Who are todays heroes of jazz?
Icons pushing the art form forward, while both challenging and amazing the listener, emerge from a generation that cut their teeth in the Downtown scene of the ’80s and ’90s (not AACM sages of the ’60 and ’70s, but not fresh-faced out of music school, either) and have matured into masters of their craft who can set the example clear into this next century. Bringing some such stalwarts into laser-sharp focus is the group called Trio M, combining three of the tightest and most innovative players for reasons presumably other than their first initials. Frequent Dave Douglas collaborator Myra Melford — the top female avant-garde pianist I can think of, other than Marilyn Crispell — has an innate ability to swing inside and express the blues succinctly (see the track “Naive Art”) but also to venture way out, Cecil Taylor style. Then we have Mark Dresser, member of Anthony Braxton’s group in the late ’80s, whose current resume stretches from college professor to classical symphony player, a
