's ongoing exploration of the iconoclastic work of the late visual artist Cy Twombly. The band's name pays homage to the artist's "For the Love of Fire and Water" series, which combines his trademark luminous doodles and scribbled calligraphic text. Melford senses an affinity between her own work and Twombly's "sense of curiosity and play and his unbridled energy that just leaps off the page". This spirit animates the stimulating music she has composed for Fire and Water. The group first came together for a sold-out performance at The Stone in New York in June 2019, where, as the pianist recalls, "the chemistry was right from the first note. Since then, I've wanted to visit this constellation of players again and again."