Composer and jazz pianist Myra Melford ’81.

Chicago native and acclaimed musician Myra Melford ’81 discovered her passion for jazz as an undergraduate at Evergreen. According to her web site, she “saw early on that aesthetic expression could both be built from and be a structure for profound emotions.”

A recent article in “Jazz Times” notes: “Upon graduating from Evergreen she studied with Art Lande and Gary Peacock at Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts, and,..after honing a vocabulary of extended piano techniques, she methodically began to develop a highly personal compositional vision informed by Caribbean rhythms, classical Indian traditions, Sufi mysticism, architecture and Henry Threadgill’s cellular approach to building tunes.”

We could go on here, pasting in quote, excerpts and accolades (“Melford’s intrepid virtuosity is consistently breathtaking…”) but suggest you go directly to her web site and become acquainted with this accomplished Greener.