Amina Claudine Myers
| Amina Claudine Myers | |
|---|---|
 Amina Claudine Myers Photo: Bob Travis |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Amina Claudine Myers |
| Born | March 21, 1942 Blackwell, Arkansas United States |
| Genres | Jazz, Gospel |
| Occupations | Musician, composer, musical arranger |
| Years active | 1969–present |
Amina Claudine Myers (born March 21, 1942) in Blackwell, Arkansas; (a small community on US 64 in western Conway County) is an American jazz pianist, organist, vocalist, composer, and musical arranger.[1]
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[edit] Biography
Myers started singing and playing the piano and organ as a child in church choirs in the Dallas/Fort Worth area in Texas, where she grew up, and directed choirs at an early age. She graduated in concert music and music education at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas in the early 1960s. After graduation, Myers moved to Chicago where she taught music, attended classes at Roosevelt University and worked with musicians such as Sonny Stitt and Gene Ammons. In 1966 she joined the AACM in Chicago, focusing on vocal compositions and arrangements, and recording her first jazz album with Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre in 1969.
In 1976 Myers relocated to New York City, 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 with Lester Bowie (African Children (1978), The Fifth Power (1978), The Organizer (1991) and Funky T. Cool T. (1991)) and Muhal Richard Abrams (Lifea Blinec (1978), Spihumonesty (1979) and Duet (1981)). In 1985 she joined Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra. Notable collaborations also include recordings with Bill Laswell, Marian McPartland, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Archie Shepp, David Murray, Arthur Blythe, Frank Lowe, Leroy Jenkins, Jim Pepper and Ray Anderson.
[edit] Discography
- Poems for Piano: The Piano Music of Marion Brown (Sweet Earth, 1979)
- Song for Mother E with Pheeroan akLaff (Leo, 1980)
- Salutes Bessie Smith (Leo, 1980)
- The Circle of Time (Black Saint, 1983)
- Jumping in the Sugar Bowl (Minor Music, 1984)
- Country Girl (Minor Music, 1986)
- Amina (RCA/Novus, 1987)
- In Touch (RCA/Novus, 1989)
- Women In (E)Motion Festival (Tradition & Moderne, recorded 1988 released 2004)
