Jasmine Myra - Rising to New Heights
Rising, the sophomore record from London-based band leader, composer and saxophonist Jasmine Myra, is the realisation of a long road of personal and artistic growth and a euphoric reminder of the uplifting power of music. Since the release of her debut album Horizons back in 2022, Myra has firmly cemented her reputation as one of the most exciting artists in British Jazz and on her new record she sets a fresh benchmark as the genre enters an era of introspection. Ahead of its release, we caught up with her to find out a little more about the person behind the music.
Originally hailing from Leeds, her introduction to the arts came at an early age. Encouraged by her father, himself a competent pianist, she had the opportunity to experiment with a variety of instruments before finally pursuing the saxophone more seriously from high school onwards. With musical influences present throughout her lifetime, there were two individuals in the early years that had a particularly big impact on Myra, “We have a family friend called Brendan Duffy who is a sax player and I’d seen him play loads of times as a child and I thought it was super cool”. That, paired with the enduring appeal of characters such as Lisa Simpson on childhood sensibilities, set an aspirational blueprint for the artist.
Her first forays into song-writing came throughout Sixth Form where she attended extracurricular classes that allowed her to further her skills; however, it wasn’t until her tenure at Leeds Conservatoire, the city’s preeminent music college, that she got the opportunity to test her capabilities leading a project. Despite the fact that she had “never considered herself to be a writer”, through the experience she quickly realised that she possessed a natural affinity for the craft; yet, the search for an authentic voice would continue.
Jasmine Myra. Credit: Emily Dennison
Myra’s experience at “L-Con”came during a time where Hip-Hop had dramatically penetrated the Jazz scene in Leeds, shaping the sound of the city. Throughout those years Jasmine found herself similarly inspired by the genre, “ When I was at uni, it was very Hip-Hoppy and Afrobeaty and everyone was doing a fusion of that”. Taking inspiration from the likes of MF Doom and Madvillain, Myra’s early compositions and experiments reflected this aesthetic however, it wasn’t long before she found herself pursuing an alternative sound, “I thought that was the sort of jazz that I would want to write, I was super into it, that kind of heavy, jazzy fusion and I still really like that sort of music but I think it didn’t really connected with my personality”.
As acts such as Sons of Kemet, Moses Boyd and the rest of a thriving London scene found success and critical acclaim perpetuating the kind of music Myra recognised from throughout her studies, she elected to rebel against the prevailing and the popular, instead channelling a more measured sound that was eventually revealed on her debut record.
“I think the first tune I wrote for that album was ‘Awakening’ and that was the first time I felt like I should go down this path”, the track and that body of work as a whole could be seen as an early genesis of the kind of introspective, deeply personal music that is becoming increasingly definitive of our times. As artists such as Andre 3000 and Shabaka Hutchings reject the status quo in favour of projects that are more artistically authentic and fulfilling, it is in this vein that Jasmine Myra continues to work. “I feel like when people talk about being brave as an artist, I don’t always think that necessarily means pushing boundaries. I think sometimes it’s just making the music that’s the most authentic to you because that opens you up to the most criticism”.
Jasmine Myra. Credit: Sophie Jouvenaar
Considering the confessional nature of Myra’s debut, the way in which it tackles themes relating to mental health and experiences of grief, Horizons was a brave leap of faith. It was however, through the process of writing and composing that she managed to find reprieve from those struggles while simultaneously creating a record that is so immediately affecting, “ I think the process of writing the music, which felt so free and open and uplifting, it became this escape into a process where I could deal with all this stuff on the outside like my mental health and was able to unpack all of these built up issues”. It is in its intimacy and vulnerability that Myra’s music is able to break new ground. Her compositions, such as ‘Words Left Unspoken’, a track that deals with the loss of her Grandmother touches upon a universal pain, one softened by the splendour held within its arrangement.
Beauty as an act of defiance is seemingly Myra’s modus operandi and on her new record, Rising, released via Gondwana Records, we see the continuation of the sonic blueprint laid down on her debut, this time with a more confident Jasmine Myra at the helm.
Over six tracks, she communicates her evolution as an artist and an individual. Discussing the project, she explains “for me it feels more confident as a whole and I feel like I'm hopefully showing that I'm developing as an artist. It feels a lot more punchy and fiery in places which I'm really excited about but I think that it also reflects the emotion behind it”. The emotion in the record reflects her ongoing wrestle with the issues that defined Horizons, a journey without destination but, one on which she has made confident strides, “everything that happened in lockdown, everything that Horizons was about, I'm still on that journey of finding a quiet confidence”.
Jasmine Myra. Credit: Sophie Jouvenaar
The new record, produced by Matthew Halsall, Myra’s long-time collaborator, is a richer, fuller experience than its predecessor and one that sonically sits somewhere between the work of Fergus McCreadie and Alice Coltrane. Featuring the same core band as Horizons, including the likes of, Ben Haskins, George Hall, Jasper Green, Alice Roberts and Sam Quintana’s, their perfectly measured performances are further buoyed by the contributions of a string quartet that elevate tracks such as ‘Still Waters’, ‘Knowingness’, ‘From Embers’ and ‘How Tall The Mountains’ to spiritual new heights.
Despite the collective efforts in the record's performances, the electricity in the project stems primarily from the compositions crafted, in the most-part, during Myra’s independent writing sessions, “I always write with the keyboard, even though I’m terrible at the piano”. Myra’s influences for a record as expansive as this were, naturally, wide reaching, typically citing the likes of Kenny Wheeler, Bonobo, Olafur Arnalds and Moses Sumney however, this is music built upon bolts inspiration from above and Myra’s stoic journey as an artist and an individual, “Sometimes it'll be a chord progression or one little riff or sometimes it's a melodic idea. It really depends but it starts with one little idea and then I build it around that”. From these scraps, she has managed to pull togrther a record that is as unflinchingly beautiful as it is awe inspiring.
With Rising, Jasmine Myra not only delivers a musical masterpiece but also offers a profound testament to the enduring power of authenticity and artistic evolution. As she navigates the depths of personal reflection and musical experimentation, she emerges as a beacon of courage, daring to forge her own path amidst the cacophony of trends and expectations. With each note, she invites listeners into her world, where vulnerability becomes strength, and beauty emerges from pain. Through Rising, Myra not only reaches new heights as a musician but also reminds us all of the transformative potential inherent in embracing our true selves.
Rising by Jasmine Myra is out now via Gondwana Records.
