by Kelsey Higgins
Melissa Aldana is a 24-year-old tenor saxophonist. Originally from Santiago, Chile, she has been active in New York since 2009.
The Village Voice put her and her quartet of Glenn Zaleski (piano), Pablo Menares (bass) and Francisco Mela (drums), on the top of their Best Jazz Shows in NYC for the month of October. The four performed at Kitano together on Oct. 3.
Making History
On Sept. 16, 2013 Aldana became the first woman to take the top prize in an instrumental contest at the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, and according to Berklee she is only the fifth alumnus to do so.
Jazz Times said she, “won the contest with savvy subversions to jazz’s modern mainstream,” and that her victory was, “well deserved and hard earned.”
Second Cycle
Prior to winning the competition, Aldana released two albums on the Inner Circle label, which was founded by saxophonist Greg Osby.
Her first album “Free Fall” is, “a pure mix of jazz improvisation rooted deep in the tradition and compositions that are taking the music in a more modern direction,” Inner Circle Music said.
Her second album, “Second Cycle” is what really grabbed her a portion of the spotlight in the New York jazz scene. In this album, “for extended periods she’s riding intricate bass-and-drum rhythms by herself, ” said the New York Times.
Her next album will debut her Crash Trio, which features members of her quartet Francisco Mela on drums and Pablo Menares on bass. The three performed together at Berklee on Oct. 9, according to NPR.
Further Reading
Aldana appeared at the Jazz Gallery in February of 2013 and Ben Ratliff of the New York Times said her performance, “covered great range of form and sound: controlled and loose, old and new, learned and intuitive. She was patient but showed that she could be extravagant.”
The Big Apple Hot Plate Report 