Myra Melford with Michael Formanek & Ches Smith - Myra Melford Splash (2025)

We are thrilled to release our first collaboration with visionary pianist and composer Myra Melford – a mesmerizing debut album from the new trio featuring bassist Michael Formanek and drummer and vibraphonist Ches Smith. Throughout her career, Melford has incorporated elements from other media into her compositions – not only from the visual arts, but also from literature, poetry and architecture. This trio is the latest installment in Melford's ongoing body of work inspired by the art of American post-abstract expressionist painter Cy Twombly. Myra Melford's Splash mirrors the energy and movement captured in Twombly's paintings, a physicality that drives Melford's exploratory music and multi-layered compositions. "Formanek and Smith are alert listeners and adept shape-shifters, as they’ve proven time and time again. Together with Melford, unpacking this music, they’re able to evoke the gestural dynamism and surging volatility that gives Twombly’s work so much of its power. Their expressive range of timbres — as Formanek plays arco, and Smith pivots to vibraphone — creates chamberlike options for Melford as a composer and improviser”, writes Nate Chinen in the liner notes. The result is music of enchanting beauty, oscillating between filigree sound painting and abstract reflection.

Myra Melford: Piano
Michael Formanek: Bass
Ches Smith: Drums, Vibraphone