Myra Melford

Myra Melford is an American avant-garde jazz pianist and composer. A 2013 Guggenheim Fellow, Melford was described by the San Francisco Chronicle as an "explosive player, a virtuoso who shocks and soothes, and who can make the piano stand up and do things it doesn't seem to have been designed for."

Early life and education

Melford was born in Evanston, Illinois and was raised in a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. At 3, she started playing the piano on her own, climbing onto the piano bench and improvising, and began taking lessons when she was in kindergarten. She developed a strong relationship with her teacher, Erwin Helfer, a classically-trained boogie-woogie player. Helfer introduced her to classical composers such as Bach before moving on to contemporary composers, such as Bartók, and later taught her to play the blues. Melford attended blues festivals, and because of her relationship with Helfer, she was often invited backstage, where she encountered many of Chicago's most acclaimed performers. Independently, Melford also began to explore improvisation.

Myra

Myra (Ancient Greek: Μύρα [plural]) was an ancient Greek town in Lycia where the small town of Kale (Demre) is situated today, in present day Antalya Province of Turkey. It was located on the river Myros (Demre Çay), in the fertile alluvial plain between Alaca Dağ, the Massikytos range and the Aegean Sea.

Historical evidence

Although some scholars equate Myra with the town Mira in Arzawa, there is no proof for the connection. There is no substantiated written reference for Myra before it was listed as a member of the Lycian alliance (168 BC – AD 43); according to Strabo (14:665) it was one of the largest towns of the alliance.

The Greek citizens worshipped Artemis Eleutheria, who was the protective goddess of the town. Zeus, Athena and Tyche were venerated as well.

The ruins of the Lycian and Roman town are mostly covered by alluvial silts. The Acropolis on the Demre-plateau, the Roman theatre and the Roman baths (eski hamam) have been partly excavated. The semi-circular theater was destroyed in an earthquake in 141, but rebuilt afterwards.

Myra (album)

Myra is the debut album by Mexican-American pop singer Myra, released by Buena Vista Records on June 8, 2001.

Track listing

Reception

Myra failed to be a charting success, only seeking at #47 on the Top Heatseekers chart; it also met with very little promotion from Buena Vista/Walt Disney Records. Despite this, it was met with positive reviews from music critics, many praising the album for being fun, energetic and playful. Both Allmusic and Yahoo! gave the album a three out of five star rating.

Myra (disambiguation)

Myra is an ancient Lycian town in modern Turkey.

Myra (/ˈmaɪərə/ MY-rə) may refer to:

Places