Wikipedia

Amina Claudine Myers

Amina Claudine Myers (born March 21, 1942) is an American jazz pianist, organist, vocalist, composer, and arranger.[1]

Amina Claudine Myers
Background information
Born (1942-03-21) March 21, 1942 (age 82)
Blackwell, Arkansas, United States
GenresJazz, Gospel
Occupation(s)Musician, composer, arranger
Instrument(s)Vocals, piano, organ
Years active1969–present

Biography

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Born in Blackwell, Arkansas,[2] "Myers was brought up largely by her great-aunt, a schoolteacher, and her great-uncle, a carpenter by trade who played the clarinet, piano, and flute".[2] She started taking piano lessons around the age of four, including at Sacred Hearts Catholic School, and when she was seven, her family moved to Roosevelt, a Black community outside of Dallas, Texas. Myers took piano and violin lessons, but eventually, partly for financial reasons, settled on the piano, taking weekly lessons of fifteen minutes each.[3] She began to learn some European classical music at high school, but this was interrupted when she and the family moved back to Blackwell.[4]

Myers majored in music education at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas.[4] In her second year, she was invited to play at The Safari Room in Memphis, Tennessee.[4] This engagement, however, was very brief, as her musical repertoire was too limited.[4] After graduation, she moved in 1963 to Chicago, where she taught music at an elementary school.[5] She also attended classes at Roosevelt University and worked with musicians such as Sonny Stitt and Gene Ammons.[6] She was one of the performers at the AACM's second concert.[5] In the late 1960s, Myers added "Amina" to her name.[7]

In 1976 Myers relocated to New York City,[8] where she intensified her compositional work and expanded it into the realm of Off-Broadway productions. She also continued performing and recording as a pianist and organist. Around 1978 she began touring in Europe with the Lester Bowie Quintet and his New York Organ Ensemble.[8]

Discography

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As leader

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With others

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With Muhal Richard Abrams

With the Art Ensemble of Chicago

With Arthur Blythe

With Lester Bowie

With Frank Lowe

With Maurice McIntyre

With Greg Osby

With Jim Pepper

  • Afro Indian Blues (recorded 1991, released 2006)

With Wadada Leo Smith

  • Central Park's Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens (Red Hook, 2024)

With Third Rail (James Blood Ulmer & Bill Laswell)

With Henry Threadgill

With James Blood Ulmer

References

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  1. ^ Allmusic biography
  2. ^ a b Lewis 2008, p. 125.
  3. ^ Lewis 2008, p. 126.
  4. ^ a b c d Lewis 2008, p. 127.
  5. ^ a b Lewis 2008, p. 128.
  6. ^ Russonello, Giovanni (September 14, 2018). "Amina Claudine Myers, a Singer Who Still Needs No Words". The New York Times. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  7. ^ Lewis 2008, p. 165.
  8. ^ a b "Full length Bio: Amina Claudine Myers", Company of Heaven.

Bibliography

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  • Lewis, George E. (2008). A Power Stronger Than Itself: The AACM and American Experimental Music. University of Chicago Press.
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