LUX Quartet

In the organizer's words:

The Lux Quartet, founded by Allison Miller and Myra Melford, stands for improvisational interplay that seeks and emphasizes the connections between music and nature. The band's name "Lux" comes from the idea of light as a source of life and the "sparks" that are created when making music together. The musicians, who live and work in New York, feel a deep connection to nature, which they address musically in this band project.

The formation of the Lux Quartet was a natural progression of the long-standing musical relationship between Allison Miller and Myra Melford. The two musicians met about 20 years ago in one of Marty Ehrlich's bands and have felt a close artistic and personal bond ever since. Miller admired Melford, almost 20 years her senior, as a mentor and inspiration early on, which led her to regularly include Melford in her ever-changing band Boom Tic Boom. In 2016, they invited each other to collaborate again, this time in a trio with bassist Scott Colley (represented on the current tour by Nick Dunston).

When Allison Miller put together a smaller formation for Boom Tic Boom after the lockdown, she remembered the trio and strengthened it with saxophonist Dayna Stephens, with whom she had already worked in various contexts. The chemistry between the four musicians was right from the start, which was particularly noticeable during their performance at the Montreal Jazz Festival and made a lasting impression on Miller. This special musical connection motivated Miller and Melford to go one step further and officially launch the Lux Quartet - a band with a strong individual identity and the special band name "Lux", which symbolizes the light and life energy they want to reflect in their music.