The Harmonic Convergence of Amina Claudine Myers

In this podcast, Amina Claudine Myers discusses her journey from the gospel choirs of Arkansas to becoming a 2024 NEA Jazz Master, highlighting her significant contributions to jazz, gospel, and blues. We discuss her early life in Blackwell, Arkansas, and Dallas, Texas, sharing stories of how family and church planted the seeds of her future in music and her transition from gospel music to discovering jazz and blues in college, detailing her growth as a musician and composer. She reflects on her time in Chicago and her involvement with the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), emphasizing the impact this had on her musical direction and compositions. Myers describes her move to New York, the challenges she there, and how she found her footing through innovative performances and compositions. She discusses how she integrates jazz, gospel, and blues into her music, creating a unique sound that speaks to her diverse influences and experiences and her efforts to preserve the legacy of gospel music with Generation 4. And finally Myers shares her thoughts  on being named an NEA Jazz Master.*

*The Arts Endowment in collaboration with the Kennedy Center will celebrate the 2024 NEA Jazz Masters  with a free tribute concert on Saturday, April 13 at 7:30 pm. The concert is free and open to the public. You can get ticket details at Kennedy-Center.org. And if you can’t make it to DC, don’t despair, the concert is available through a live webcast and radio broadcast at arts.gov.