Melissa Aldana (born 3 December 1988) is aChilean tenor saxophone player, who performs both as a soloist and with her band Melissa Aldana & Crash Trio.^[1][2]

Melissa Aldana
Background information
Born	(1988-12-03)3 December 1988 (age 36) Santiago, Chile
Genres	Jazz
Instrument	Tenor saxophone
Years active	2004–present
Labels	Blue Note,Inner Circle Music,Concord Jazz,Motéma Music
Website	www.melissaaldana.net

Aldana was born inSantiago, Chile.^[1] She began playing the saxophone when she was six,^[3] under the influence and tuition of her father Marcos Aldana, also a professional saxophonist.^[4][3] Aldana began withalto, influenced by artists such asCharlie Parker,Cannonball Adderley andMichael Brecker.^[4] However, upon first hearing the music ofSonny Rollins, she switched totenor; the first tenor saxophone she used was aSelmer Mark VI that had belonged to her grandfather.^[4][1]

She performed inSantiago jazz clubs while in her early teens.^[4][3] In 2005, after meeting him while he was on tour in Chile, she was invited by pianistDanilo Pérez to play at thePanama Jazz Festival,^[4][1] as well as auditions at music schools in the USA.^[1] As a result of these introductions, she attended theBerklee College of Music inBoston, where her tutors includedJoe Lovano,George Garzone,Frank Tiberi,Greg Osby,Hal Crook,Bill Pierce, andRalph Peterson.^[4][3] She graduated from Berklee in 2009, relocating toNew York City to study underGeorge Coleman.^[4]

Aldana recorded her first album,Free Fall,^[3] released on Greg Osby'sInner Circle Music imprint, in 2010.^[4][1] Her live performances in this period included performances at theBlue Note Jazz Club and theMonterey Jazz Festival,^[3] and her second album,Second Cycle, was released in 2012.^[1] In 2013, aged 24, she was the first female musician, the first South American person, and the youngest person to win theThelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition, in which her father had been a semi-finalist in 1991.^[4][5][3] The prize was a $25,000 scholarship, and a recording contract withConcord Jazz.^[6] Reporting her win,The Washington Post described Aldana as representing "a new sense of possibility and direction in jazz".^[4]

In addition, Aldana has been awarded theAltazor National Arts Award of Chile, and theLincoln Center'sMartin E. Segal Award.^[4] She has played concerts alongside artists such asPeter Bernstein,Kevin Hays,Christian McBride andJeff "Tain" Watts,^[4] and many festivals including theCopenhagen Jazz Festival,Twin Cities Jazz Festival,Umbria Jazz,Vienna Jazz Festival andProvidencia Jazz Festival in Chile.^[4] She also performed withJimmy Heath at the 2014NEA Jazz Masters Award Ceremony, and was invited toJazz at Lincoln Center byWynton Marsalis.^[1]

In 2012, Aldana formed a group, Melissa Aldana & Crash Trio, withCuban drummer Francisco Mela and Chilean bassist Pablo Menares, a friend from the jazz scene in Santiago several years prior.^[1][5] In July 2014, this group released their self-titled debut album onConcord Jazz,^[4] a recording deal that had formed part of Aldana's prize for winning the Thelonious Monk Award.^[1] The group released their second album in March 2016 entitledBack Home, onWommusic, with drummer Mela replaced by Jochen Rueckert.^[1]

Formed in 2017,^[7][8] the Melissa Aldana Quartet includes Aldana on tenor saxophone, Sam Harris on piano (orLage Lund on guitar^[9]), Pablo Menares on bass and Kush Abadey on drums.^[10]

Aldana lives inWashington Heights, Manhattan.^[6]

• 2013: First female instrumentalist to take first prize in Thelonious Monk Competition For Saxophonists^[11]
• 2016:DownBeat magazine: “25 for the Future”^[12]
• 2023: Grammy Nomination for "Best Improvised Jazz Solo" on "Falling"^{[citation needed]}
• 2022:DownBeat magazine: Rising Star Artist of the Year^{[citation needed]}