Holy frick this is some excellent sax playing. She's also like the only person to do the "cadenza" type melody AND the melody in rhythm. I love both the way she does it. I also love her dynamics and tone and tech, not to mention those growls and trills, OOH!. Truly impeccable.
i hear the tune "you know i care" by Mark Tuner from her. i admire her dedication to express it by herself. She knows music so deeply. Certainly one of the great musician in our time.
Thank you Egil for this evening in Bergen with Melissa and her quartet of the moment! I wish I could have been there, but today I discover the talent of this musician. What a sound this MarkVI has, without a doubt a good year and an excellent production series .... what luck! I love this cabaret atmosphere where Jazz is king. From France my greetings.
MELISSAAAAAAAAAAAAA! VOCÉ É O MÁXIMO ! VOCÊ VEM DO PROFUNDO AZUL DO MAR! É VAI PARA TODOS OS LUGARES , POIS QUANDO VOCÊ TOCA VOCÊ TROCA DE LUGAR! MUITA GENTE DO BRASIL SABEM quem VOCÊ É!
Your voice is absolutely essential for jazz today. I absolutely love your style and your creativity. You have your own voice and that is amazing to me. Amongst all the virtuosity that is out there and you stand alone, unique, one of my favorite players. And it's even cooler that you're a woman. Just another thing that's sets you apart. Go baby, go!!
@Paul Miller Mundane oaf. (Edit a year later: Oh, @CPA Jazz Guitar, you've disappeared. Because you were just another troll, or because your account was deleted because you were such a dreary twit, or because you were so flustered at having exposed yourself as such a twerp, or who knows or cares? Except that it's so nice to see you're gone.)
this argument reminds me of what I always hear: imitate, assimilate, and innovate. Aldana sounds like Sonny Rollins at times, Joe Henderson at times, and even Coleman Hawkins. She's done her homework and it REALLY shows. She has found her voice by really digging into the masters. In the end, she sounds like Melissa Aldana. That's why she's an in demand saxophonist--an in demand musician first and foremost. She continues to practice and hone here craft while we continue to squabble about originality. Food for thought.
Melissa, when are you coming to the UK? No-one's heard of you over here, but the word will get out , and everyone will go nuts to hear you live on stage! You are doing something amazing, which is to single-handedly drag the tenor out from what has been one of the longest culs-de sac in jazz: what I'll call the Brecker-Wayne Syndrome - few tenorists, however fast and/or academic and/or inventive-lyrical, have escaped from its bleak and vapid prison. In 1982 I thought I had discovered the player who would release the chains of the music, and bring back in warmth, humour, freedom, and the legacy of the great swing masters (Prez, Hawk, Byas, Webster etc). The guy's name is Benny Wallace, and I thought his LP The Free Will was and is a masterpiece to put alongside Giant Steps and Saxophone Colossus (Tommy Flanagan plays on all three LPs). For some reason, however, his work has proved just that bit too edgy and personal to be a revolutionary force. It was many years before I gave up waiting for someone to shake the place up... But now.... here you are, having taken the Sonny road ( well, as far as the end of the 1960's, after which he became a big venue guy, and a follower rather than a leader). It is so refreshing to hear that era being explored again and used as a springboard for a future jazz that will have you as one of, if not THE, major figures. Cool!
Melissa..........you demonstrate dexterity on the keys, but this melody lacks beauty........I suggest you substitute it for a better sound ........... perhaps mood indigo
