Time witnesses all things. This offering by Amina Claudine Myers recognizes her continuing evolution and allows us to view yet another facet of her expansive musical personality. In this album she reveals to us her inner peace, with renderings that are evocative and profound, while simultaneously showing the deft of one’s craft gained by decades of experience. It is Amina’s hope that these musical portraits will provide moments of comfort and solace in this ever-changing world.
Red Hook Records is proud to announce the release of Solace of the Mind, a profoundly lyrical solo album from pianist, organist, vocalist, and newly minted NEA Jazz Master Amina Claudine Myers. This extraordinary recording – a follow up to her critically acclaimed duo with Wadada Leo Smith, Central Park's Mosaic of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens, released via Red Hook last May – stands as a testament to the uncompromising vision of a seasoned leader in creative music who has traced a remarkable path from her beginnings in Arkansas church choirs to the forefronts of the music scene.
Throughout her six-decade musical journey, Myers has consistently defied conventional boundaries, drawing from her rich roots in Baptist and Methodist church music, gospel, and rhythm and blues. Solace of the Mind represents a deeply personal exploration of her musical evolution, featuring Myers on piano, Hammond B3 organ, and voice, to create an expressive document steeped in tradition and modernity.
Produced by Red Hook Records founder and former ECM producer Sun Chung, the recording is a masterwork of sonic precision, meticulously rendering every musical nuance with extraordinary fidelity. The recording's stunning clarity not only amplifies the enthralling subtleties of Myers' performance but also creates an immersive soundstage that brings the music's central intimacy into focus.
The album emerges as a meditation on musical memory, with Myers revisiting compositions like "African Blues," "Song for Mother E," "Cairo," and "Steal Away" - pieces she has performed before, but has now reimagined with the nuanced perspective of a lifetime of musical innovation. "I wanted to play them differently this time," Myers reflects. "'Steal Away,' I hated that song when I was a child, the way the old people sang it, so slow and sad. But now it's one of my favorites."
Myers' meditative performances distill these songs to their essential core, presenting them with a stark, unadorned clarity that reveals the raw beauty of her artistry. Her deliberate pacing and nuanced spatial arrangements create an intimate listening experience that draws audiences deep into the music's intrinsic power.
A longtime member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), Myers embodies the organization's pioneering spirit of musical exploration. "I found my home in the AACM," she recalls. "Everyone was encouraged to make our own music, do our own things. I began to hear more. I wanted to try different ideas." The AACM's remarkable legacy included fostering a musical community that radically challenged conventions while celebrating individual artistic identity. Within the collective, Myers emerged as a singular voice.
Noted Jazz Journalist Howard Mandel, who contributes liner notes, eloquently captures the essence of Myers' approach: "She relies on fine touch, inner calm and pure feeling to soothe the soul — hers and ours — using pure pianistic melody." The album offers "respites from strife without rhetoric or faith professed in anything but sound itself," with Myers demonstrating "the patience and discernment to let her chords resound, their overtones linger."
From her early days organizing church choirs in her preteen years to becoming a celebrated jazz innovator, Myers has continuously pushed musical boundaries. Her career has included collaborations with legendary artists like Archie Shepp, Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt, Charlie Haden, Muhal Richard Abrams, Wadada Leo Smith and Anthony Braxton, and she has been recognized with numerous awards, including her recent designation as a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 2024 and a Mellon Jazz Legacies Fellowship in 2025.
Robert Thurman, in his accompanying liner notes, illuminates the album's underlying artistic vision: "In this album she reveals to us her inner peace, with renderings that are evocative and profound, while simultaneously showing the deft of one's craft gained by decades of experience. It is Amina's hope that these musical portraits will provide moments of comfort and solace in this ever-changing world."
Despite her numerous accolades, Myers remains charmingly modest. "'Jazz Master' — I guess that means I've got to up my game," she muses. "It calls for something masterful." With Solace of the Mind, she transcends expectations, offering a masterful collection that is at once a personal reflection and a universal meditation. One that invites listeners into a deeply personal musical journey, promising moments of comfort, introspection, and profound musical expression.