Muhal Richard Abrams - pianist, composer, co-founder of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), founder of the The AACM School of Music, President of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians- New York Chapter, former panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts and New York State Council on the Arts, member of the Board of Directors of The National Jazz Service Organization and Meet the Composer, the first recipient of the Grand International jazz award, The JazzPar Prize (by the Danish Jazz Center, Copenhagen, Denmark, April 1990).
Except for a brief period of study at Chicago Musical College and Governor's State University in Chicago, Illinois, where he studied electronic music, Muhal Richard Abrams is predominately a self-taught musician. As a result of his discipline, observation, analysis, and practice Muhal Richard Abrams developed a highly respected command of a variety of musical styles both as a pianist and composer. The versatile Mr. Abrams and members of the AACM are responsible for some of the most original new music approaches of the last three decades.
In addition to teaching privately for the past twenty years or more, Muhal Richard Abrams has taught jazz composition and improvisational classes at: The Banff Center in Banff, Canada, Columbia University in New York City, Syracuse University in Syracuse, N.Y. and the BMI Composers Workshop in New York City.
Musical Affilations: Max Roach, Dexter Gordon, Art Farmer, The Art Ensemble of Chicago, Clifford Jordan, Ari Brown, Sonny Stitt, George Lewis, James Moody, Anthony Braxton, Eddie Harris, Mwata Bowden, and many others.
Current Activities:Recording and touring the United States, Canada, and Europe with his orchestra, sextet, quartet, duo, and as a solo pianist. In addition, composing and scoring large orchestra and chamber works.
Some recent compositions by Muhal Richard Abrams include: "Transversion I , OP. 6" for Symphony Orchestra, "NOVI" for Symphony Orchestra and Jazz Quartet; "Variations for Solo Saxophone, Flute, and Chamber Orchestra," commissioned by the City of Chicago for the 1982 New Music America Festival; "Quintet for Voice (soprano), Piano, Harp, Cello, and Violin," commissioned by The Kitchen and performed at Symphony Space in April, 1982; "Improvisation Structures I-II-III-IV-V-VI," performed in a series of six solo piano concerts for the 1983 New York State New Music Network Tour; "TRIO", a three part composition for solo piano, performed attthe New Music A merica Festival in 1984 in Hartford, Conn. July, 1984, and hosted by Real Artways; "Odessey of King" performed by The Brooklyn Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra at Brooklyn's Botanical Garden, February, 1984 and "Celebrate Brooklyn" at the Prospect Park Bandshell, Brooklyn, New York on June 23, 1984; "String Quartet #2" performed by The Kronos String Quartet on November 22, 1985 at Carnegie Recital Hall in New York City; "Piano Duet #1" performed by Ursula Oppens and Frederic Rzewski for Music at the Crossroads on February 11, 1986, and sponsored by the Phillip Morris Co., at the Whitney Museum ; "Saturation Blue" performed on March 14, 1986, by The Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra Chamber Ensemble at Freeport High School, Freeport, N.Y., Tania Leon , conductor; "Folk Tales 88" commissioned by The Brooklyn Philharmonic and performed by The Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra at Fort Hamilton Base, Brooklyn, N.Y. on July 9, 1988, Tania Leon, conductor; "Transversion I, OP.6" performed February 22 & 23, 1991 by The Detroit Symphony Orchestra at the Unisys Corporation Classical Roots series in Detroit, Michigan; "What a Man" commissioned for the Black Repertory Ensemble by The Center for Black Music Research, Columbia College and the Friends of the Chicago Public Library in honor of the late Mayor Harold Washington and to commemorate the opening of The Harold Washington Library on October 7, 1991.