Marilyn Crispell (born March 30, 1947) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

pianist and composer.

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles an ...

described her as "a powerful player... who has her own way of using space... She is near the top of her field."

Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born October 25, 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

wrote: "Hearing Marilyn Crispell play solo piano is like monitoring an active volcano... She is one of a very few pianists who rise to the challenge of free jazz." In addition to her own extensive work as a soloist or bandleader, Crispell is also known as a longtime member of saxophonist

Anthony Braxton Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophones, particularly the alto. Braxton grew up on the South Side of Chica ...

's quartet in the 1980s and '90s.

Biography

Crispell was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and, at the age of ten, moved to

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, where she attended

Western High School Western High School may refer: Schools in the United States *Western High School (Anaheim, California) – Anaheim, California * Western High School (Illinois) – Barry, Illinois * Western High School (Florida) – Davie, Florida * Western High S ...

. She studied classical piano at the

Peabody Conservatory The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University is a private conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and opened in 1866 by merchant/financier and philanthropist George Peabody (1795–1869) ...

beginning at age seven, and also began improvising at an early age, thanks to a teacher who required all her students to improvise regardless of their skill level. She later attended the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music Music school, conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The ...

, where she studied piano and composition, graduating in 1968. Crispell was not interested in jazz until 1975, when, while living on

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

, she heard

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...

's ''

A Love Supreme ''A Love Supreme'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. He recorded it in one session on December 9, 1964, at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, leading a quartet featuring pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Ga ...

'' for the first time. She recalls: "The emotional and spiritual quality of it overpowered me... I can honestly say it's possibly the most overpowering experience I've ever had in my life. That one night of listening to A Love Supreme over and over and over just completely changed my life." Crispell soon returned to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, where she studied jazz privately with

Charlie Banacos Charlie Banacos (August 11, 1946 – December 8, 2009) was an American pianist, composer, author and educator, concentrating on jazz. Banacos created over 100 courses of study for improvisation and composition. His concepts of teaching and his cour ...

for two years. According to Crispell, "I had to, like, really go from scratch. I had to do everything in twelve keys. I had to write out seven solos in every key on every piece. I had to listen to tons of stuff and transcribe it to be able to hear and understand what was happening, you know, within the confines of these time cycles and chord changes. How were people using the chords and the notes and the chords and the scales? Where did they go outside of them?" While in Boston, she met saxophonist

Charlie Mariano Carmine Ugo Mariano (November 12, 1923 – June 16, 2009) was an American jazz saxophonist who focused on the alto and soprano saxophone. He occasionally performed and recorded on flute and nadaswaram as well. Biography Mariano was born in ...

, who suggested she consider attending sessions at the

Creative Music Studio The Creative Music Studio (CMS) was a premier study center for contemporary creative music during the 1970s and 1980s, based in Woodstock, New York. Founded in 1971 by Karl Berger, Ingrid Sertso, and Ornette Coleman, it brought together leading in ...

Woodstock, NY Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 2000. ...

, founded by

Karl Berger Karl Hans Berger (born March 30, 1935 in Heidelberg, Germany) is a German jazz pianist, composer, and educator. Career Berger played piano in Germany when he was ten and worked in his teens at a club in Heidelberg. He learned modern jazz from v ...

, Ingrid Sertso, and

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Colle ...

. In 1977, she visited the studio for a summer, and came into contact with musicians such as

Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in complex ...

Don Cherry Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. Cherry played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, and later coached the team for five se ...

Roscoe Mitchell Roscoe Mitchell (born August 3, 1940) is an American composer, jazz instrumentalist, and educator, known for being "a technically superb – if idiosyncratic – saxophonist". ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' described him as "one of the key figures ...

Wadada Leo Smith Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith (born December 18, 1941) is an American trumpeter and composer, working primarily in the fields of avant-garde jazz and free improvisation. He was one of three finalists for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Music for ''Ten Free ...

Anthony Davis Anthony Marshon Davis Jr. (born March 11, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays the power forward and center positions. Davis is an eight-time NB ...

, and

Oliver Lake Oliver Lake (born September 14, 1942) is an American jazz saxophonist, flutist, composer, poet, and visual artist. He is known mainly for alto saxophone, but he also performs on soprano and flute. During the 1960s, Lake worked with the Black Art ...

. Regarding her first encounter with Taylor, she recalled: "I remember the day I first met Cecil Taylor... He was playing pool, and there was a piano behind the pool room. So I sat at the piano and gave him an impromptu concert, hoping he'd listen. When I was finished he kissed my hand, and said, 'This lady can play!' I'm still flattered to hear my name mentioned in the same breath." (During this time, people frequently referred to her as "the female Cecil Taylor" due to her fiery approach to the piano and her tendency to play "lots of notes, all of the time. Continuously, without much of a break.") Regarding her time at the

, she stated: "It was and is a unique place in the world for the kind of music that we do... If it had taken place in New York City I don't think the feeling would have been the same. Here you were living and eating and hanging out with the guiding artists in this country motel setting. People would be up all night making bonfires and playing outside on the lawn with musicians from all over the world. It was a very important human experience and I met many of the people I ended up playing with." Upon completion of the session, Crispell quickly moved to Woodstock and has resided there ever since. While at the

, Crispell also met

, who invited her to sit in with his group. She recalls: "At our first gig Anthony placed a beer in my hand and said, 'Relax, don't play so many notes.' I was playing like a thousand notes a minute, and he was the first person to make me think of space and breath and phrasing, as opposed to a constant barrage." She was soon invited to join Braxton's Creative Music Orchestra and his quartet, of which she was a member from 1983 to 1995, and which also featured bassist

Mark Dresser Mark Dresser (born September 26, 1952) is an American double bass player and composer. Career Dresser was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. In the 1970s, he was a member of Black Music Infinity led by Stanley Crouch and performed w ...

, and drummer

Gerry Hemingway Gerry Hemingway (born March 23, 1955) is an American drummer and composer. Hemingway was a member of the Anthony Braxton quartet from 1983 to 1994. He has also performed with Ernst Reijseger, Anthony Davis, Earl Howard, Leo Smith, George E. ...

. During this time, she made roughly a dozen recordings with Braxton, and also began releasing recordings under her own name. Regarding her tenure with the group, she stated: " was like a family. Playing with Anthony really taught me a lot about space, the use of space and silence and breath, and the use of composition in improvisation... Just being inside his compositions taught me a lot about composition... What really impressed me is that he was composing in a way that was very similar to contemporary classical musicians but with a lot more freedom, allowing interpretation.". Since then, silence and space have become known as a central part of her recordings. As she noted in an interview with PostGenre, Marilyn noted, " en I first started playing creative music, I don’t think I left much of any silence in my performances. I was focused heavily on playing into the energy and showing what I could do. That kind of thinking is very far away from my mindset now." During the late 1970s and 1980s, she also worked and recorded with

Reggie Workman Reginald "Reggie" Workman (born June 26, 1937 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American avant-garde jazz and hard bop double bassist, recognized for his work with both John Coltrane and Art Blakey. Career Early in his career, Workman worke ...

, the ''

Barry Guy Barry John Guy (born 22 April 1947, in London) is an English composer and double bass player. His range of interests encompasses early music, contemporary composition, jazz and improvisation, and he has worked with a wide variety of orchestras ...

New Orchestra'', the

Henry Grimes Henry Grimes (November 3, 1935 – April 15, 2020) was an American jazz double bassist and violinist. After more than a decade of activity and performance, notably as a leading bassist in free jazz, Grimes completely disappeared from the music s ...

Trio, the European ''Quartet Noir'' (with

Urs Leimgruber Urs Leimgruber (1 January 1952 in Lucerne) is a Swiss saxophonist. He lived in Paris from 1988 to 2005. Then he came back to his home town, Lucerne. His fields of activity are improvisation, Jazz and 20th-century classical music. Discography ...

Fritz Hauser Fritz Hauser is a Swiss musician and composer from Basel, Switzerland. Principal compositions *On Time and Space (for 50 cymbals) *Die Klippe (for marimba and 3 cymbals) *Der Pendler (for drum kit) *Le souvenir (for 4 snare drums, 2 tr ...

, and

Joëlle Léandre Joëlle Léandre (born 12 September 1951 in Aix-en-Provence, France) is a French double bassist, vocalist, and composer active in Contemporary classical music, new music and free improvisation. In the field of contemporary music, she has perfor ...

), and

Babatunde Olatunji Michael Babatunde Olatunji (April 7, 1927 – April 6, 2003) was a Nigerian drummer, educator, social activist, and recording artist. Early life Olatunji was born in the village of Ajido, near Badagry, Lagos State, in southwestern Niger ...

. In 1981 she performed at the

Woodstock Jazz Festival The Woodstock Jazz Festival was held in 1981 in Woodstock, New York. It was a celebration of the tenth anniversary of the Creative Music Studio, founded in 1971 by Karl Berger and Ornette Coleman.Creative Music Studio The Creative Music Studio (CMS) was a premier study center for contemporary creative music during the 1970s and 1980s, based in Woodstock, New York. Founded in 1971 by Karl Berger, Ingrid Sertso, and Ornette Coleman, it brought together leading in ...

. In the early 1990s, her style began to evolve further when she visited

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, where she heard a Swedish group that included bassist

Anders Jormin Anders Bertil Michael Jormin (born 7 September 1957) is a Swedish bassist and composer. Jormin established a musical partnership with Bobo Stenson in the mid-1980s which led to international recognition playing with Charles Lloyd, in the early ...

. She recalls: "It just touched a nerve in me... it unlocked the door to the lyrical things that I would have liked to be doing and wasn't doing." "Some of this kind of beauty and Nordic sound and tenderness opened up something in me that I had really kept hidden because I was trying to be really strong all the time. Even when I played romantic things I played them with a lot of energy. So suddenly this other sound entered into my consciousness and it resonated with something in me that I had not allowed to be expressed." She soon performed and recorded with Jormin and his ''Bortom Quintet''. In 1996, she recorded '' Nothing Ever Was, Anyway: Music of Annette Peacock'' with

Gary Peacock Gary George Peacock (May 12, 1935September 4, 2020) was an American jazz double bassist. He recorded a dozen albums under his own name, and also performed and recorded with major jazz figures such as avant garde saxophonist Albert Ayler, pianist ...

Paul Motian Stephen Paul Motian (March 25, 1931 – November 22, 2011) was an American jazz drummer, percussionist, and composer. Motian played an important role in freeing jazz drummers from strict time-keeping duties. He first came to prominence in the l ...

, and

Annette Peacock Annette Peacock is an American composer, musician, songwriter, producer, and arranger. She is a pioneer in electronic music who combined her voice with one of the first Moog synthesizers in the late 1960s. Biography Annette Peacock was writing ...

, her first album for ECM. Regarding her ECM recordings, she stated: "A lot of the stuff I have been doing with ECM is more about an inner intensity rather than an outer one. I feel there is a connection between the two states - wild energy and extreme introversion - two sides of the same coin. I do both and feel like there is an organic connection between them - an integration between them. With the ECM recordings, I like the idea of playing things so slowly that you are almost suspended in time." Crispell has continued to perform and record extensively as a soloist and leader of her own groups, as well as with the

Evan Parker Evan Shaw Parker (born 5 April 1944) is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation. Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free ja ...

Trio, an all-female trio led by Denmark’s

Lotte Anker Lotte Anker (born 1958 Copenhagen) is a Danish jazz saxophonist, and composer. With pianist Marilyn Crispell, she serves as one of the co-leaders of the Copenhagen Art Ensemble. Musical career Anker studied music at the Copenhagen University f ...

, Tisziji Munoz,

Ivo Perelman Ivo Perelman (born January 12, 1961) is a Brazilian free jazz saxophonist born in São Paulo. Career In his youth, Perelman learned to play guitar, cello, clarinet, trombone, and piano, concentrating on tenor sax since age 19. He attended the Be ...

Scott Fields Scott Fields (born September 30, 1960 in Chicago, Illinois) is a guitarist, composer, and bandleader. He is best known for blending music that is composed with music that is written and for his modular pieces (see ''48 Motives'', ''96 Gestures'' ...

, the Copenhagen Art Ensemble, '' Trio Tapestry'' with saxophonist

Joe Lovano Joseph Salvatore Lovano (born December 29, 1952)"Joe Lovano." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 13. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 1994. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, May 5, 2017. is an American jazz saxophonist, alto clarin ...

and bassist Carmen Castaldi, Trio 3 (

Andrew Cyrille Andrew Charles Cyrille (born November 10, 1939) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer. Throughout his career, he has performed both as a leader and a sideman in the bands of Walt Dickerson and Cecil Taylor, among others. AllMusic biographe ...

), the Dave Douglas Trio,

Tyshawn Sorey Tyshawn Sorey (born July 8, 1980) is an American composer, multi-instrumentalist, and professor of contemporary music. Sorey has received accolades for performances, recordings, and compositions ranging from improvised solo percussion to opera, ...

, and many other musicians. She has also performed and recorded music by contemporary composers such as

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...

Pauline Oliveros Pauline Oliveros (May 30, 1932 – November 24, 2016) was an American composer, accordionist and a central figure in the development of post-war experimental and electronic music. She was a founding member of the San Francisco Tape Music Center ...

Robert Cogan Robert Cogan (February 2, 1930 – August 19, 2021) was an American music theorist, composer and teacher. Career He studied at the University of Michigan (B.M., 1951; M.M., 1952); Princeton University (M.F.A., 1956); Royal Conservatory of Brussel ...

Pozzi Escot Olga Pozzi-Escot Zapata (born 1 October 1933) is a Peruvian-born American composer, music theorist, and faculty member at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. Life Pozzi Escot was born in Lima, Peru, her father was a French pr ...

, Manfred Niehaus, and

(including his opera ''

X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X ''X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X'' is an opera with music by Anthony Davis and libretto by Thulani Davis, to a story by Christopher Davis. It is based on the life of the civil rights leader Malcolm X. Performance history The opera premiered i ...

'' with the

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, du ...

). She has taught improvisation workshops and given lecture/demonstrations across the world and has collaborated with poets, dancers, filmmakers, and videographers. She has been the recipient of a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

in Music Composition (2005-2006), a

Mary Flagler Cary Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 – May 20, 1913) was an American industrialist and a founder of Standard Oil, which was first based in Ohio. He was also a key figure in the development of the Atlantic coast of Florida and founder ...

Charitable Trust composition commission (1988-1989), and three

New York Foundation for the Arts The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is an independent 501(c)(3) charity, funded through government, foundation, corporate, and individual support, established in 1971. It is part of a network of national not-for-profit arts organizations ...

fellowship grants (1988-1989, 1994-1995 and 2006-2007). In 1996, Crispell was presented with an Outstanding Alumni Award by the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on Hu ...

, and in 2004, was named as being one of their 100 most outstanding alumni of the past 100 years. She is the author of the instructional DVD "A pianist's guide to free improvisation: keys to unlocking your creativity" (2002, Homespun Video). In 2000, Crispell appeared in the French film ''Women in Jazz'' by Gilles Corre. In 2005–2006, she performed and recorded with the NOW Orchestra in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, and was co-director of the Vancouver Creative Music Institute and a faculty member at the

Banff Centre Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, formerly known as The Banff Centre (and previously The Banff Centre for Continuing Education), located in Banff, Alberta, was established in 1933 as the Banff School of Drama. It was granted full autonomy as ...

International Workshop in Jazz. She also created and directed a multi media production entitled ''

Cy Twombly Edwin Parker "Cy" Twombly Jr. (; April 25, 1928July 5, 2011) was an American Painting, painter, Sculpture, sculptor and photographer. He belonged to the generation of Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. Twombly is said to have influenced you ...

Dreamhouse'', with choreography by Savia Berger. In 2017, she collaborated with Jo Ganter, visual artist, and

Raymond MacDonald Raymond MacDonald is a saxophonist, composer and psychologist with an extensive career in music, cross-disciplinary arts and academia. Much of his work explores the boundaries and ambiguities between what is conventionally seen as improvisation and ...

, saxophonist, both from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, on ''Drawing Sound'', an exhibition of graphic scores at the Kleinert/James Gallery, Woodstock, NY.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

As side musician

;with

and

Marilyn Mazur Marilyn Mazur (born January 18, 1955) is an American-born Danish percussionist. Since 1975, she has worked as a percussionist with various groups, among them Six Winds with Alex Riel. Mazur is primarily an autodidact, but she has a degree in ...

* ''Poetic Justice'' ( Dacapo, 2001) ;with

* '' Composition 98'' ( hatART, 1981) * ''

Six Compositions (Quartet) 1984 ''Six Compositions (Quartet) 1984'' is an album by the American saxophonist and composer Anthony Braxton, recorded in New York in 1984 and released on the Italian Black Saint label.Black Saint Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

, 1985) * '' Quartet (London) 1985'' ( Leo, 1985

988 Year 988 ( CMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Fall – Emperor Basil II, supported by a contingent of 6,000 Varangians ...

* ''

Prag 1984 (Quartet Performance) ''Prag 1984 (Quartet Performance)'' is a live album by composer/saxophonist Anthony Braxton recorded at the Prague International Jazz Festival in 1984 and released on the Sound Aspects label.

'' (Sound Aspects, 1984

990 Year 990 ( CMXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Al-Mansur, ''de facto'' ruler of Al-Andalus, conquers the Castle of Montemor-o-Velho (mode ...

* '' Quartet (Birmingham) 1985'' ( Leo, 1985

991 Year 991 (Roman numerals, CMXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events * March 1: In Rouen, Pope John XV ratifies the first Peace and Truce of God, Truce of God, between ...

* ''

Willisau (Quartet) 1991 ''Willisau (Quartet) 1991'' is a 4CD box set by American composer and saxophonist Anthony Braxton recorded live and in the studio in 1991 and released on the hatART label.

'' ( hatART, 1991) * '' Quartet (Coventry) 1985'' ( Leo, 1985

993 Year 993 ( CMXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – The 12-year-old King Otto III gives the Sword of Saints Cosmas and Damian ...

* '' (Victoriaville) 1992'' (Victo, 1993) * ''

Twelve Compositions ''Twelve Compositions'' (subtitled ''Recorded Live in July 1993 at Yoshi's in Oakland California'') is a double CD live album by American saxophonist and composer Anthony Braxton, recorded at Yoshi's (jazz club), Yoshi's in 1993 and released on th ...

'': Recorded Live in July 1993 at Yoshi's in Oakland California (

Music & Arts Music & Arts is a classical and jazz record label founded in Berkeley, California by Frederick Maroth. It began in 1984 as a classical music label before adding jazz and world music. The catalog includes classical composers and musicians Milto ...

, 1994) * ''

Creative Orchestra (Köln) 1978 ''Creative Orchestra (Köln) 1978'' is a live album by American composer and saxophonist Anthony Braxton. Recorded in Germany in 1978 but not released on the hatART label until 1995, the album features a live concert featuring several of Braxton' ...

'' ( hatART, 1978

995 Year 995 (Roman numerals, CMXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * 17 May - Fujiwara no Michitaka (imperial regent) dies. * 3 June: Fujiwara no ...

* '' Quartet (Santa Cruz) 1993'' ( hatART, 1993

997 Year 997 (Roman numerals, CMXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * 1 February: Empress Teishi gives birth to Princess Shushi - she is the first ...

* ''The Coventry Concert'' (Bootleg / Unauthorized, 2006) * ''Orchestra (Paris) 1978'' (Bootleg / Unauthorized, 2011) * ''Quartet (New York) 1993 - Set 1'' (Bootleg / Unauthorized, 2011) * ''Quartet (New York) 1993 - Set 2'' (Bootleg / Unauthorized, 2011) * ''The Complete Remastered Recordings on Black Saint & Soul Note'' (C.A.M. Jazz, 2011) * ''Quartet (Karlsruhe) 1983'' (live, archival) (New Braxton House, 2012) * ''Quartet (Mulhouse) 1983'' (live, archival) (New Braxton House, 2012) * ''CMS Archive Selections, Volume 2'' (Planet Arts, 2015) ;with

Andrea Centazzo Andrea Centazzo (born 1948) is an Italian-born American composer, percussionist, multimedia artist and record label founder. Music career Centazzo was born in Udine, Italy. In the 1970s he played percussion in avant-garde jazz with John Zorn, St ...

* ''Stolen Moment'' ( Ictus, 2020) ;with Agustí Fernández * ''River Tiger Fire '' (Fundacja Słuchaj!, 2015) ;with

* ''48 Motives, January 11, 1996'' (Cadence, 1996) * ''Five Frozen Eggs'' (

, 1997) * ''Stephen Dembski – Sonotropism'' (

, 1997) ;with

John Geggie John Geggie is an Ottawa-based Canadian bassist (double bass) who performs jazz with several Ottawa-based groups and performers.Ambiances Magnétiques Ambiances Magnétiques is a Canadian record company and label started by Jean Derome, René Lussier, and others, and the artists' collective that preceded it. History In 1982, "guitarist René Lussier and saxophonist/flutist Jean Derome presente ...

, 2008) ;with The Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra and

* ''Parallel Moments Unbroken'' ( FMR, 2018) ;with

* ''Blue Horizon. Barry Guy@70 ive At The Ad Libitum Festival 2017' (Fundacja Słuchaj!, 2018) ;with

London Jazz Composer's Orchestra * ''Three Pieces for Orchestra'' ( Intakt, 1997) * ''

Double Trouble Two ''Double Trouble Two'' is an album by Barry Guy and the London Jazz Composers' Orchestra with guest artists Irène Schweizer (piano), Marilyn Crispell (piano), and Pierre Favre (drums). Documenting a large-scale, 47-minute composition by Guy, i ...

'' ( Intakt, 1998) ;with

New Orchestra * ''

Inscape–Tableaux ''Inscape–Tableaux'' is an album by bassist Barry Guy. It was recorded on May 18 and 19, 2000, at Rote Fabrik in Zürich, Switzerland, and was released in 2001 by Intakt Records. On the album, which features a seven-part composition by Guy, he pl ...

'' ( Intakt, 2001) ;with Guy- Gustafsson- Strid Trio * ''Gryffgryffgryffs: The 1996 Radio Sweden Concert ive' (

, 1997) ;with

and

Paul Lytton Paul Lytton (born 8 March 1947, London) is an English free jazz and free improvising percussionist. Lytton began on drums at age 16. He played jazz in London in the late 1960s while taking lessons on the tabla from P.R. Desai. In 1969 he began ...

* ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...

'' ( Intakt, 2001) * ''

Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...

'' ( Intakt, 2004) * ''

Phases of the Night ''Phases of the Night'' is an album by bassist Barry Guy, pianist Marilyn Crispell, and drummer Paul Lytton. It was recorded on May 30 and 31, 2007, at Studio Sound Development in Zurich, Switzerland, and was released in 2008 by Intakt Records. Th ...

'' ( Intakt, 2008) * ''

Deep Memory ''Deep Memory'' is an album by bassist Barry Guy, pianist Marilyn Crispell, and drummer Paul Lytton. It was recorded on May 21, 2015, at Powerplay Studios in Maur, Switzerland, and was released in 2016 by Intakt Records. The album features seven co ...

'' ( Intakt, 2016) ;with Francois Houle * ''Any Terrain Tumultuous'' (Red Toucan, 1995) ;with

* ''

In Winds, In Light ''In Winds, In Light'' is an album by Swedish bassist and composer Anders Jormin recorded in May 2003 and released on ECM the following year.ECM, 2004) ;with

Henry Kaiser Henry John Kaiser (May 9, 1882 – August 24, 1967) was an American industrialist who became known as the father of modern American shipbuilding. Prior to World War II, Kaiser was involved in the construction industry; his company was one of ...

* ''Eternity Blue'' ( Shanachie, 1995) ;with Steve Lacy * ''Five Facings'' ( FMP, 1996) ;with

Joelle Leandre Joelle is a feminine given name, and may refer to: * Joelle, actor and singer * Joelle Behlok, Lebanese television presenter and winner Miss Lebanon 1997 * Joelle Carter (born 1972), American actress * Joelle Fishman (born 1946), American politicia ...

* ''

Joëlle Léandre Project ''Joëlle Léandre Project'' is a live album by bassist Joëlle Léandre. It was recorded in January 1999 at Sons d'Hiver in Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France, and was released in 2000 by Leo Records. On the album, Léandre is joined by pianist Marilyn C ...

'' ( Leo, 2000) * ''Stone Quartet: DMG @ The Stone Volume 1'' (DMG/ARC, 2008) * '' Stone Quartet: Live at Vision Festival'' (Ayler, 2011) ;with

and

* ''Quartet Noir'' (Victo, 1999) * ''Quartet Noir Lugano'' (Victo, 2005) ;with

* '' Trio Tapestry'' ( ECM, 2019) * ''

Garden of Expression '' Garden of Expression'' is a studio album by American jazz saxophonist Joe Lovano recorded in November 2019 and released on ECM Records, ECM in January 2021. The trio features pianist Marilyn Crispell and percussionist Carmen Castaldi. Backgro ...

'' ( ECM, 2021) ;with

* ''Parallel Moments '' (Babel, 2014) * '' Songs Along the Way'' (Babel, 2018) ;with Raymond MacDonald and Pierre Alexandre Tremblay * ''Two Duos : Three Trios'' (Bruce's Fingers, 2016) ;with The

Creative Orchestra * '' Sketches from Bamboo'' (

Moers Moers (; older form: ''Mörs''; archaic Dutch language, Dutch: ''Murse'', ''Murs'' or ''Meurs'') is a German List of cities and towns in Germany, city on the western bank of the Rhine, close to Duisburg. Moers belongs to the district of Wesel (d ...

, 1979) ;with

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism. Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ' ...

and

* '' MGM Trio'' (Ramboy, 1996) ;with Tisziji Munoz * ''Auspicious Healing!'' (Anami, 2000) * ''Breaking the Wheel of Life and Death'' (Anami, 2000) * ''Heart to Heart'' (Anami, 2013) * ''Beautiful Empty Fullness'' (Anami, 2014) * ''The Paradox of Independence'' (Anami, 2014) ;with NOW Orchestra * ''Pola'' (Victo, 2005) ;with Larry Ochs * ''The Secret Magritte'' (

Black Saint Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

, 1996) ;with

Parker Parker may refer to: Persons * Parker (given name) * Parker (surname) Places Place names in the United States *Parker, Arizona *Parker, Colorado * Parker, Florida * Parker, Idaho * Parker, Kansas * Parker, Missouri * Parker, North Carolina *Park ...

- Guy- Lytton Trio * '' Natives and Aliens'' ( Leo, 1997) * '' After Appleby'' ( Leo, 2000) ;with

* '' En Adir'' (

, 1997) * '' Sound Hierarchy'' (

, 1997) ;with Nelly Pouget * ''Le Voir'' (Minuit 5 Regards, 1998) ;with Michele Rabbia and

Vincent Courtois Vincent Courtois (born 21 March 1968) is a French jazz cellist. Biography Courtois studied classical cello at the Conservatory of Aubervilliers, first with Erwan Fauré, and then with Roland Pidoux and Frédéric Lodéon. He also played Didier ...

* ''Shifting Grace'' (

CAM Jazz CAM Jazz is an Italian jazz record label founded in 2000. It is part of group that also manages the labels CAM Jazz Presents, Black Saint/Soul Note, and DDQ (Dischi Della Quercia). The label's musicians have received several Grammy Award nominatio ...

, 2006) ;with

Gunhild Seim Gunhild Seim (born 4 June 1973 in Gjøvik, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz musician (trumpet) and composer. Career Involved in bands like the jazz quartet Gunhild Seim & Time Jungle and the contemporary ensemble Kitchen Orchestra. Having released ...

and

David Rothenberg David Rothenberg (born 1962) is a professor of philosophy and music at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, with a special interest in animal sounds as music. He is also a composer and jazz musician whose books and recordings reflect a long ...

* ''Grenseland'' (Drollehala, 2018) ;with Gunhild Seim & Time Jungle * ''Elephant Wings'' (Drollehala, 2012) ;with

* '' Budding of a Rose'' (

, 1979) ;with

* ''

Synthesis Synthesis or synthesize may refer to: Science Chemistry and biochemistry *Chemical synthesis, the execution of chemical reactions to form a more complex molecule from chemical precursors ** Organic synthesis, the chemical synthesis of organ ...

'' ( Leo, 1986) * ''

Images An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...

'' (

, 1990) * ''

Altered Spaces ''Altered Spaces'' is a live album by bassist/composer Reggie Workman. It was recorded in February 1992 at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, and was released by Leo Records in 1993. On the album, Workman is joined by vocalist Jeanne L ...

'' ( Leo, 1993) ;with Bobby Zankel * ''Human Flowers'' (

CIMP Creative Improvised Music Projects, usually abbreviated CIMP or C.I.M.P., is an American jazz record company and label. It is associated with ''Cadence Magazine'' and Cadence Jazz Records. The label is noted for its minimal use of electronic proc ...

, 1996) ;performing works of

* ''Works for Piano, Toy Piano & Prepared Piano, Vol. III'' (

Wergo WERGO is a German record label focusing on contemporary classical music. It was founded in 1962 by German art historian and music publisher (1903–1975) and the musicologist Helmut Kirchmeyer. Their first release, filed under "WER 60001", was S ...

, 1991) ;performing works of

and Manfred Niehaus * '' Stellar Pulsations / Three Composers'' ( Leo, 1994)

Filmography

''Femmes du Jazz / Women in Jazz''
(2000) by Gilles Corre
''The Songpoet''
(2019) by Paul Lamont
''Motian in Motion''
(2020) by Michael Patrick Kelly
''ECM50 , 2000 - Marilyn Crispell''
(episode in a series of 51 short films on ECM, 2020) by IJ.Biermann

References

Additional sources

*Crispell, Marilyn. 2000. "Elements of Improvisation: For Cecil Taylor and Anthony Braxton." In ''Arcana: Musicians on Music'', ed. John Zorn, 190-192. New York: Granary Books/Hips Road.

External links

Official websiteshort film portrait on Marilyn CrispellMarilyn Crispell Interview at allaboutjazz.com

Finding aid to the Marilyn Crispell collection at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crispell, Marilyn 1947 births Living people Avant-garde jazz musicians Avant-garde jazz pianists American jazz pianists American women composers American jazz composers Musicians from Philadelphia Women jazz pianists New England Conservatory alumni ECM Records artists Cadence Jazz Records artists 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania 20th-century American women pianists 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American women pianists Leo Records artists Music & Arts artists Intakt Records artists Okka Disk artists