Review: Amina Claudine Myers’ ‘Solace of the Mind’

Every so often, an album moves beyond music, carrying the listener to an array of deeply reflective moods. Last year, we were gifted such an album in Central Park’s Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens (Red Hook, 2024) by pianist Amina Claudine Myers and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith. Now, with the latest release on the same label, we feel similar reflective moments with NEA Jazz Master and AACM giant Myers’ solo piano, Solace of the Mind (Red Hook, 2025). Here, Myers is on piano, Hammond B3 organ, and voice, with some new material and revisits of past pieces in an entirely different way, using space often as her duet partner.  Myers finds another silent partner in producer Sun Chung, who learned the value of space in his many years at ECM Records. If they didn’t know better, one might think this is an ECM recording akin to a solo piano outing by Keith Jarrett. Yet, this is arguably far more meditative; it goes to deeper recesses of feeling. It’s a stunning example of “the right notes, not many notes.” It’s not about chops, it’s about reaching one’s soul or heart.

On our site, there is a recent interview with Myers that will shed far more perspective than these words about her approach to the record. She revisits her compositions “African Blues,” “Song for Mother E,”  “Cairo,” and the traditional “Steal Away.” Honestly, it’s difficult to express it any better than noted jazz journalist Howard Mandel, who says this in the liners: “She relies on fine touch, inner calm and pure feeling to soothe the soul–hers and ours – using pure pianistic melody.” Only an artist with decades of experience, six in her case, could make such a record. Long an icon of the avant-garde, this is a record that doesn’t come from that field. It comes mostly from the Black Church, her beginnings in Arkansas choirs. Myers has roots in Baptist and Methodist church music, gospel, and rhythm and blues. She hits certain notes and chords that linger in the air, inexplicably powerful. Her deliberate pacing and spatial arrangements are, to use a sports term, “a thing of beauty.”

She’s alone at the piano for the opener, “African Blues,” primarily a series of carefully spaced low and mid-register chords accented with right-hand trills that set the tone for the album. She originally wrote the piece during the height of apartheid, and careful listening will reveal darkness in this piece, commemorating the suffering of the South African people. With “Song for Mother E,” she returns to a song originally recorded with drummer Pheeroan AkLaff to convey a myriad of emotions that grow intense in the lower register. Yet she makes a concerted effort to stay positive with more right-handed delivery than in the previous piece. We all have give-and-take with our moms, the music reflecting such, with the definitive last chord being especially striking.

The aptly named “Sensuous” is a new piece that beautifully alternates calm with animated sequences. She also reimagines “Steal Away,” a piece that she confesses to hating as a child because it was so slow and sad. Now, it’s one of her favorites. She finds a special peace in it now, which is clearly felt in this rendering. She speaks eloquently about how her ancestors continue to inspire her over light organ in “Ode to my Ancestors,” while likely conjuring their many spirits in the spatially gorgeous “Voices’ where she demonstrates a masterful command of dynamics. The brief “Hymn for John Lee Hooker” is rather solemn, steering clear of any hints of Hooker’s famous boogie riffs. “Twilight” does more than justice to its title, a glistening tune where Myers stays mostly in the upper register, contrasting with “African Blues.”   

“Cairo” first appeared on In Touch (Novus, 1989), produced by Lenny White and featuring Jerome Harris on bass and guitar, Reggie Nicholson and Flare Funston on drums and percussion, and Pete Levin on synthesizer. Hence, there was a synthesized background to the original versus this solo piano rendition, which purely captures the essence of the piece. Closer, “Beneath the Sun,” is like a bookend in echoing the tonality of opener “African Blues.” 

Invest the forty minutes for a deep listen. Sampling individual tracks won’t give this major effort its due. And, leaving you with some good news, Myers reported in her interview that another album with Wadada Leo Smith is in the works. Meanwhile, there is enough here to satisfy your quiet moments for a long time.

‘Solace of the Mind’ is out now on Red Hook Records. You can purchase it on Bandcamp.