Celebrating Saxophonist Melissa Aldana’s Birthday

Jazz88 celebrates the birthday of Melissa Aldana, a New York-based saxophonist who has earned praise and recognition from critics and musical peers as one of the most accomplished tenor players on the contemporary jazz scene. Aldana was born in 1988 in Santiago, Chile and was taught to play by her father, renowned saxophonist Marcos Aldana. Discovered by pianist Danilo Pérez while still a teenager, Aldana won a scholarship to Berklee where she studied with Joe Lovano, Greg Osby, Bill Pierce, and Ralph Peterson. She released her debut recording Free Fall in 2010, and then earned wider acclaim by winning the 2013 Thelonious Monk (now Herbie Hancock) International Jazz Saxophone Competition.

Busy as a leader and sidewoman, she has recorded with Terri Lyne Carrington and Cécile McLorin Salvant, has released, as of this writing, six albums of her own, and has been nominated twice to receive Grammy awards. Her most recent recording is Echoes of the Inner Prophet on Blue Note records.

You can find her complete performance at the 2013 Monk Competition here.

More Posts for Show: The Morning Show

Related Posts