Brooklyn-based, Chile-born bandleader and tenor sax player Melissa Aldana wields a deeply meditative interpretation of language and vocabulary. She’s the first female instrumentalist to win the Thelonious Monk Award in 2013, which led to a contract with Concord Jazz to record her LP Melissa Aldana & Crash Trio in 2014. Tracks from her last two albums—2019’s Visions and last year’s 12 Stars—were nominated for the Best Improvised Jazz Solo Performance Grammy. 12 Stars, her first LP for the storied jazz label Blue Note, grapples with heavy concepts; childrearing, familial forgiveness, acceptance, and self-love, written and recorded in the wake of a long relationship.
