Melissa Aldanain Denver

Melissa Aldana is a Chilean-born, New York-based tenor saxophonist, composer, and Blue Note recording artist. Her sound pairs fluid post-bop lines with deep emotional improvisation, rooted in jazz tradition yet distinctly her own. In 2013 she became the first woman instrumentalist and first South American to win the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition. Live, she leads with a commanding tenor tone honed across eight leader albums.