Jackie Myers - Accolades and Media Coverage

**Downbeat Magazine Album Review (click above to link to article on original site - pg 50)**

**Plastic Sax Album Review (click above to link to article on original site)**

KANSAS CITY MAGAZINE FEATURE

Pianist, singer and composer Jackie Myers to release an experimental jazz album

One of pianist and vocalist Jackie Myers’ favorite tracks on her forthcoming album, What About the Butterfly, is one she nearly cut—“Brown Dirt Shuffle.”

Although the musician initially felt insecure about the song, she was met with immediate encouragement and new ideas from her bandmates. Letting go of her preconceptions, she leaned into her collaborative community.

“I needed the help of the other musicians,” Myers says. “I couldn’t do it on my own. They brought ‘Brown Dirt Shuffle’ to the finish line.”

Myers is releasing What About the Butterfly later this month on Brooklyn-based label 577 Records. A bold departure from her previous work, the experimental album embraces spectral composition—a niche technique that expands harmonic possibilities outside of the traditional 12-note system.

During the pandemic, with gigs dried up and time to spare, Myers enrolled in graduate school and began taking music composition coursework at UMKC’s Conservatory. When she was introduced to experimental composer Gérard Grisey and French spectral music, she was quickly captivated.

“I really like advanced and modern composition, but a lot of it is atonal and avant garde,” Myers says. “I enjoy that, but I don’t like composing it. I was really struck by how spectral composition can access sound, but not in a way that discards the rules of harmony.”

Recorded last June, What About the Butterfly features Myers’ compositions on vocals and piano, backed by an ensemble that includes the Fountain City String Quartet, saxophonists Aryana Nemati and Rich Wheeler, trumpeter Trent Austin, bassists Seth Lee and Blake Shaw, and drummer Ben Leifer. Although the album pushes boundaries, it remains grounded with singable, memorable melodies.

A particularly special guest on the record is saxophone legend Bobby Watson, a former member of Art Blakey’s legendary collective The Jazz Messengers and Myers’ former teacher.

“The fact that Bobby was willing to play on the album—I was just so honored,” Myers says. “He’s been such a wonderful mentor for me from the moment I met him. He continues to show me the way and encourage me.”

The pianist will celebrate the album’s release later this month on April 18 at the American Jazz Museum’s Blue Room, featuring a pared-down ensemble of Myers’ regular trio and the addition of a couple horns. A short tour in her former stomping grounds of Austin, Texas, will follow next month.

“To do this album, I had to become pretty obsessive about this whole thing in micro ways, not just micro tones,” Myers says.

LINK TO ARTICLE

Featured on the cover of Jam Magazine

What About The Butterfly - Jackie Myers

Pianist, vocalist, and composer, Jackie Myers is an exacting presence in any musical aggregation. She has great ideas. She knows how to implement them.

Growing up in the nation’s capital, Jackie made her way to Austin, Texas. After integrating into that vital music scene, she became very busy touring, doing local performance, and creating musical arrangements, some for a Buster Keaton film Festival. Jackie knows how to keep herself busy. The possibility of a steady gig at Green Lady Lounge brought Jackie to Kansas City. When we first met, Jackie had purchased a home in Kansas City, remodeling it mostly herself. She was finishing up the large work for silent movies (to be used in Austin) and had just become the Musical Director for the syndicated radio program, “12th Street Jump.” (following Joe Cartwright & Paul Roberts) Some six or seven years later, Jackie has added many new dimensions to her already busy routine.

With, “What About the Butterfly,” her 2025 - 577 Records release, Jackie Myers is breaking new musical ground. Yes, it is a jazz recording . . . ground breaking new jazz.

A dozen seasoned musicians are featured on “Butterflies,” including compelling solos from Bobby Watson, Trent Austin, and bassist Seth Lee. Shining brightly on top of this mountain of sound is Jackie’s brilliant keyboard performance and her iconic vocals. The more I listen, the more I love what I hear. Reminiscent of Esperanza Spaulding and Norah Jones, Jackie Myers adds her own soulful take on everything she decides to take on. I don’t believe that there is a musical style she wouldn’t give a go, if the opportunity presented itself. Jackie Myers can be heard on almost 10 albums these days. Her live shows treat audiences to Myers’ innovative keyboard work and her bluesy vocals, and at other times Myers’ shows are purely instrumental. Performing as part of a duo, trio, quartet, or quintet, she is typically joined by some of the best musicians offered by any locale. In 2018 she added the Hammond B3 organ to her bag-of-talents. The first time I encountered Jackie in a blues roadhouse I was taken back by her ‘chops’ on the organ, more than keeping up with one of Kansas City’s most decorated blues artists - Nick Schnebelen, however she assured me this was not a new direction. She is dedicated to jazz. Jackie Myers’ is a versatile and competent musician. Her direction on “What About the Butterfly” is positive and satisfying to the listener, and the 2025 recording is an outstanding direction to take her talent as a featured performer. —Editor (David Basse)